Slides for this talk are available at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

 Is a PhD worthwhile?
 Skills gained on a PhD
 What do employers look for in postgraduates?
 Making applications: the difference between academic and business
CVs

What do PhDs go into after completion?
 What jobs are there outside research?

The CES at the University of Kent and how it can help you
Darwin DS14 2
– 4.30 Holds 22
PhD Destinations 2012 UK/EU (DLHE survey)
68% UK Work
15% Work Abroad
6% U/E
Two PhD and researcher satisfaction surveys which were published last week. See a summary on my blog http://www.biosciencecareers.org/2013/09/how-satisfied-are-doctoralstudents-and.html
including links to the full reports and to the THES
(12/09/2013) article on the ‘unrealistic expectations of researchers’.

 Careers in Research Online Survey (CROS) 2013 The 2013 Careers in Research Online Survey (CROS) survey has found there is a
"significant credibility gap" between researchers' expectations and the likelihood of their forging long-term careers in higher education. Chair of the AGCAS Research Staff Task Group, Josie Grindulis, said that in common with other intellectually rewarding professions, a career in research was very competitive but "researchers do not all have a full awareness of quite how competitive [it is]" . Read the full story
 Increase in numbers of graduates awarded higher degrees: 31,000 in
1990 to 182,000 in 2010
 But number doing postgrad research degrees has stayed the same at about 25,000 p.a. over the last few years.
• Everyone, it seems, loves the idea of scholars interdisciplinary work.
But does academe reward those -- particular young scholars -- who actually do it?
•
A new study, based on data from all people who earned Ph.D.s in
2010, suggests the opposite. In the year after earning their doctorates, those in the cohort who did interdisciplinary dissertations earned, on average, $1,700 less than those who completed dissertations in a single field. Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/10/31/study-findsphds-who-write-interdisciplinary-dissertations-earn-

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20131014180817-
2434720-the-value-of-formal-education-in-career-success
•
I've always believed that the pursuit of a PhD is a noble venture. You spend years and years of your life toiling away to move human knowledge in a small tiny area, just a little bit forward. It is fantastic for humanity. Ideally it also delivers personal satisfaction, and a fulfilling career that pays you well enough (if not outrageously well!).
• Usually for PhDs at the end of their education/thesis there was an opportunity to move on to a position in academia to teach, or pursue knowledge further. The graph above illustrates the sad truth that this is no longer an option.
• Since 1982, almost 800,000 PhDs were awarded in science and engineering (S&E) fields, whereas only about 100,000 academic faculty positions were created in those fields within the same time frame.
Source: http://goo.gl/Yl0g1y
• Academia is not the only option of course, one can always consider non-academic options. This choice poses a challenge most job seekers don't consider.
•
A non-academic entity will give you a job if your skills are commercially monetizable. You could take a job managing people, you could take a job doing molecular research, you could take a job analyzing data. Lots of choices.
• But is your degree, your wonderful effort to push the boundary of human knowledge in a tiny small area in a significant way, commercially monetizable? If it does not, all your investment in earning the PhD might not have a commensurate financial impact on your life (or even bring professional satisfaction).
• All of us on LinkedIn have a shared concern for our careers and investment in education. The above graph, and reality, have two implications we all should really care about.
• 1.
If commercial monetization becomes an important consideration criteria, will that reduce the

• The proportion of people of working age in Britain with a postgraduate qualification has climbed rapidly: from to
4% in 1996
11% in 2012
• The study found that a postgraduate degree remained linked to higher earnings: worth on average £5,500 per year more than someone with only an undergraduate degree.

I look for a confident and able researcher who displays a passion for their subject area and who conveys a proactive attitude to developing their professional standing in the field. This might be through increased publications, grant applications, conference presentations , etc.
In particular I am looking for evidence that the applicant has thought this through and not just telling me what I want to hear.
So, what might the grant proposal be about, what might their next paper be on or which journal might it be published in? Detailed answers to these and evidence of having published already would give me confidence that they are serious contenders.
(Senior Lecturer in Engineering)

Rank the following in order e.g. 1 for most important and 10 for least important:
 Can be asked to undertake independent research
 Good time management
 Negotiation skills
 Ability to listen to others
 Ability to present ideas clearly (verbally & in writing)
 Attention to detail & thoroughness
 Ability to identify areas for change or improvement
 Capable of learning new IT systems quickly
 Can integrate quickly into team
 Honesty & integrity

On appointment:
1. Honesty & integrity
2. Ability to listen to others
3. Can integrate quickly into team
4. Ability to present ideas clearly (verbally & in writing)
5. Good time management
After one year:
1. Ability to identify areas for change or improvement
2. Can be asked to undertake independent research
3. Negotiation skills
4. Capable of learning new IT systems quickly
5. Attention to detail & thoroughness

They may also have the following skills:
 experience of working in partnership with industry or a nonacademic organisation. experience of liaising with industrial partners and knowledge transfer activity
 experience of teaching and mentoring undergraduates
 high level numerical and analytical skills
 experience of working with a diverse workforce and being involved In international activity and collaboration
 experience of leading people and teams
 the ability to secure research funding through persuasive writing
 understanding of opportunities for commercialisation of their work and knowledge of IP issues
 experience of communicating research and complex ideas to a wide variety of audiences including the general public.
www.vitae.ac.uk/CMS/files/upload/Employers%20Briefing_8pp_A4.pdf

PhD researchers usually have the ability to:
 understand and create knowledge at the forefront of their discipline
 conceptualise, design and implement projects for the generation of new knowledge and/or understanding
 analyse a problem and generate creative solutions to it, drawing on existing knowledge and the gathering of new knowledge
 work independently and under their own initiative
 plan and deliver a large piece of work independently and over a long period of time
 Plus experience of cutting edge research skills and techniques.
SELL THESE SKILLS IN YOUR CV, APPLICATION FORMS AND AT INTERVIEW!

• Write down everything you think you should include in your CV if applying for a post as a postdoctoral researcher or university lecturer.
How long should your CV be?
• Write down all the things that you would include in a CV for a nonresearch post in, for example, a business environment.
How long should your CV be?

An academic CV by a PhD student applying for research posts is longer than the conventional 2 sided CV. Include:
 Synopsis of your PhD at the beginning or as an appendix;
 Research Interests
 Conferences attended (including presentations or poster displays)
 Publications in chronological order, but if the most are recent not relevant use a subheading such as "Relevant publications". Other subheadings could include "Peer reviewed", "In Progress", and "Conference Proceedings". A long list of publications could be in an appendix
 Evidence of teaching/presenting skills such as leading seminars or practicals.
 Administration experience such as sitting on committees plus any record in attracting funding
 Research Methods and Scientific techniques e.g. NMR, HPLC etc.
 Awards and membership of professional bodies
 Evidence of IT, time management, project management and report writing skills
 For research posts in industry mention contact with industry such as placements
 More than the usual two referees :
At least one from your postgraduate research
One from an employer or other person commenting on personal qualities outside academic performance
Example PhD CV www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/phdcvIT.htm

 Two pages maximum
 Targeted at job with examples of relevant skills
 Less about research skills, conferences, publications
 More about problem solving, time management, project management skills, creativity, initiative, contact with industry etc.
CVs differ by country e.g. a French resume includes a photo and has a hand written covering letter.
www.eurograduate.com/planning.asp
www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/cvexamples.htm

First Paragraph
– State the job you’re applying for.
– Where you found out about it.
– When you're available to start work
(& end if it's a placement)
Third Paragraph
– Summarise your strengths and how they might be an advantage to the organisation.
– Relate your skills to the job.
Second Paragraph
– Why your interested in that type of work
– Why the company attracts you (if it's a small company say you prefer to work for a small friendly organisation!)
Last Paragraph
– Mention any dates that you won't be available for interview
– Thank the employer and say you look forward to hearing from them soon.

• Create a LinkedIn profile
• Creative Jobhunting web page www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/CJ.htm
• Work Abroad www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sitesint.htm
• Study Abroad www.kent.ac.uk/careers/postgradmenu.htm#PGAbroad
Includes international rankings for universities
• International students careers www.kent.ac.uk/careers/InternationalStudents.htm

 Source: HESA
DLHE Surveys )

What jobs can you do with a PhD?
• Write down as many jobs you can think of that PhDs are likely to enter.

Career Help for Postgraduates and Contract Researchers
Click on the “Choosing a career” tab to see destinations of Kent PhDs in recent years.
Destinations of Kent grads and postgraduates 1999-2011)

www.vitae.ac.uk/CMS/files/upload/Recruiting_researchers_employer_survey_2009.pdf
• Accenture
• AstraZenica
• Baker Richards Consulting
• Bank of England
• Belzona Polymerics Limited
• BP Research & Technology
• Business Research Group
(UK) Ltd
• Capita Hartshead
• CellAura Technologies Ltd
• Corus
• CRAC
• Credit Suisse
• Curtis+Cartwright Consulting
Ltd
• Doosan Babcock Energy Ltd
• Ely Lilly
• EMB Consultancy LLP
• Eversheds
• Financial Services
Authority
• HM Forces/The Army:
• HSBC
• Jaguar Land Rover
• JBA Consulting
• Kaplan Higher
Education
• KPMG
• Medical Research
Council
• Mewburn Ellis
• Mott MacDonald
• Mycorrhizal Systems Ltd
• NHS Institute for
Innovation and
• Improvement
• North Somerset Council
• Onalytica Ltd
• Ordnance Survey
• Oxford PharmaGenesis
• Pfizer
• Pilkington Group Limited
• Procter & Gamble
• QinetiQ
• Rolls-Royce PLC
• Simon Mort Reports Ltd
• Space Northwest
• The Cambridge Crystallographic
• Data Centre
• The National Physical Laboratory
• The Work Foundation
• Thinktank Trust
• UBS Investment Bank
• Unilever
• Waymont Consulting Limited

• Vitae published research in 2012 based on the views of over
4,500 researchers undertaking doctoral study in the UK in 130
UK universities.
• Charts their career trajectories into postgraduate research and also their future career aspirations and how these are shaped by their experiences.
• Download What do researchers want to do? The career intentions of doctoral researchers www.vitae.ac.uk/CMS/files/upload/WDRWTD-The-careerintentions-of-doctoral-graduates-Feb12.pdf

 Choosing a career web pages www.kent.ac.uk/careers/Choosing/ChoosingCareer.htm
 I want to work in ….
www.kent.ac.uk/careers/workin.htm
 Prospects Planner
Powerful program to help choose a career.
www.prospects.ac.uk/links/Pplanner
 Vitae www.vitae.ac.uk
UK organisation championing the personal, professional and career development of doctoral researchers and research staff.

 Careers Help for Postgraduates and Contract Researchers www.kent.ac.uk/careers/PDWPgrad.htm
 Your PhD… what next? (AGCAS) www.prospects.ac.uk/links/yourphd
 Your Masters… what next? (AGCAS) www.prospects.ac.uk/links/yourmasters
 What do PhDs do? www.vitae.ac.uk/CMS/files/1.UKGRAD-WDPD-full-report-Sep-2004.pdf
 Beyond the PhD www.beyondthephd.co.uk
 PhD Jobs Site www.phdjobs.com
 CES Postgraduate Destination Survey www.kent.ac.uk/careers/fdrbases/destinations.htm
 Academia.edu
platform for academics to share research papers
 RCUK Careers in Research.
75 research career case studies on the RCUK Careers in Research website, covering many disciplines including humanities, maths, biology, social sciences and physics. Highlight the opportunities research skills can give, not only in academia but also in business, industry and commerce.

www.kent.ac.uk/careers Telephone: 01227 823299 Email: careerhelp@kent.ac.uk
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9 to 5 including vacations
Drop-in times (no appointment needed): 10.30 to 12.30 & 2 to 4 pm
Help given for up to 3 years after graduation
Weekly careers emails every Monday afternoon

Slides for this talk are available at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

 data analysis
 problem solving
 drive & motivation
 project management
 interpersonal skills
 leadership
 commercial awareness
Sell these skills in your cv, application forms and at interview!

 Communication
 Independent learning
 Information technology
 Numeracy (& Statistics)
 Problem solving
 Research methodology
 Scientific methods
 Teamwork
 Use of quantitative and qualitative data

 Universities
 Research councils and institutes
 Central/local government
 NGOs
 Social and market research
 Public health laboratories
 National Health Service
 Business and industrial research

PhD study also develops the ability to:
 Communicate complex ideas in both written and oral forms to a variety of audiences
 Work in teams and collaborate with, and manage, senior colleagues
 Network and build contacts
 Understand their career goals and aspirations and how these may be realised