Careers blog written by: Irena Zientek, Information Resources Manager, Careers

If you love the research elements of your course, you might be thinking you’d like a graduate jobs which revolves around research. To many that means academia, but you might be surprised which other sectors offer work in research.

Only a relatively small number of graduates will become academics or university-based researchers, many more will go into research roles in other industries and sectors or even set up their own business. Here’s a few areas to consider…

• Social research
• Political research – lobby groups, political parties, government
• Market research
• Scientific research and development – health sector, medical and pharmaceutical companies
• Think tanks and consultancies
• Public sector and voluntary sector
• Journalism, writing and broadcasting
• Genealogy
• Archive and other information services.

Knowledge and skills

Regardless of which sector you may work in as a researcher, there are some common skills required, such as:

• Typically need a postgraduate qualification and many researchers have a PhD
• Methodical
• Strong communication skills
• Organisational skills
• Time management
• Ability to work on own or within a team
• Perseverance and resilience
• Analytical skills
• Accuracy and attention to detail
• Project management.

Resources

Find out more with the help of the following information resources.

• Careers‘ web pages for postgraduate researchers
• Prospects – types of jobs
• Vitae website – information about academic and non-academic careers
• “11 alternative careers for PhD students”, an American writer’s blog post with a good summary of different sectors and industries with research roles
• Reference books in Careers.

Don’t miss!

Working in research event – Thursday 28 April, from 6.15pm in Physics/Exhibition Centre.  Come and meet researchers from a range of sectors and find out what a career in research is really like!