The Little Careers Book

࢚࢚ There are many varied roles in scientific research, some managerial and some purely technical, and both have their own career ladder. ࢚࢚ There are lots of interdisciplinary jobs, so being able to span the sciences will open up opportunities closed to others. ࢚࢚ Some of the best scientists have changed fields completely (sometimes more than once) but this is not the norm and it can be difficult to retrain oneself in a new area. ࢚࢚ PhDs who want a permanent position at a University will find this very difficult; ultimately, there are too many good people for the number of places. ࢚࢚ Alternatives are publicly and privately funded research institutes, though they don’t offer the same freedoms as universities. ࢚࢚ You can work in the private sector as a research scientist, which is easier in some fields (pharmaceutical) than in others (climate science). ࢚࢚ The government also needs expert scientists and advisors in many fields. ࢚࢚ Many of the skills gained in scientific research are directly transferable to jobs outside science, but you have to work hard to explain this to non-scientists, who hold inaccurate stereotypes about scientists. Once you leave science, however, there are few doors back in. ࢚࢚ The UK trains and exports many scientists to the USA, Canada, Singapore, Australia – all good places to go (including for a post doc). Also to Germany, France, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark (but you need good foreign language skills). TRUTHS NOTES XX Scientific research is simply about messing around in a lab. MYTHS RANGE OF OCCUPATIONS