Research careers can be found in some unexpected places – this blog post won’t be able to introduce you to all of them (and probably no one knows every possible opportunity out there), but I hope it will inspire you to apply your own research skills to finding out more about diverse career paths in research beyond academia.
To kick off, I’d like to share a couple of podcasts from the University of York Careers Service which demonstrate some different, perhaps unusual, post- PhD careers destinations involving research:
- Hannah Greig, Historical film adviser and academic- “From lecture theatres to filmsets”
- Nicholas Gliserman, Historical adviser for video games
- Christina Copland, Genealogy researcher
- Zoe Billings, (video) talks about moving from research in biology to Senior Investigating Officer in the North Yorkshire Constabulary
The prospects.ac.uk website has many job profiles to aid your research, including careers in Information, Research, and Analysis which demonstrate the breadth of opportunities available in a number of sectors –which includes (and is not limited to!) careers in market research, media research, management and strategy consulting, and investment banking. While Prospects does focus on graduate careers, it is one of the most comprehensive and accessible overviews of the UK labour market in existence, no matter what stage of their career someone is in.
Did you know? The Bank of England has an Experienced Researchers route for any PhD relevant to central bank policy banking, for aimed at researchers with post-PhD research experience in academic or policy-making institutions.
If the UK Civil Service appeals, learn more about Government Social Research , or consider more widely a career in Government Analysis which includes economists, geographers, operational researchers, data scientists, statisticians, and more. And as I write this blog post, the Scottish Government is current recruiting Social Researchers.
Our colleague, Dr Holly Prescott (you may remember Holly’s blogpost from last month), who supports researchers’ career transitions at University of Birmingham, has written a helpful article on using your Arts and Humanities PhD in a wide range of careers areas, including roles that have an element of research or use your research skills.
What are your sources of information and vacancies for careers in research roles outside of academia? Please comment below to share.
If this post has piqued your curiosity, and you’re not sure what to do next:
- Have a Career Development Consultation with Eleanor or Darcey to help clarify your thinking and next steps
