Each Friday we post a new v i s t a profile, a career beyond the academy story (use the tags at the bottom of the post to find the entire list). These posts accompany our curated events to support post-PhD career transitions, v i s t a mentoring, and also #sheffvista on Twitter.
Job title and company: Widening Participation Officer, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Sheffield
Approximate salary range for your type of role: £26-33k
I don’t have a career plan and I’m okay with that.
I’m a big believer of taking every opportunity you find – do something you enjoy and when it’s not enjoyable anymore, try something new. I found out quite early on in my PhD studies that academia wasn’t the right path for me, but I know studying my PhD and the support from my supervisor were invaluable in shaping who I am today.
The journey to my current role
My current role is Widening Participation Officer for the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sheffield. This means I organise and facilitate outreach and recruitment events to encourage students from a huge range of backgrounds to consider studying engineering in Higher Education. I like to think of it as helping the next generation of engineers make more informed decisions about their futures and I find it incredibly rewarding.
I came to work in the student recruitment and admissions team initially because I ran out of funding while I was writing up my thesis and desperately needed money to live! I applied for an admin role in the team and for the last few months of my PhD I was working full time and then writing up in the evenings. I do not endorse this as a healthy way to finish your studies – but at the time it was a very welcome source of income.
I was in that role for about a year and then when my current role came up, I successfully applied and used the experience I had from working in the team and from my PhD during the application process. The organisation, time management and independent working skills that I learnt from my PhD are integral to the role I have now along with the communication skills I gained from taking time out of my studies to do a placement.
This wasn’t your typical industrial engineering placement though – it was working with a Science Radio show and podcast called the Naked Scientists, who broadcast on the BBC and internationally. The Naked Scientists is a group of science communicators who strip science of its figurative “clothes” to explain it in a simple yet effective way so it’s more easily understood.This was fantastic to be able to gain experience in communicating my own research and I was able to interview researchers from all over the world about their work. I wrote a blog post about it here if you’d like to read more about it. Above is a selfie from when I went to interview the engineer who was working on the Mars Rover at Airbus.
Where do I work and who do I work with?
There isn’t a ‘typical day’ in my role as no two days are ever the same. Last year I organised and facilitated over 70 events and workshops for the Faculty of Engineering, which allowed me to work with colleagues from all over the University including the central outreach team, careers service, engineering academics and external companies too. These events range in size from small talks at schools to large national events for hundreds of people. Here’s my desk.
My advice to you
Having a PhD isn’t a requirement for a role in outreach and widening participation, however the academic networks I developed through my PhD have been fantastic to create new, innovative and exciting workshops.
If outreach excites you, there are plenty of opportunities to practice explaining your research to others. Fame Lab, 3 Minute Thesis and outreach events through the university are great places to start. Alternatively, I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have (c.bronze@sheffield.ac.uk).
Be confident that the skills you are developing through your research are a huge asset to your employability and take every opportunity you can to try new things.
Where will my career take me next? I don’t know, but I’m excited to find out!
Where can researchers look for jobs like yours? Jobs.ac.uk
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