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Careers Support: Careers outside academia

Many PhD students or those with post-doctoral research experience take the opportunity to develop their research careers away from universities.

If this appeals to you, there's information about some of the options and useful links below.


On this page

How we can support you
Searching for research jobs
Scientific opportunities for chemical scientists
Other opportunities using data handling & analytical skills


How we can support you

Getting involved with our interest groups and divisions offer excellent networking opportunities to explore your career options.

Mentoring – if you have just moved into a new role in industry or you are considering taking this step you may benefit from having a mentor. Their experience can help you develop in the new role.

Contact our career management team for more detailed and tailored advice


Searching for research jobs

For some jobs a PhD isn’t a requirement, and if you do hold one, it won’t always lead to a higher level role unless you have specialist knowledge the employer is looking for.

You need to be able to show how the experience you have gained from doing a PhD or post-doctoral research is relevant to the job you are applying for. This could be technical knowledge and/or other skills.

Converting your skills from an academic environment into the world outside can take some practice, but it’s worth taking time to think about this.

For more information on how to search for jobs visit our job seeking page.

Scientific opportunities for chemical scientists

There are a number of options for developing a career in research. Vitae, the UK website for researchers, has a useful article on careers for researchers outside academia it covers all sectors.

Commercial research and development (R&D)

The pace is faster than academia, with less emphasis on the purity of the research and more on trying to achieve a commercial end goal. It can sometimes mean you have less control over the direction of your research.

Projects tend to be more dynamic, and you'll change project more often, giving you the opportunity to work on a wider range of projects in a shorter time. This offers an opportunity to build up your experience and technical knowledge much more quickly.

R&D into new substances or products provides opportunities for chemical scientists in a wide range of industries such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, gas and oil, sustainable energy, environmental clean-up and protection, and in manufacturing industries raning from aerospace to textiles or food. These opportunities arise across all sorts of companies, from large multinationals to smaller or medium size enterprises, to new start-ups and spin outs from universities. 

Commercial R&D links

Pharmaceuticals

Making the transition to an R&D role in the pharmaceutical industry (2017)  - article with application tips and an outline of what to expect

Working in the industry  - overview of the types of work for chemists in pharmaceutical R&D

Pharmaceutical companies - list compiled by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry 

Biotechnology

BioPharmGuy contains a Biotech company directory of the UK

Energy

Energy Jobs contains chemistry research roles across oil and gas, nuclear and renewables.

Renewables Energy jobs

Rigzone includes research roles in oil and gas

Nuclear sector roles

Food

FoodManJobs lists roles and opportunities in food product development

Associate principal scientist, food - listen to a food chemist explain what they do

Small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs)

Enterprise Plus is our dedicated scheme for SMEs representing nearly 400 companies. There is a map where you can filter by research companies.

Chemistry Council UK companies directory where you can find small to medium companies with a research angle

Research Institutes

Some of these are run by government while others hold charitable status and carry out research in many different areas, particularly in the medical and healthcare fields – for example, the Institute of Cancer Research and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

 

Research institute links

Government scientific research institutes

Diamond Light Source, the UK's national synchrotron science facility

Quadrum Research Institute a centre for food and health research

National Nuclear Laboratory

Institute of Cancer Research

Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

John Innes Centre, independent centre for research and training in plant and microbial science.

 

Science policy

Many types of organisations commission or carry out research, or are heavily involved in supporting science. These may be in government departments such as the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, or policy shapers – for example, think tanks.

Other types of organisations – such as NGOs, charities and campaigning groups – are reliant on the outputs of scientific research, and so employ scientists to help them make use of that research.

Science policy useful links

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Think tanks
Register of charities

Technical consulting companies & contract research organisations (CROs)

These organisations are involved in the development of new products or services for larger companies and often employ chemical scientists to carry out this work.

CRO companies

Here are some examples of CRO companies

Covance 

Charles River Laboratories 

Eurofins 

Evotec 

Science communication and writing

Scientific communication and writing jobs can range from helping non-scientists to understand science, to scientific journalism, writing and publishing. There are also opportunities for writing in technical marketing – for example, medical communication roles. Job roles include science journalism, public relations, museum education, events organisation and project management. 

They are employed by organisations including scientific and popular journals, newspapers, radio and television outlets, chemical science companies, and not-for-profits.

ChemCareers webinar: A career in science communication, 2018 - advice on how to develop a career in science communication from writers and public engagement specialists.

Science communication and writing links

Public engagement

British Science Association – is a charity which aims to make science a fundamental part of culture and society.  It organises various events, including an annual science communication conference and lots more.

STEMPRA (professional body for SciComm) - Network for science communications and PR

BIG - STEM Communicators Network 

National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement 

Science writing and journalism

Association of British Science Writers  are an association of science writers, journalists, broadcasters and communications professionals. The website provides information and advice on getting into this career, as well as job listings, membership directory and more.

European Medical Writers Association  a network of professionals that represents, supports and trains medical communicators in Europe

Publishing

Working in scientific publishing case study from a professional publisher describing how she got into the job and the required skills

Technology transfer

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships offer opportunities for graduates and postgraduates to help companies to innovate using the latest research.


Other opportunities using data skills

As a chemical scientist you’ll be used to handling and analysing large volumes of data; these skills can open up opportunities for you in other non-scientific areas.

The financial sector is one of the largest contributors to UK GDP, and offers numerous opportunities for chemical scientists to apply their knowledge of analysing and modelling data. The efinancial careers site lists many of these roles.

Management consultants often recruit chemical scientists due to their numerical and problem-solving skills.

Other sectors, such as the environment, healthcare, retail and marketing also offer opportunities for working with and analysing large data sets. 

If you want to explore these career options in more detail, contact our career management team for a consultation.


Careers support

  • Professional development
  • Individual career advice
  • Career decisions
    • Recently qualified
    • Working in academia
    • Careers outside academia
    • Moving into management
    • Teaching
    • Consultancy
    • Facing redundancy
    • Approaching retirement
  • Job seeking
  • Applications & interviews
  • What chemists earn
  • ChemCareers webinars
  • Careers support - frequently asked questions

Career management team

Contact our career management team for support
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