Pathfinder Career Narratives is an ongoing series tracking the career choices and experiences of doctoral graduates. You can see all of the posts in the series here. You can find all the Pathfinder resources and opportunities here. Today’s blog is written by Dr Catherine Heath, Education, Public Engagement and Training Manager at the Biochemical Society. You can find Dr Heath’s LinkedIn profile here, and the Biochemical Society here.
Name: Catherine Heath
Doctorate subject area and year of completion: Molecular Biology, 2018
Role and Employer: Education, Public Engagement and Training Manager at the Biochemical Society
Approximate salary bracket for this type of role: £32,000-£40,000, but very dependent on the type of organisation you are working for
Up until my current role my career journey probably seems relatively formulaic, although it didn’t feel like that at the time.
I moved through my undergraduate degree and PhD in succession, without giving much thought to my real motivations for pursuing a research career. I was interested in the subject and enjoyed the day-to-day practicalities of experimental research, but this wasn’t enough by the time I decided to leave academia.
I’ve always been a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ growing up, preferring to get involved in a spectrum of activities and picking diverse subjects to study. This attribute became alight again during my PhD, as I found myself taking on responsibilities outside of my PhD studies. This included teaching responsibilities, coordinating university outreach activities and supporting my fellow post-grads with our local student society. My teaching experience led me to a role as a Teaching Assistant following my doctorate, before continuing my research career as a post-doc in Edinburgh.
I once again took on teaching and outreach opportunities, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. I started to come to terms with the feeling that these elements of life in academia were the most important to me, and something I felt much more comfortable doing compared to academic research. That was the real signal for change, alongside the new realities of working as a researcher during the pandemic.
My only real aspirations for my move out of academia were to work in education or engagement somehow, and I also wanted to work for a non-profit organisation. I applied for around ten teaching or charity roles until I landed my current job. Working at a learned society felt close enough to academia that it wasn’t a complete unknown, and the experience of managing three areas of the Society’s activities would surely give me an insight into what I wanted to do next.
The role involves managing three different areas of the Society’s initiatives: education/careers, public engagement and training. I regularly interact with students, researchers, and academics at all stages of their careers as well as counterparts in other organisations trying to do a similar thing – promote a scientific discipline and support those working in the area. I think the role appealed to my ‘jack of all trades’ nature as there are a huge variety in projects to manage, where I certainly use the skills I’d developed during my PhD, such as running multiple projects (or experiments) simultaneously and balancing all the competing things that come with doing a PhD.
Managing multiple areas of an organisation’s work means that you do end up with favourite activities that you want to spend more time on, although you have to try and spread your capacity evenly to achieve what you planned to. I don’t think this differs from academic research when you are working within a grant-funded time frame, although there can sometime be more freedom in academic research.
Unexpectedly, starting in this role, I felt more like a scientist than I probably ever had since my first day at university. I was now surrounded by more ‘non-scientists’ (a horrible term!), and I realised that I did have some specialist knowledge, which boosted my confidence. It also highlighted how restricted my experiences had been in academia. I still had to mourn the loss of myself as a researcher and for the career I thought I would have as a researcher. I also found my new reality of sitting down all the time surprisingly difficult!
Taking the ‘extra’ opportunities that I sought out and came to me during my PhD and post-doc position, such as organising development opportunities for post-docs, teaching and outreach, gave me a much more rounded view of a role as a researcher beyond the lab which has been invaluable in my current role.
Working for a charity has its challenges. Budgets and resources are always an issue, so you have to come to terms with doing the best you can with what you have, and not lamenting how much better something could have been with more money or people.
Leaving academia didn’t feel like I thought it would. It doesn’t feel like a giant, grey steel door has permanently closed, and I now have a richer set of skills compared to doing a second postdoc. I don’t know how feasible it would be to return to academia, but I feel confident that I can justify what I have gained from leaving academia and I strive to remain open to all options.
Annoyingly, this role hasn’t necessarily helped me decide where I want to go next as once again, like the same-old broken record, I’ve enjoyed many different elements of the role. Perhaps having variety is crucial, regardless of the job.
Make sure you dig deep into what specific skills or tasks you enjoy about research that you can take forward into your next role. Sometimes it can be hard to see past your current role, field or organisation when thinking about the next steps. Prioritising some time for reflection can be key, so your head is not too full of thoughts about your current role and priorities.
I’ve now moved to a new country and am thinking about the next steps in my career. I can hold onto my range of experiences, both in and out of research, and integrate them into my new role wherever that may be – perhaps back in the academic world or with a completely new challenge.
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