Pathfinder Career Narratives 8: Qualitative Research Consultant

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 of the Pathfinder resources and opportunities here. Today’s blog is written by Dr Rosaleen O’Brien, Qualitative Research Consultant at Rosaleen O’Brien Research. You can find Dr O’Brien on LinkedIn here, on Twitter here, or at her website here.

Name: Rosaleen O’Brien

Doctorate subject area, and year of completion: Social and Public Health (Masculinities and Men’s Health), 2006

Role and employer: Business owner/self-employed Qualitative Health Research Consultant since January 2021

Approximate salary bracket of this type of role: Between £45–65,000 per year. I charge £4-500 per day

In October 2020 I resigned from an academic Research Fellowship I held at the time after fifteen years of slogging away in various postdoctoral posts. I felt so miserable at the time – a heady mix of ‘pandemicitis’ and a cumulative fatigue I had been feeling about academia generally. Academia felt all-consuming, offering little back in return. I wanted some breathing space to re-evaluate.

I continued working in environments that I was unhappy in as I believed I had little choice about the path I could take. Feelings of powerlessness, feeling boxed in, and putting up with my lot were familiar to me; this had much more to do with my personal background than my experiences in academia per se.

My first ‘career’ had been thrust upon me in my teens, so little choice there. I was a carer for my mother who had progressive multiple sclerosis. There were other issues too, affecting other close family members – not that unusual in the context of high deprivation – though few in academia have firsthand experience of what this is like. Life was hard, with a lot of personal sacrifices, and seemingly few choices.

I found working a ‘normal’ 9-5 routine when I first left school impossible to fit around caring commitments. Studying was a much more flexible fit. I found I liked the space it enabled me to carve out; that was just for me. It gave me quiet time to reflect on issues that resonated deeply with me personally. I developed a particularly strong connection to the study of health, illness, and inequalities, and eventually this seemed to beckon me down a particular academic path.

I had good mentorship during my PhD and, with encouragement, I had let myself think that the future could be bright. It was crushing to have this imagined future disrupted by my parents’ illnesses and deaths, which resulted in me having to take an extended break from my studies. Thoughts about applying for funding to develop my own programme of research evaporated. My ambition was only to complete my PhD (and retire!). Eventually I rallied and felt truly privileged to gain employment on a series of high-profile studies (fixed-term and open contracts). I was just beginning to hit my stride again, early in my postdoctoral career, when I was diagnosed with cancer.

None of the above affected my capacity to do good work, but these disruptions to my career did do damage to my relations with peers and senior colleagues and the way I viewed the culture of academia. Lots of people backed away socially and professionally, instead of backing me up. They told themselves, and others, a narrative that I had become a ‘problem’, because I’d had problems to deal with. It is difficult to progress in academia without mentorship and guidance, so I floundered without support. I felt like I was in a holding pattern; not really making any progress but not doing too badly.

I still loved research and many aspects of being an academic, particularly generating data, conducting analysis, and writing. I came to appreciate that having experienced lots of my own hardships enriched the work I did, giving me a unique perspective. My experiences help me to connect to, empathise with, and ask imaginative questions of, participants from marginalised groups, often seldom heard in research. I did not want to stop doing this.

The pandemic seemed to open up opportunities that made me think it might be possible to offer qualitative research services at relatively low cost. Meetings could be held mostly online, enabling me to collaborate with far-flung colleagues without spending lots of time and money travelling. Even the way qualitative work was being conducted was changing – most of which went online during various UK lockdowns – which provided cheaper options for data generation.

I had heard of people freelancing but did not know how to go about establishing myself. I initially approached former colleagues that I knew were successful Research Consultants and spoke to them about their experiences. Other independent researchers helpfully blog about their experiences of establishing careers as freelancers (e.g. Helen Kara’s blog) and there are ‘Alternative Academic Careers’ communities that can be a mine of information (e.g. Naomi Tyrell’s group). I set up my own weekly chat for freelancers, called ‘Freelance Fridays’, which provided an ongoing support for those setting up their own businesses.  I created a simple website and put the word out, through Twitter and LinkedIn, that I was available.

Some of my initial health-related projects, commissioned by the Civil Service and University-NHS partnerships, were pandemic-related, reflecting demand at that time. Projects explored the experiences of nurses working on the front-line treating patients with COVID-19 and experiences of safety and COVID-19 testing among asylum seekers living in Home Office accommodation. I also had a steady stream of former academic colleagues, or others I was loosely connected with via my network (e.g., that I met at conferences), asking me to provide analytic and writing support.  I was later appointed as a freelance Associate of one of the What Works Centres, now called Foundations – What Works for Children and Families, who regularly invite me to collaborate on qualitative evaluations of interventions that are designed to improve the support children, young people, and their families, are provided with by social care. 

One of the loveliest projects I have worked on this year has been with activist and academic Professor Sara Ryan, who is doing amazing work to improve the care, and quality of life, of people with learning disabilities. I find it so inspiring to work with such talented teams of people who are conducting innovative, and impactful work, across different areas of health and social care. I hope that their efforts, with my small contribution, help improve lives in meaningful ways.

So far, I have completed a total of fourteen studies as a freelancer, which have mostly involved leading on the development of qualitative analysis and writing final reports on findings. Projects usually have quick turnaround, which I find enormously satisfying after a working on studies that took years to complete. I enjoy the variety of working across a range of different projects, disciplines, and contexts, and with the many teams involved. I have greatly valued opportunities to gain experience of working in settings outside of academia – particularly the Civil Service and Third Sector – which has taught me so much about producing fast-paced policy-relevant, and user-led research, as well as about different ways of collaborating on analysis and writing.

Freelancing created choice, for the first time in my career, about who I work with and how, and about the projects I take on.  There have been many opportunities for personal growth derived from running my own business. As a freelancer I have learnt how to market myself and build and communicate with different networks. I found it difficult initially to ‘sell myself’, as I lacked confidence about presenting myself, negotiating fees and being clear about my terms of business, but that changed over time. I honestly think I have learned more, over the last two years as a freelancer, than I have in the last fifteen as a postdoctoral researcher.  There has been the occasional panic when work appears to dry up for a few months, but I have learnt to enjoy the quieter periods.  Projects, when they come, can be very intense, so breaks are essential to ensure the quality of work remains high.