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 Andrea Chiarelli, Principal Consultant at Research Consulting Limited. You can find Dr Chiarelli’s LinkedIn page here and Research Consulting Limited LinkedIn page here.
Name: Dr Andrea Chiarelli
Doctorate subject area, and year of completion: PhD in Civil Engineering (University of Nottingham), 2016
Role and employer: Principal Consultant, Research Consulting Limited
My career journey so far certainly defies the conventional straight-and-narrow. What I now refer to as my ‘original background’ is Nuclear and Energy Engineering, which I studied in Italy, at Politecnico di Torino. When I was nearing the end of my MSc, I felt that I should find something unique to add to my curriculum vitae, so I could land an interesting job after university. Little did I know that this seemingly small idea would lead me through a rollercoaster of experiences and to my current job – which has nothing to do with engineering!
Thanks to the support of my Italian MSc supervisor, I was able to spend the last six months of my degree at Virginia Tech (USA), where I worked on my final project. This is where I first learned about PhD studies, which I immediately found fascinating. Before returning to Italy, where I graduated in 2014, I started applying for PhD positions and landed a role at the University of Nottingham. My research focused on energy applications in civil engineering: this was a first, timid step off the beaten path, and perhaps what opened my eyes to the fact that one’s knowledge, skills and behaviours can have an impact in more than one discipline or subject area.
As I started writing up my PhD thesis, I began looking for part-time jobs that would make me an attractive candidate to employers after graduation. My starting point was the postgraduate placement scheme set up by the University of Nottingham, one of several ways that employers can use to access postgraduate students on a temporary basis. One of the opportunities that caught my attention was a project-based role with Research Consulting, the company I have been with for 8 years now. The project focused on open access to scholarly outputs – something that I had come across as a researcher and found interesting but had never explored in detail. Similarly to my first shift from energy engineering to its applications in a different context, I used my growing experience of the research landscape to transition into industry. If you think about where I started my studies, this is a pretty significant leap in terms of subject matter.
This opportunity was a mix of exciting and scary. In practice, I was tasked with running stakeholder interviews on a relatively unfamiliar topic, which I would then need to analyse to extract insights and recommendations. If this wasn’t obvious, my background to this point was mainly quantitative: I was skilled at data analysis and coding but had never delivered an interview in my life nor had had the opportunity to experiment with qualitative or mixed-methods research.
If you’re wondering why a company should give a PhD graduate a chance, you should think about what you can bring to the table. Although I might not have had direct experience of the subject I was going to work on or the specific research method, I could contribute a set of valuable skills. First and foremost, my experience as an independent researcher enabled me to confidently take ownership of the new role, which I then tackled methodically – just like you would do with a research project. Of course, it wasn’t as simple as turning existing skills to a new task, and for a while it was important for me to be mentored to acquire more subject matter expertise.
After this time-limited project, Research Consulting offered me a position as a Consultant, which I gladly accepted in late 2016. Since then, I have developed through a Senior Consultant role into my current position as a Principal Consultant. I typically act as the project lead on client assignments, meaning that I am responsible for the overall success of projects and the performance of their dedicated teams. Most of my work follows mixed methods designs, with elements of qualitative and quantitative research; overall, I spend my time across a broad range of activities, including project management, team management, stakeholder consultations (e.g. interviews, focus groups, workshops) and reporting.
From the description of my role, you might have guessed that what I do is not too different from the role of an academic researcher – and that is partly why I enjoy consulting: I use advanced research skills, but in a more fast-paced environment, to address pressing challenges faced by our clients. As an example, I have previously worked with universities, infrastructure providers, research funders, publishers and sector associations.
Additionally, the projects I work on change over time, which means that new and ever-evolving activities keep me busy and engaged throughout the year. This also brings challenges of course, and I would say that consulting is not for the faint of heart. It is, however, a very rewarding job, which puts me in contact with interesting people from all over the world, including clients, contributors and associates.
Since I work in a research-adjacent field, having a PhD is surely a plus. It gives you additional credibility, but also the deeper understanding of what it means to work at a university and to publish research, which is something that our clients value. My experience of working with international peers and across cultures, which is the everyday reality in many PhDs, also helped me effectively transition into my role. I often manage relationships and the expectations of our international clients, which can be tricky due to different customs and cultural norms. As I mentioned at the start, my career path has been a winding journey, but being open-minded to new experiences and roles along the way has been of great benefit. One of the things I would recommend to others is to learn to ‘flip the script’ when in difficulty: don’t see unexpected or new situations in industry as gaps in your knowledge or as failures, but rather as positive opportunities to learn and become a better version of yourself.
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