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 Marli de Jongh, Petrologist at the British Geological Survey (BGS). You can find Marli’s career-related social media profiles here and here.
Name: Marli de Jongh
Doctorate subject area and year of completion: Earth Sciences, 2022
Role and employer: Petrologist at the British Geological Survey (BGS)
Approximate salary bracket for this type of role: £39,375-£49,245 (annual, before tax and deductions)
I originally began my university life as a Psychology undergraduate. I read somewhere once that students with anxiety disorders and/or traumatic early life experiences are often attracted to subjects such as Psychology (McLafferty et al., 2022), I guess in an attempt to understand their own mind, and to help others. I definitely fell into this statistic. Needless to say, basing your degree choice on the inner workings of your own mind is not necessarily a smart way to do it, and two years later (just before entering my honours years) I realised I didn’t really enjoy studying psychology at all, and couldn’t see a future career in that area for me. At the time I was also studying Earth Science to gain more course credits. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed studying rocks and being outside during fieldwork. I decided to switch my main degree to Earth Science, despite the fact my grades at the time were less than great in the subject.
Fast forward a few years to 2017 and I was graduating with a 2:1 in Earth Science, having successfully completed my dissertation in the area of planetary sciences. I was over the moon, but terrified by the fact that I didn’t have any prospects lined up. A masters was out of the question for me as I simply couldn’t afford to do one, despite working a separate job throughout most of my undergraduate degree to help with living costs. As a result, I wasn’t a suitable candidate for competitively funded PhD projects because I didn’t have a masters. I’m sure you can spot the problem here: if you don’t have money, you are at a disadvantage when trying to progress your academic career at this point compared to those who do have money. This is a great example of why scholarships aimed at removing financial barriers to further education, such as the Postgraduate Access Scholarship at the University of Glasgow, are absolutely essential, both in recognising and acknowledging that there is a barrier, and doing something about it. I was also certain at this point that I didn’t want to go into geotechnical engineering (where many of my cohort who didn’t want to stay in academia appeared to be going in the UK). To sum up, I wasn’t attracted to either academia or industry, and had no idea what was ‘in between’. I ended up aimlessly working in hospitality and customer service roles, none of which involved rocks. It was a bit of a rubbish situation, which I know many students find themselves in every year.
Then suddenly an angel appeared (in the form of my undergraduate supervisor, Prof. Martin Lee) who informed me of a fully funded PhD opportunity which would soon be advertised. Broadly speaking, the PhD was in Geology – which was great! However, the subject was different to anything I had done before. The PhD was applied petrology, focussing on characterising the decay and deterioration of Scottish building stone with Historic Environment Scotland (HES). I hadn’t worked in conservation, or with building stone before. I spent considerable time reflecting on my transferable skills, such as technical skills in the lab and science communication skills. I had to make a conscious (and at times strenuous) effort to be optimistic and focus on the skills I could bring, rather than the knowledge I was lacking, in that subject area.
After being successful at interview, for the next 5 years I worked on my PhD at the University of Glasgow. My main technical skills developed during this project included characterising rock types using advanced microscopy and diffraction techniques. I really loved working on my PhD project which I feel incredibly lucky about, but it wasn’t without its challenges (including becoming a parent, surviving a global pandemic, and trying to finish multiple experiments during various lockdowns). I finished writing my thesis in May 2022 and celebrated with friends, before abruptly being overwhelmed by the all too familiar feeling of financial insecurity. Up to this point I’d applied for what felt like 82,827 postgraduate jobs, being successful in, you guessed it, none.
A few months into unemployment, a colleague and friend, Dr. Callum Graham, directed me to an advert online for a job as a ‘Mineral Resources Petrologist’ at the British Geological Survey (BGS). The BGS are a world-leading independent research organisation providing geoscientific data to a wide range of stakeholders and clients. I read the job advert and immediately felt excited about the position. I also had a lot of negative feelings and emotions too, including anxiety, fear, and the very familiar feeling of imposter syndrome.
I made sure to draw on my wide range of experiences in the application, the different labs I had worked in, the internships I had completed, the places I had travelled, and even some of the non-geology jobs I had done. I think it was at this point I started to view the diversity of work I had done as a strength, rather than a weakness. The strength being that I had worked in a range of different environments (field based, policy, academia, industry), with professionals from all kinds of backgrounds, and as a result had shown that I was an adaptable professional who enjoyed new challenges and could effectively communicate my science to others. It’s common for people to worry that a wide range of experiences somehow reflects a lack of commitment or experience within a specific area. I personally think this is an outdated view and unfair criticism, especially to put on yourself. It’s all about perspective and how you frame it!
After interview, I accepted an offer to work at the BGS based in Nottingham. Beginning my job at the BGS involved a lot of changes. I wasn’t just starting a new job, I was relocating my family from Glasgow, navigating childcare issues, moving home, and leaving friends and family (my support networks) behind. These sacrifices are unfortunately very common for those reaching the end of postgraduate studies, and deciding whether or not it is worth it, is a very personal decision to make. I can only say that in my personal experience, I thought it was important to try something that was new and brought me out my comfort zone, and thankfully I had the means and option to make such sacrifices.
I started my job at the BGS in a very supportive environment with colleagues who eased me into my role and made me feel appreciated immediately. The BGS includes so many fantastic people with big brains and big hearts. I struggled at times during the first year with my mental health, general anxiety and episodes of depression specifically. However, communicating my feelings openly with friends and family, and seeking help from my GP really helped. I would always encourage a person entering a phase of major change in their life, whether it be a new location, or new job, or both, to prioritise their physical and mental well-being. I have learned that change, even when positive, has a way of upsetting your mental equilibrium and testing your coping mechanisms.
Back to present day and I am feeling happy and positive about the future. Despite a turbulent few years, I have started to make a new home in Nottingham. Outside of work, I have made new friends and become an enthusiastic long-distance runner. These things seemed very distant when I first decided to move away from Scotland. My role at the BGS these days feels like the best of both worlds. I can be involved with interesting research projects, without some of the acute stresses and pressures I experienced in academia. I also enjoy feeling as though I am helping society in some small way, as the projects we work on are often driven by societal need.
I now use my technical skills in the rock characterisation labs at the BGS to work on a range of projects across different topics including geothermal energy, radioactive waste disposal, critical minerals and metals, and large-scale infrastructure projects. The best part about my job is the amazing people I get to meet and work with across all sectors and areas. I also enjoy that my job changes regularly as it ‘moves with the times’, and so I am always being challenged and my skills are always developing.
I don’t think there are many things I would do differently if I could go back. Not because everything happened perfectly but because it happened the way it did, and regretting past decisions is both unproductive and useless. One piece of advice I would give my previous self and anyone else, would be to have confidence in your decisions and not overthink them so much. Although I appreciate postgraduate careers involve big decisions, the job you go in to after your studies doesn’t have to be your ‘forever job’ and it’s okay if you change your mind in the future. It also doesn’t matter what your plan for life is as it will almost definitely change, which is simultaneously a terrifying and exciting thought really. I am learning that it is far easier in life to try your best, be kind, accept the things you can’t control, and be open to new experiences.
References:
McLafferty, M., Brown, N., Brady, J., McLaughlin, J., McHugh, R., Ward, C., … & Murray, E. K. (2022). Variations in psychological disorders, suicidality, and help-seeking behaviour among college students from different academic disciplines. PLoS One, 17(12), e0279618.
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