Pathfinder Career Narratives 42: Researcher Development Adviser

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 Taryn Bell, Researcher Development Adviser at the University of Leeds. You can find Dr Bell on LinkedIn here

Name: Taryn Bell

Doctorate subject area and year of completion: Archaeology, 2022

Role and employer: Researcher Development Adviser, University of Leeds

Approximate salary bracket for this type of role: £35-45k

There’s a well-known theory among careers professionals called Planned Happenstance. This is, essentially, the idea that we don’t necessarily need to have everything planned out, because life will throw unexpected events at us which can disrupt our carefully-laid plans. Instead, what’s really important is to be open to opportunities, and to say yes to the things we enjoy. This theory really resonates with me personally, because it’s something that I’ve experienced. 

Realising that academia wasn’t for me 

For many researchers there can be a genuine anxiety about where to go with your career, whether to stay in academia or leave, and how to find a job that you genuinely enjoy. Only a few years ago I was in that same position, putting a lot of pressure on myself to make a plan for my future. 

While I loved my research area (I still do!) and was supported by kind, encouraging supervisors, I figured out about halfway through my PhD that a career in academia just wasn’t for me. 

Part of this was due to the fact that I realised I loved doing the things around the PhD more than the PhD itself. I used to spend hours preparing for seminars, developing activities and discussion points to get my students as excited about the subject as I was. I enjoyed marking essays (honest!), listening to students present their research and helping them develop their broader skillsets. I mentored other researchers, set up a mental health working group, and worked to support the wellbeing of the broader student community. 

I did these things not because I had to, but because I wanted to, and because I really enjoyed them. 

The problem was, I was surrounded by researchers who did want to go into academia, and who didn’t know much about other routes. This was where the ‘Planned’ element of Planned Happenstance came into play. 

Figuring out a route away from academia 

Partway through my PhD, I started to seek out support, partly just to assuage the panic I felt any time I thought about my lack of career plans. I took part in workshops through my funder and University that helped me to think about my values, strengths, and aspirations. I discussed my career anxieties with one of my PhD supervisors. I spoke to a Careers Adviser at my University, who discussed non-academic options, and I talked with a friend who was a life coach (and former academic!) who really opened my eyes to the breadth of other options open to me. Most importantly, she helped me see what I couldn’t: that throughout my career, I’d always sought out opportunities to train, teach and develop others. 

For me, this was a real turning point; having a good understanding of what energised and enthused me made the job-hunting process a lot easier. It’s an important reminder, too, that you need to reflect on what’s important to you – your values, strengths, and aspirations – before considering the options available to you. (If you’re a postdoc, I’d highly recommend doing this via the Prosper portal, which is free for anyone to access.) 

Moving into researcher development 

Not long after that, the same friend forwarded me details of a job at the University of York (where I was, coincidentally, finishing my PhD). The role involved a combination of researcher development (supporting researchers as they developed their skills) and project management. I never would have considered applying without her mentioning it, because I didn’t have the confidence and didn’t think I had enough experience! But I did apply and – I got the job! 

Interestingly, I had the least experience of all those interviewed, but my line manager told me she’d picked me as she believed I had potential and the mindset that they were looking for. So, it’s not always just about your experience – it’s about whether the employer sees you as someone they can work with. 

This role – which was incredibly fun and solidified my determination to work in researcher development – allowed me to get my foot in the door. 18 months after that, an exciting opportunity came up, and I took on my current role as a Researcher Development Adviser at the University of Leeds. 

Looking back 

Looking back at my career journey over the last few years, it definitely feels like quite a wonky road. After being convinced for years that academia was right for me, I completely changed my mind and had to rethink everything. It wasn’t easy, and it required time and effort to figure out what came next. 

As I said at the beginning, though, this was where Planned Happenstance came into play: 

• I pursued interesting opportunities as and when they came up 

• I spoke to as many people as I could, one of whom ended up encouraging me to apply for my first researcher developer role 

• I was open to new experiences and adapted my approach when my plans changed. 

I’m now in a role that I love, working in a team that I love, where I get to do interesting things every day. My PhD has proved really useful, as many of the things that I do in my role use skills that I developed during my PhD: juggling multiple projects at once, coaching and mentoring researchers, developing activities, workshops, and programmes, and helping researchers develop their skillsets. As an ‘academic-adjacent’ worker, understanding how universities work and how it feels to be a researcher is really important, too. 

If I had to go back in time, I don’t know that I’d change anything, but it would be wonderful to be able to say to Past Taryn that “it’s going to be okay!”. It’s completely normal to feel anxious when considering other careers, but I think researchers often underestimate what they have to offer. I certainly did!