Pathfinder Career Narratives – sharing insights  

By Dan Perry, Pathfinder PGR Intern, and Dr Danielle Barkley, Research Culture Specialist in  Career Directions 

After publishing 50+ personal post-PhD career stories on this blog, what have we learned from the Career Narratives series? We’ve gathered data, lessons, and resources from our archive of posts to bring you insights to inspire you and help you move your own career forward.  

The Pathfinder initiative supports University of Glasgow researchers with career awareness, options, planning, and transition. The importance of career development in underscoring a thriving research culture is widely acknowledged: Career Development is one of Glasgow’s five Research Culture priorities, and one of the three founding principles of the Researcher Development Concordat, and of the UKRI Statement of Expectations for Doctoral Training. Since 2023, Pathfinder has published a series of career profiles written by individuals who hold PhDs and who have gone on to varied career paths. This series is known as Pathfinder Career Narratives.  

The Career Narratives series reflects a broader commitment to embedding the values of collaboration and collegiality within research culture. The series provides an opportunity for readers to learn from a community of researchers, even if they may not ever physically interact. The posts are a form of localized mentorship: while they may not engender an ongoing relationship, they provide an efficient contact point for a reader to be inspired and empowered by someone else’s experience. The narratives also provide a key space for authors to reflect on, and celebrate, their career progression and development. 

Our hope is that by writing Career Narratives posts, researchers can come to a deeper understanding of their own values, skills, and strengths while simultaneously sharing those insights with others who are on their own career journeys. Furthermore, these stories provide a window into a range of possible career paths, challenging the myth that the academic career path is the only valid manifestation of a research career.  

Freya Walker, a current postgraduate researcher, comments here on how reading the Narratives series expanded her perspective: 

“I’m someone who initially saw a PhD as a ‘set’ career path to academia … and who, halfway through, realised I love the work around academia. It was inspiring to read a post from a likeminded person who has found a career she loves and has appeased some of the worries I feel not taking a traditional academic course.” Freya Walker, PGR and Research Communities Intern 

Pathfinder has published 53 blog posts between May 2023 and December 2024. The existing posts span individuals who have received their PhDs from 1998 to 2023, meaning that we have snapshots of individuals at a variety of career stages (from early to established). Reported salary from our authors ranges from £28,000 to £128, 000. Our authors hold PhDs in disciplines ranging from Aerial Robots Guidance and Control, to Asian Studies and the posts thus far have represented individuals working in academia (both as lecturers and in professional services roles), government (eSafety Commissioner, ESRC UKRI), the private sector (in companies including Apple, Biogen, and Scafell Coaching) and the third sector (National Library of Scotland and British Geological Survey). The posts include individuals now living and working in regions including the UK, Canada, the United States, Australia, and Hong Kong. 

Representation of Career Paths from our Narratives 

This word cloud graphic illustrates the most common words, from the job titles of individuals who have written Narratives blog posts. The more commonly mentioned, the bigger the word. 

Whilst we are proud of the range of individual career paths that have already been spotlighted in the series, we are committed to building on this diversity and showcasing an even wider range of experiences and career paths. In particular, we are eager to publish Narratives spotlighting:  

• Entrepreneurs and freelancers

• Individuals with PhDs from outside of Glasgow

• Stories of portfolio careers and side hustles

• Stories highlighting how identity, care-giving responsibilities, financial constraints, etc. have impacted career paths 

What we have learnt from the Narratives 

This image highlights the words that commonly appear in the existing Career Narratives (larger text occurs more frequently). 

Each of the Career Narratives is a unique and personal story. At the same time, some themes are widely shared across the narratives. The top five themes include: 

Transitions 

Many authors reflect on the significance of making a transition into a new type of work, a new sector, or sometimes a new career identity. For some, these transitions were relatively smooth, while for others, they may have been quite challenging.  

“Before making a career change, work out what you want… Let your career change be a positive choice and not one made from fear or desperation. That is the quickest way to disappointment.” Pathfinder Career Narrative 3 

Values 

Over and over again, the narratives emphasize the importance of understanding your own values as a key to finding fulfilling and sustainable work. Researchers have varied and distinctive personal and professional values and recognizing these has often led them to understand what type of work will suit them best.  

“I’d also say that it’s important to identify what your broader values are and to work with those in mind. Far from distracting you from the “serious” work of research and writing, these will be a source of inspiration that keeps on giving.” Pathfinder Career Narrative 49 

Opportunities 

For many authors, opportunities arose unexpectedly, and there may have been an element of happenstance or chance to their careers. 

“I didn’t really have an explicit career plan then, nor have I had one since, but I have always tried to be ready to seize interesting opportunities as and when they appear”. Pathfinder Career Narrative 29   

Networking 

Authors of the Career Narratives posts repeatedly highlighted the value of networks in their professional journey. No one does their career alone, and this series reveals the wide-ranging impact of networks and mentors. 

“Start with your own networks, then your friends’ networks. Then get a bit braver and use LinkedIn or checking out people on their company websites and ask for a bit of time for a virtual coffee.” Pathfinder Career Narrative 10 

Transferable Skills 

Authors from a vast array of academic disciplines commended on being pleased, and often surprised, to learn that skills gained while pursuing specialized research could often be applied to a wide range of fields. While the context in which skills are applied may look very different, researchers generally found their skills to be transferable and widely valued.  

“You have developed a wide array of extremely transferable skills and there are a multitude of exciting opportunities out for there for you often people will have trouble understanding how their PhD skills can translate to non-academic contexts, so they try to look for jobs related to the topic area of their research rather than related to their skills.” Pathfinder Career Narrative 27 

Reasons for changing careers

This image highlights the words that appear frequently in the Narratives to describe motivations for changing careers (larger text appears more often). 

Flexibility, work-life balance and personal circumstances were frequently cited reasons for seeking out new opportunities. Although some negative reasons for leaving academic research do feature (dissatisfaction, instability, restrictions) many of the words appearing in the narratives show that a career change has had positive and life-affirming connotations (values, meaningful, embraced).  

With all this in mind, if you are considering a career change (whatever your current career stage), you have the ability to build the future you want. Talk to people, explore, reach out, connect on LinkedIn, update your CV, and consider applying to the role that seems like a stretch. These activities come up repeatedly in the blog series, and they have been shown to generate meaningful change in the careers and lives of researchers.  

Where you can go to learn more 

The Pathfinder LinkedIn page shares resources and information about career development for researchers daily. All of the Career Narratives posts are also shared on the LinkedIn page, so please follow us there to receive all career content. 

Many other resources profile the career paths of individuals who hold PhDs. For more inspiration and insights, consider: 

•  Think Ahead: Sheffvista, PhD Careers Blogposts from Sheffield University #sheffvista 

•  Vitae, Short Careers Narratives on Film 

•  From PhD to Life, PhD Careers Blogpost by Jen Polk, Careers Clarity Coach 

•  PostGradual, PhD Careers Blog and Advice from Holly Prescott 

 Thank you and call for future authors 

Thank you to everyone who has already written a Career Narrative. We appreciate your honesty and authenticity, as well as the valuable time you have taken to share your experience. Your stories have moved, inspired, and brought smiles to many readers. If you would like to share your careers story, we would like to hear from you!  We invite anyone who has completed a PhD at any university to contribute to our blog posts. Please contact pathfinder@glasgow.ac.uk