Postgraduates

Whether you’re a PhD student, a new post doc or an established researcher we have tips and information on ways to enhance your career prospects.

Postgraduate Students

Network

As a researcher you should take every opportunity to network with others in your field (especially those who have potential as employers). Presenting work at SGM conferences and other scientific meetings is an excellent way of promoting your abilities as a scientist. Conferences also provide the ideal informal venue for getting to know other researchers and academics.

Publishing in journals is vital to a researcher and achieving one or two publications while a PhD student is a real bonus.

Transferable Skills

A PhD is a lot of work and it is easy to become so focused on your research that you forget about planning for your future career. It is well worth setting aside a little time to take some transferable skills courses that will make you more attractive to employers  (presentation skills, business skills for scientists, science and the media). All universities offer this type of course and it is worth checking out the Vitae website for their courses too. SGM provides grants for members to attend training courses that will benefit their career development. Demonstrating for undergraduate lab classes is another way of gaining a different set of skills, and a way of exploring whether, further down the line, teaching or lecturing maybe for you.