LIV.DAT Advanced Career Skills School
A 4-day long training event was held between 7-10 March 2022 for 15 LIV.DAT students who started their PhDs between 2018 – 2020. The School aimed at preparing the students for their next career move, whether that would be in industry or academia.
The transition from a PhD to the next job is a challenging prospect in an ever more competitive job market. The interactive School focused on important aspects such as CV writing, interview skills and writing competitive grant applications over the first three days.
On Thursday, the final day of the School, a careers workshop showed the participants the diverse opportunities available to researchers on the job market. Invited speakers gave a personal insight into their own careers and the challenges they faced, as well as giving an overview about their current role. This day provided an excellent opportunity for the LIV.DAT students to discuss aspects of career planning in various sectors.
Amongst the career pathways that speakers covered, were:
- The academic sector, highlighting the various challenges that have to be met by any researcher wishing to pursue a university career;
- Liverpool’s Material Innovation Factory and the research opportunities it offers;
- Jobs in the security sector;
- Data challenges found in the Football Association;
- Big Data R&D related to fusion R&D;
- Complex data management at Deliveroo, as well as job opportunities at NSG Pilkington and the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL).
As with any training event, social interactions formed a valuable part of the event. Those who attended the live session gathered in Liverpool on the Wednesday evening for a round of Ghetto golf, followed by a dinner at the Albert Dock.
Prof Carsten P Welsch who developed the training concept said: “During these four days, we focused on the specific skills that researchers need to be successful in their work – independent on whether they target a career in academia or industry. The School gave many opportunities to discuss different career avenues, the challenges researchers find in different sectors, and to reflect on how students can use the skills that they have developed in LIV.DAT to boost their employability.”
Special thanks go to Constantinos Astreos, Egidijus Kukstas and the Project T.E.A.M. for their help in the organization, as well as to all trainers and speakers for their contributions!