Networking Questionnaire for Queen Mary PostDocs July 1, 2010
Posted by qmresearchers in Academic Careers, Research/Studies.add a comment
For all the Queen Mary Post Docs that read this blog…we need 10 minutes of your time please.
As I mentioned in my last post, knowing the right people is essential if you want to develop your career in academia or elsewhere. With this in mind, Loughborough University is looking at your experiences of career advice, focusing particularly on help that may (or may not) be available to you from informal contacts and work relationships.
They will donate £1 to a charity, if you complete the questionnaire.
To have a look at the letter of invitation click here.
To fill out the questionnaire click here.
Thanks in advance……. if you take the time to complete this!
What do employers think about researchers? January 22, 2010
Posted by qmresearchers in Research/Studies.3 comments
As a researcher thinking about leaving academia, it may be difficult to find employers that fully understand what a PhD entails and the advanced skill set that is developed during the training. There are some roles in fields like finance and pharmaceuticals were a PhD is essential, but such jobs are in the minority.
However, a new report from Vitae entitled ‘Recruiting Researchers’ shows that employers are definitely keen and interested in recruiting PhDs but they simply do not know enough about what doctoral graduates have to offer.
The report surveys over 100 employers across different sectors showing that:
- 73% would welcome more applications from PhDs
- 6% actively and specifically recruit PhDs (Group 1)
- 25% show a strong interest in recruiting PhDs but do not engage as much Group 1 (Group 2)
- 47% have some interest in PhDs but do not actively target them (Group 3)
- 22% are not interested!! (How dare they?!) (Group 4)
It seems that the majority of employers need to be educated about what doctoral graduates have to offer before they can/will actively recruit them. Perhaps this will change in the future as organisations like Vitae and people supporting researchers, promote the skills and qualities of doctoral graduates. Additionally, cuts in HE budgets may lead to fewer academic posts, forcing doctoral students to work in other sectors, bringing their advanced skills with them.
For the full report click here.
