What do Birmingham postgraduates do? · i am delighted to introduce ‘what do birmingham...
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School of Chemistry First destinations of postgraduates What do Birmingham postgraduates do? n Analysis of first employment destinations for the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences n Employability data for Chemistry postgraduates, 2009–13 n Illustration of the range of occupations undertaken by our postgraduates www.birmingham.ac.uk/chemistry College of Engineering and Physical Sciences
Transcript of What do Birmingham postgraduates do? · i am delighted to introduce ‘what do birmingham...
1 What do Birmingham postgraduates do?
School of ChemistryFirst destinations of postgraduates
What do Birmingham postgraduates do?
n AnalysisoffirstemploymentdestinationsfortheCollegeofEngineeringandPhysicalSciences
n EmployabilitydataforChemistrypostgraduates,2009–13n Illustrationoftherangeofoccupationsundertakenbyourpostgraduates
www.birmingham.ac.uk/chemistry
College of Engineering and Physical Sciences
2 What do Birmingham postgraduates do?
IAMDELIGHTEDTOINTRODUCE‘WHATDOBIRMINGHAMPOSTGRADUATESDO?’WHICHLOOKSINDETAILATTHEFIRSTDESTINATIONSOFOURCHEMISTRYPOSTGRADUATESANDATEMPLOYMENTPROSPECTSFORALLPOSTGRADUATESWITHINTHEWIDERCOLLEGEOFENGINEERINGANDPHYSICALSCIENCES.
Foreword
Inadditiontoprovidingaccessibleinformationonemploymentdestinations,thispublicationisalsodesignedtogiveaninsightintothekindsofemploymentsectorsandjobsforwhichapostgraduatedegreeatBirminghamcanprepareyou.
Pursuingapostgraduatedegreeoffersyoutheopportunitytoexploreyourchosenareaofinterestindepth,aswellasdevelopingyourknowledgeandunderstandinginasubjectareaaboutwhichyouaretrulypassionate.Beyondthetransferableskillsthatyouwilltakewithyouintotheworkplace,yourpostgraduate
qualificationwillgiveyouthechancetoengageincriticalenquiry,togrowasascholarandeventobecomeanexpertinyourfield.
Here,weshowyouhowyourpostgraduatequalificationcanhelpyoumakethatknowledgeandexpertiseworkforyouaftergraduation.FortheschoolthatismostrelevanttoyouintheCollege(ChemicalEngineering;Chemistry;CivilEngineering;ComputerScience;Electrical,ElectronicandSystemsEngineering;Mathematics;MechanicalEngineering;MetallurgyandMaterials;orPhysicsandAstronomy)youwillseeasnapshotoftheachievementsofourpostgraduatessixmonthsaftergraduation.Alldataistakenfromtheresultsofa‘DestinationsofLeavers’surveyissuedtoourpostgraduatesafterthistime.
Youwillbeabletosee,byschool,howmanyofthepostgraduateswhorepliedtothissurveysuccessfullyenteredemploymentand/orfurtherstudywithinjustsixmonths,alongwitharangeofthediverseandexcitingcareeropportunitiesthatwillbeopentoyouafterstudying
forapostgraduatedegreeintheCollegeofEngineeringandPhysicalSciences.
AccompanyingthedataarecasestudiesinwhichrecentpostgraduatealumnisharetheirexperiencesofpostgraduatestudyatBirmingham.Here,ouralumnitalkaboutthevalueinherentinpostgraduatestudy,theknowledgeandskillstheydevelopedduringtheirdegreesandwheretheirqualificationshavetakenthemsincegraduation.
Ihopeyoufindtheinformationpresentedhereusefulandouralumnistoriesinspiring.Weverymuchlookforwardtowelcomingyoutoourcampussoon.
ProfessorMarkSterlingDirectorofPostgraduateProgrammesCollegeofEngineeringandPhysicalSciences
‘Asatopemployerofgraduates,werecognisetheimportantrolepostgraduatestudycanplayinsupportinghigh-calibre,motivatedindividuals,whoarereadytoentertheworldofprofessionalservices.’
Lauren McCafferty,
StudentRecruitmentManager,PwC.
3 What do Birmingham postgraduates do?
‘IstudiedChemistryand
thenwentontodo
aPhDinChemistry
attheUniversityof
Birmingham,followedby
ashortpostdoc.Inow
liveinMaltaandworkat
Actavis,thethirdlargest
genericdrugscompanyworldwide,inthe
researchanddevelopmentdepartment.
‘Inretrospect,mytimeatBirminghamservedme
verywellforlifeafteruniversity.Theexperience
gainedatBirminghamhasencouragedmeto
approachanytaskwithapositiveoutlook.The
skillsIgainedfrommyundergraduatedegree
anddoctoratewerenotonlyfocusedonthe
narrowconfinesofmydegreesubject:someof
themostvaluablelessonslearnedwerenotfrom
thetextbooksorlabwork.Themanytransferable
skillsIgainedfromthecoursesandstaffhelped
mebecomeaneffectivepartoftheworkforce;
suchskillsmakeyouanattractiveapplicant
foranyjob–notjustthoseinyourchosenfield.
Igainedconfidencefrominteractingwith
people,learningtoworkwiththemand,
sometimes,incompetitionwiththem.Effective
presentationofideasandconclusions–and
arguingfororagainstthose–alongwith
analysisandpresentationofdatawerealso
incrediblyimportantskillsItookawayfrom
Birmingham.Employersfindtheseskills
invaluableandtheyhavehelpedmetoexcel
andachieveinternationalrecognitionwithin
thecompanyIworkfor,recentlywinning
anawardforworkthatwasaboveandbeyond
thatexpectedofme.’
James Prendergast, PhDChemistry,graduated2010James now works in research and development for Actavis, a global, integrated specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and distributing generic, brand and biosimilar products.
LEARN MORE www.birmingham.ac.uk/pgprofiles
TheCollegecoversabroadrangeofworld-leadingresearch,fromdevelopingmicro-enginestoparticlephysicsresearchatCERN.Withacenturyofexcellenceinresearchandteaching,theCollegeoffersexcitinginitiativesinnewfieldsofstudyandspearheadsactivitiesinstrategicallyimportantSTEMsubjects–Science,Technology,EngineeringandMathematics.
TheCollegeofEngineeringandPhysicalSciencesplaysasignificantroleincreatingnewknowledge,trainingnewgenerationsofengineersandscientists,andinterfacingwithindustry.
TheCollegeconsistsofthefollowingnineschools:nChemicalEngineeringnChemistrynCivilEngineeringnComputerSciencenElectronic,ElectricalandSystemsEngineeringnMathematicsnMechanicalEngineeringnMetallurgyandMaterialsnPhysicsandAstronomy
Overthelastfiveyears,90.9%oftaughtpostgraduatesand92.5%ofresearchpostgraduatesfromtheCollegeofEngineeringandPhysicalScienceshavebeeninworkand/orfurtherstudyjustsixmonthsaftergraduating.
Thetwochartstotherightshowthebreakdownofthesestatisticsforeachyear,fortaughtpostgraduateandresearchpostgraduaterespondents.
Percentage of Engineering and Physical Sciences taught postgraduate respondents in work and/or further study six months after graduation
Percentage of Engineering and Physical Sciences research postgraduate respondents in work and/or further study six months after graduation
TheCollegeofEngineeringandPhysicalSciencesisattheleadingedgeofmodernscienceandengineering,transformingourunderstandingoftheworldtomakelifeeasier,healthierandmoresustainable.
College of Engineering and Physical Sciences
Employability
SOURCE:Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Institutions,HigherEducationStatisticsAgency,2009–13
100908070605040302010
02008/9
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
91.185.3
9283.3 85.3
100908070605040302010
02008/9
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
90.5 91.5 92.9 88.8 91.7
4 What do Birmingham postgraduates do?
College of Engineering and Physical Sciences
Postgraduate destinations
SOURCE:Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Institutions,HigherEducationStatisticsAgency,2009–13
‘AtAtkins,mostofourroleshaveaminimumrequirementofaMastersdegree.Wevaluetechnicalknowledgeandacademicachievement,whichwecanthenbuildonforthegraduateprogramme.ThisiswhywerequiremostofourgraduatestohaveaMasters.’
Kate Poade,AssistantGraduate
RecruitmentAdvisor,Atkins.
Taught postgraduate destinations
Thecharttotherightsummarisesthedestinations
ofEngineeringandPhysicalSciencestaught
postgraduatesfromthe2012/13academicyear,
sixmonthsaftergraduation:
Research postgraduate destinations
Thecharttotherightsummarisesthedestinations
ofEngineeringandPhysicalSciencesresearch
postgraduatesfromthe2012/13academicyear,
sixmonthsaftergraduation:
Working
Workingandstudying
Studying
Other
Unemployed
Working
Workingandstudying
Studying
Unemployed
80
60
40
20
0Chemical
Engineering
Per
cent
age
ofto
talr
espo
nse
Computer
Science
Mathematics
Mechanical
Engineering
Metallurgy
andMaterials
Physicsand
Astronomy
CivilEngineering
Electronic,Electrical
andSystems
Engineering
80
60
40
20
0
Per
cent
age
ofto
talr
espo
nse
Mathematics
100
Electronic,Electrical
andSystems
Engineering
Computer
Science
Metallurgy
andMaterials
Physicsand
Astronomy
Chemical
Engineering
CivilEngineering
Mechanical
Engineering
Chemical
Engineering
5 What do Birmingham postgraduates do?
Highlight:Overthepastfiveyears:n77.5%postgraduaterespondentswereinworkorfurther
studysixmonthsaftergraduation
Withthetechnicalskillsandexpertsubjectknowledgeacquiredduringtheirstudieswithus,manyofBirmingham’sChemistrypostgraduatesgoontosuccessfulcareersinvarioussectionsofthechemicalandengineeringindustry,includingchemical,pharmaceuticalandcivilengineering;waterandenergycompanies;consultancies;banks;andlocalgovernmentandgovernment-supportedscientificestablishments.
Someotherschoosetostayintheareaofeducationandresearchinchemistry,forgingcareersinteachingandinacademia.
Thetwochartstotherightshowresultsfrom‘DestinationsofLeavers’surveysforourChemistrypostgraduatesoverrecentyears.
TheSchoolofChemistryisoneoftheleadingcentresofchemistryresearchandteachingintheUK,supportedbystate-of-the-artfacilities,withenthusiasticanddedicatedstaffandstudents.
Range of employment sectors
nAccounting,auditingandtaxconsultancy
nFoodmanufacture
nHighereducationandfurtherresearch
nInformationtechnologyandcomputerservices
nManufactureofpaints,varnishesandsimilar
coatings,printinginkandmastics
nManufactureoftobaccoproducts
nPharmaceuticalengineering
nResearchanddevelopmentinnaturalsciences
andengineering
nTelecommunications
Range of employers
nAkzoNobel
nBostik
nBritishAmericanTobacco
nNationalNuclearLaboratory
nPhytoGardaSRL(medicaldevices,
foodsupplementsandcosmetics)
nReckittBenckiserPLC
nRoyalSocietyofChemistry
nRutgersUniversity(NewJersey,USA)
nSASInstitute(businessanalytics)
nSelectScience
nUniversityofBirmingham
nUniversityofLiverpool
Range of occupations
nAccountant
nAnalyticalChemist
nCampaignCoordinator
nEducationExecutive(LearnChemistry)
nGraduateScientist
nLaboratoryManager
nLecturer
nPostdoctoralResearcher
nResearchandDevelopmentGraduate
nResearchFellow
nSASInstallationConsultant
nTheoreticalChemist
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100908070605040302010
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Percentage of research postgraduate respondents in work and/or further study six months after graduation
2008/9
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
55.6
80 84.287.5
80
SOURCE:Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Institutions,HigherEducationStatisticsAgency,2009–13
School of Chemistry
EMPLOYABILITY
RANGEOFOCCUPATIONS
Below is an overview of the kinds of employment sectors, organisations and professions that recent Chemistry postgraduates have entered, based on responses to ‘Destinations of Leavers’ surveys conducted six months after graduation.
