There is no doubt that some firms are taking advantage of the current economic climate to secure the services of talented and enthusiastic young workers without having to pay them even the minimum wage. It is, however, important not to be unduly jaundiced about the whole notion of “internships”.

The New Scientist list of internships includes paid appointments.

The top definition of Intern at an online dictionary is “A student or a recent graduate undergoing supervised practical training“.

Notice that the definition does not include “for free”. Many of the summer vacation awards on offer from Learned Societies would classify as internships (indeed, some have started to rebrand them as such). The same is true of the University of Leicester’s own graduate internship programme.

In addition to this, New Scientist magazine recently compiled a very helpful list of other science-related internships, many of which are paid positions. The list includes several opportunities to work within areas of science writing and journalism including for Nature, the British Medical Journal and New Scientist itself.

Practical advice on what to do after a degree in a biological discipline

The Society of Biology have released a new booklet Next Steps: options after a bioscience degree. The 40 page booklet includes sections on:

• further study v employment
• job seeking
• the importance of skills (and having evidence to back up any claims)
• postgraduate study
• making applications
• going for interview
• resources

Julia Coats

Julia Coats [BSc(Hons) Medical Genetics, 2005] is a welfare officer specialising in helping international students. During the final year of her degree she was successful in getting elected as Vice President (Welfare) in the Students’ Union at the University. She worked in this sabbatical role for two years.

Having spearheaded a campaign to improve lighting and safety on Victoria Park (a large park directly beside the University campus), Julia then continued to work for the Students’ Union in a welfare capacity and subsequently transferred to working in a similar capacity for the University centrally.

Slides from her presentation are available below (and via this link).

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A video of Julia’s talk is shown below (and is available via this link).

David Watson

During the 2011 series of CABS talks, ecologist David Watson gave a talk Name that Newt: Five things to kick-start a career in ecology. Recognising that this is a highly competitive field to get into (no pun intended), David emphasised the importance of skills and experiences over and above academic qualifications. These included building up a portfolio of relevant volunteering and being able to drive – ecological sites are, after all, not generally in built-up areas.

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A video of David’s presentation Name that Newt is available below, and via this link.

Pippa Wilson

Pippa Wilson [BSc(Hons) Medical Biochemistry, 2005] gave a presentation at the 2011 season of Careers After Biological Science talks on the possibility of moving into Nursing following an initial degree in bioscience.

In her talk Pippa acknowledges that Nursing is not a typical career move after having done Biological Sciences but argues that her background in Medical Biochemistry has enabled her to develop a specialism in paediatric diabetes in Manchester.

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A video of Pip’s talk (17 mins) is available below, or via this link.

Tara Hardy

Tara Hardy [BSc(Hons) Medical Biochemistry, 2000] is a research technician in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Leicester. During the 2011 series of Careers After Biological Sciences talks, Tara spoke about her current work, which involves a variety of tasks including management of hi-tech microscopy facilities and a role in student practicals. She offered advice for anyone considering a move into a similar role.

A video of Tara’s talk can be seen below, or via this link.

Stuart Johnson

“Making it up as you go along” may seem an odd title for a careers talk, particularly since Stuart Johnson [BSc (Hons) Biological Science, 1995] was acting head of the University’s Careers Service at the time of the presentation. As he points out, however, the choice of title reflects both the route to his current role and the fact that not all undergraduates have a clear career path in mind whilst they are doing their degree. In these increasingly hostile times, however, there are plenty of things you can be doing to enhance your employability, even if you haven’t yet pinned down an exact job to aim towards.

A video of Stuart’s talk can be seen below, or via this link.

Hilary Revill

Hilary Revill [BSc(Hons) Medical Biochemistry, 2000] spoke in the 2011 CABS seminar series about her role as a Dietitian. Dietetics can allow you to combine an ongoing interest in science with being a “people person”.  The broad title “Dietitian”, though restricted to people who have gone through an appropriately registered training course, can lead into a diversity of roles including sports nutrition, public health, liaison with the food industry, oncology or cardiology. In Hilary’s case, she has worked through a variety of roles to end at her current job as a community-based paediatric dietitian.

There are two ways to catch up with Hilary’s talk. You can work through the slides at your own pace here:

Alternatively, you may wish to hear an audio version of the talk (accompanied by the slides) below, or via this link (duration of talk = 20 mins, plus 10 mins of questions).

Claire Bosomworth

Claire Bosomworth [BSc(Hons) Medical Genetics, 2005] has been working as a Clinical Scientist in Leeds. During the 2011 season of Careers After Biological Science talks she gave a presentation about her roles as both a Molecular Genetics and, more recently, within Microbiological research and development.  She also gave a helpful outline of the new Modernising Scientific Careers route that will be for the usual pathway into medically-related bioscience roles within the NHS.

A video of Claire’s presentation (18 minutes, plus 5 minutes of questions) can be seen below, or via this link.

Charlene Freeman

Charlene Freeman [BSc(Hons) Medical Biochemistry, 2006] is an embryologist at the Leicester Royal Infirmary. In this talk, given as part of the 2011 season of Careers After Biological Science talks, Charlene explains some of the things that her work involves.

Charlene offered hope for students who get lower second class degrees – the bottom has not dropped out of your world! She demonstrates the value of enthusiasm and doing your research before an interview. The benefits of carrying out summer work, even if badly paid (or completely unpaid) cannot be overstate – in her case the reference she got from a summer placement was a pivotal role in securing her job.

In keeping with several speakers the same day, Charlene did emphasise that the route into Embryology is currently under review as a result of changes within the NHS, with the instigation of the Modernising Scientific Careers programme.

A video of Charlene’s talk (30mins) is also available below, or via this link.