Milad Farshad
Researcher at CGGIn my case, it was the technical knowledge. However, a PhD is much more than that…
In my case, it was the technical knowledge. However, a PhD is much more than that…
Lots of tech companies are looking for people with creative skillsets – there are many ways people from a humanities background can get involved!
Take the risk! The worst thing that can happen is you go back to academia with a (relative) wealth of industry experience – especially compared to your colleagues. The best thing that could happen is you find a full-filling career.
I feel very fortunate to have done a year in industry placement as an undergraduate – it nudged me towards research projects with an applied focus from the very start.
Be like a cat. Cats don’t have imposter syndrome; each cat believes it’s the most special cat in the world. If you’re doing a PhD, be a cat.
I am very passionate about higher education and I love that my work helps to improve student experience.
I am grateful that I get to wake up every day as my own boss, able to help researchers who do want to achieve academic career success go as far as they want to.
My academic background allows me to understand the main issues related to the job and the research project, and how to offer potential solutions to that.
Understanding what really motivates me and gets me out of bed in the morning tended to steer me in the right direction and enabled me to realise my calling.
When the job is highly related to my PhD field, I’m able to ramp up faster and apply my domain knowledge to the job. When the job is less related to my PhD, self-learning and soft skills are generally useful.
My research training set me up to… Organise my time and available resources efficiently and understand the value of determination and perseverance.
For my students, the possibility to interact with a teacher who can tell them how science works and how it develops is really stimulating and positively challenging.