John Ankers
Director, specialist tutor and developmental coach at Woolton Tutors and Woolton CoachingDon’t limit yourself to searching in one sector, your skills are useful in lots of surprising places.
Don’t limit yourself to searching in one sector, your skills are useful in lots of surprising places.
The work I do now is truly multidisciplinary.
In my case, it was the technical knowledge. However, a PhD is much more than that…
Where you begin doesn’t have to be where you end up, and there can be lots of stops and changes along the way!
I am very passionate about higher education and I love that my work helps to improve student experience.
My research training set me up to… be resilient!
The PhD is a hidden superpower, not a ball and chain.
Every post/job I have completed has been a learning curve. Without the experiences gained from the different positions, I would not be where I am today
The skills you have are highly valued, but a positive can-do attitude is just as important.
If you want to make the transition, do a lot of soul searching to figure out which skills you have that are marketable and if they are sufficient to reach your goal
I wish I had known how many other people leave academia and are happy with their decision.
I felt it offered a perfect way to combine my skills – science and writing. Translating complex topics into clear, compelling storytelling really appealed to me as it had been how I approached writing my thesis.