PhD in Cell Biology and Mathematics, The University of Liverpool, 2009
| Director, specialist tutor and developmental coach | |
|---|---|
| Woolton Tutors and Woolton Coaching | |
Year entered into a non-academic position: 2014 (part-time), 2017 (full-time)
Job highlight: Bringing a research perspective to science education. Helping postgraduates and postdocs at career crossroads (and the various challenges of self-employment).
My research training set me up to… Look for niches. I’ve always been someone who looks for different ways of doing things. This was encouraged during my PhD, when I bridged two research fields, using mathematical models to learn about intercellular signalling. Self-employment asks similar questions – what is the best use of my skills? – where am I most useful? Also, to be unafraid to try something out, fail, learn and improve – this is where new ideas come from.
Left academia after: 7 years and 6 months of postdoctoral work.
What’s your background?
I did a BSc in Computer Science at Liverpool, then after a few years away returned to do a PhD in systems biology. With no laboratory experience, I had a steep learning curve and very patient (or bribable!) colleagues. I was motivated by the challenge, and it was one of the most enjoyable periods of my life.
Why did you move away from academia?
Unfortunately, my postdoc experience was less fun. Gradually, I felt like less of an individual, less useful maybe, and my enthusiasm waned. You can tell the people who want to progress in academia a mile off, they see the same politics and pomposity and just plough through. Good on ‘em.
I wanted a new challenge, so I went looking for it.
Is there anything you miss about academia?
Plenty. I miss the people I was with during my PhD. After I left it felt like I was in a hurry to make a clean break. I should have made more of an effort to stay in touch. It’s the people around you that define a PhD (or a postdoc). What else? – The thrill of discovery was fun, in an unpredictable way… and free sandwiches.
How did you get this job? Did you face any challenges when considering a move away from academia or applying for the role?
I’d done some tutoring during my PhD, together with a lot of science communication and outreach. I’ve always loved finding a relatable way to convey complex ideas. The tutoring work grew organically by word of mouth, and gradually I carved a niche by listening to what people needed. Later, I won some follow-on funding (kindly offered by The University of Liverpool) towards training as a coach to help postdocs and academics.
What motivated you to/why did you choose the sector you transitioned into?
Again, I think it’s about identifying where you can be most useful and valued. I noticed that my experience across maths and biology offered a fresh perspective to GCSE and A-level students. Likewise, I like to think I’m approachable, friendly and principled, which helps to build rapport with the academics I coach through their own career crossroads. Loyalty, empathy and trust are qualities that I found lacking in certain areas of academia, so I wanted to give those back.
Did you think you had the skills required for your current position before you started? Were you right?
Yes, and yes. Because I’d tested the waters first, I knew I could teach and had the personal skills to put people at ease during coaching. So, when the time came to leap to self-employment, yes it was still a risk, but a calculated one.
How did your PhD prepare you for your current job? For example, what were the transferable skills that you developed during your PhD that are most relevant to your current job?
There are obvious answers – science communication skills, how to “think like a scientist” etc.
But another skill is assessing where to put my time.
In research, there is a mountain of questions you could answer, but limited time and resources, so you have to prioritise. Equally so when setting up a business. There’s no time to agonise over decisions if there’s a family to feed and a competitive marketplace. From the coaching perspective, it’s powerful to be able to say to clients “I’ve been where you are” when helping them consider their options.
Did you have any preconceptions about your sector that proved to be wrong?
In coaching definitely. I went into training expecting a lot of “live, laugh, love”. There are life coaches out there who take approaches different to mine. But the basic principle – that people rarely give themselves time to think about what matters most, and a coach can guide them through that conversation – is very powerful. I’ve helped people reach their own conclusions at career crossroads – some leave academia to do surprising things, while others stay, better focused now that their priorities are clearer.
Can you describe a typical week in your job?
The great benefit of online work, and working for yourself, is flexibility. So, my week is a mixture of coaching clients and tutees from all over the place (UK, Guernsey… UAE recently). Maybe working on critical analysis for then picking my children up from school. One of the biggest factors behind my career choices was so I could see as much of them as possible.
What is the workplace culture like? Please include comments on work-life balance, flexibility, remote working?
Productivity and balance were great until my wife started working from home too! Academia is already more flexible than other industries, but I don’t think I’d have seen my family as much as I do if I’d stayed. Home is very important to me, hence my businesses are named after Woolton Village, where I live.
Do people with a PhD frequently get hired in the company/sector?
It’s quite common for PhDs and postdocs to have some tutoring experience alongside their academic lives. It provides some extra money, and often perspective on their academic work, too.
Do people with a PhD/former postdocs frequently get hired in the company/sector?
It’s quite common for PhDs and postdocs to have some tutoring experience alongside their academic lives. It provides some extra money, and often perspective on their academic work, too.
What are your favourite parts of your job?
I love the feeling of ownership and responsibility.
Being my own boss. But these benefits bring downsides – even though my work is very people-focused, I miss working as part of a team. The flexibility and variety of the work keep it interesting, with everyone’s needs being different. And deciding how to grow something I’ve built from scratch is quite exciting!
What are your reflections on your career path?
I have always had trouble with the word “career” in that it felt like a single straight track. I’ve been motivated by challenges more than status or cash, so my concern is that I can keep finding ways to help more people, in innovative ways. The idea of choosing one path, of closing doors and opening others, terrifies me. I’d rather hop between roles, giving everything to whatever faces me on that particular day.
Do you have any advice for current graduate students and postdocs considering a career outside of academia?
Ask yourself where you can be useful. That’s a different process to completing a CV, although one helps the other. What is unique about your combination of skills? Look for niches. Listen to people. And above all – don’t limit yourself to searching in one sector, your skills are useful in lots of surprising places.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known when exploring a transition?
That it will work. It will work because it has to. PhDs are trained to be resourceful.
We are trained to learn from failure – perhaps that you can only learn from failure. When I mentioned leaving academia, one PI said “you must be very rich”, which made me doubt myself at first, a brief pause before it spurred me on. I’m still not rich! But I feel I’m succeeding.
Can you recommend any relevant resources, organisations or events that might help somebody new to the sector find out more about it?
The University of Liverpool’s Prosper team offers a fantastic selection of articles on different career options and career profiles (https://prosper.liverpool.ac.uk/). There are a wide range of profiles for research careers, too! In terms of tutoring please check the Woolton Tutors website listed below.
Woolton Tutors offers online tutoring in science, maths and languages. We specialise in biology tutoring, science communication and critical analysis. Founded in 2014, we now have clients in the UK, Europe and UAE.
Woolton Coaching offers personal coaching for life and work, specializing in helping academics at career crossroads.
Links:
Woolton Tutors (https://wooltontutors.co.uk)
Woolton Coaching (https://wooltoncoaching.co.uk)
