Careers in Your Ears

Bethan Cornell is a final year PhD student at King’s College London’s Physics Department and she’s also a Policy Officer in the Higher Education Unit in the UK’s Department for Education. We discuss taking on other opportunities during the PhD, the value of connecting with people who share your interests, and we ask Bethan how a Physics PhD prepares you for non-science policy work? Starting her PhD full time, Bethan became interested in the gender disparities in people studying and researching Physics and became energised by the issues belying these inequalities. She also became interested in broader issues in higher education and happened to come across Higher Education Policy Institute. Listen in to find out what happens next. If you would like a transcript of this episode please contact careers@kcl.ac.uk. King's PhDs and Research Staff can book an appointment via kcl.targetconnect.net by looking for 'PhD + Research Staff' under appointment type.

We explore why Mohamed decided to do his PhD (which is around differences in neurodevelopment in children with different diseases).  Listen to this episode, to find out more about finding (or even creating) the right PhD for you, applying to a PhD, how it's different from a Masters, and how helpful Google can be.  He also talks about his side project of tutoring and his thoughts about his future.  'As long as you find enjoyment in what you're doing, that's your motivation.' If you're a King's student thinking of applying for a PhD, use the careers team to work through these questions for yourself. If you would like a transcript of this episode please contact careers@kcl.ac.uk. King's PhDs and Research Staff can book an appointment via kcl.targetconnect.net by looking for 'PhD + Research Staff' under appointment type.   If you're a UG or Masters student considering applying for a PhD, please see our KEATS resources on this topic https://keats.kcl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=41567&section=17.  You can also book an appointment via kcl.targetconnect.net by looking for 'Careers Guidance' under appointment type.

Dr. Fawzi Abou-Chihane, once a science researcher specializing in sustainable technologies, now runs a successful careers consulting business and authored 'A Job Seeker's Diary.' He discusses his leap from academia to the industry, revealing the challenges of job scarcity and the need for strong business skills. Fawzi shares his personal journey through unemployment and how it inspired his writing. He emphasizes proactive communication and overcoming psychological barriers for those transitioning to self-employment, offering valuable insights for career shifters.

Vicki is a part-time PhD student with extensive work experience in international banking and science policy, doing a PhD in Policy and Bioethics, incorporating publications. Join us as we explore career transition and the benefits and importance of establishing a flexible career, tips for managing a part-time PhD and a fascinating insight into the world of science policy.

Why do women disappear from the history of philosophy?  What can be done about it? In this episode we interview Rebecca Buxton and Lisa Whiting the editors of the recently published book "The Philosopher Queens" which is the only book currently in print exclusively about women philosophers and written and edited by women. We look at the implications for an academic philosophy career of inequality in universities and ask if things are similar in policy work. Finally, our interviewees have some tips for busy researchers and students trying to juggle too many projects at once. Rebecca Buxton is PhD student at Oxford University and Lisa Whiting works full time in policy and studies part time at Birkbeck, University of London.  More information about 'The Philosopher Queens' can be found here.

Dr Bahijja Raimi-Abraham is a pharmacist, Lecturer in Pharmaceutics at King’s College London, Founder and Academic Lead of King’s College London Fight the Fakes. She also leads her own research group “The Raimi-Abraham Group”. Dr Raimi-Abraham's research to date has been in pharmaceutical materials and innovative manufacture. More recently she has focused her research efforts within the therapeutic and drug development aspects of malaria. In this episode we discuss power in academic life (and how to manage it), changing careers and leadership in research.

Dr Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood, is a lecturer in sustainable development at the University of St. Andrews and gained her PhD from the African Leadership Centre at King's College London in 2019. Her research focuses on maritime threats, governance and security in the Gulf of Guinea. Ifesinachi has consulted for different international and regional organisations on issues relating to ocean governance, peace, and security in the African continent. She is the lead author of the Stable Seas: Gulf of Guinea report, and a contributing author to the Blue Paper 16, titled: Organized Crime in the Fisheries Sector, commissioned by the High-Level Panel on Sustainable Blue Economy, a global initiative led by 14 Heads of Governments.  In this episode of the podcast, we learn how Ifesinachi discovered this research area and why she wanted to become an academic. She shares what helped her to get to where she is now, and how her presence on LinkedIn and Twitter has been crucial to her public engagement work and to diversify the narratives and expertise in her field of research. Ifesinachi is a co-host of AfriCan Geopardy '....a fun, witty, and authentic way of talking about the ocean, and African geopolitics, with an added twist of bursting stereotypes about Africa.' Do check it out! If you're a member of research staff or a PGR student at King's College London, you can book a 1-1 careers appointment (for application reviews and focused conversations about your career thinking) via King's CareerConnect. Search for 'PhD and Research Staff' under appointment type.

In this episode we are joined by Jennifer Jackson, Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary and a Kings alumna. Join us for a positive and uplifting conversation covering Jennifer's experience of resilience (and what it's not!), leadership, career progression, confidence and changing the system from within. Kings PGRs and research staff can access careers support from KEATS. Search for 'Careers & Employability' and look for the 'Researchers' menu option. Find us on Twitter @kcldo1thing Look out for teaching and related opportunities such as Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) roles and supporting students with their study skills through the King’s Academy ‘Academic Skills for Learning’ programme.

In this edition of Careers in Your Ears, Kate Murray talks with Alexandria Mitchell, PhD student in the Comprehensive Cancer Centre at King's College London, about her reasons for deciding to do a PhD, the application process, how she funded herself, and how being a PhD satisfies her desire for research autonomy.  Alexandria also considers some of the differences in studying in the UK, from the US, and talks about what's needed for a more diverse research environment.

We talk to Andrew Wright, Head of Employer Engagement, in the Careers & Employability team at King's College London.  We're hearing a lot about recession and unemployment in the news everyday.  This can be disheartening for anyone who is job hunting.  We ask Andrew for his perspective on current labour markets which interest researchers from academia through to the creative industries.  Andrew encourages us to look beyond the headlines and understand what's going on in different sectors in a more nuanced way. Here are the resources which Andrew refers to in the podcast: Virtual work experience: https://keats.kcl.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=3322146 Self employment and freelancing (with link to IPSE membership for King's PhDs): https://keats.kcl.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=3221799 Charlie Ball's blog on labour markets: https://highpeakdata.wordpress.com/author/highpeakcharlie/.  You can also find his updates and other helpful articles here: https://luminate.prospects.ac.uk/ EMSI: https://www.economicmodeling.com/ [This episode was recorded in August 2020]