Physics Final Year Careers session Phil Clarke Senior Careers Adviser

1. Physics Final Year Careers session Phil Clarke Senior Careers Adviser Careers, Employability and Skills

2. Careers, Employability and Skills is based at the Student Guidance Centre Tel: 9097 2727 Email:careers@qub.ac.uk Web:www.qub.ac.uk/careers Careers Adviser for Maths and Physics - Phil Clarke

3. Careers, Employability and Skills (Careers Service): how we can help • Graduate vacancies • 1-1 guidance - drop in/booked appointments • E-guidance (via web) • Careers Fairs, employer presentations • Careers programmes – School/central based

5. Faculty of Eng/Phys Sciences Careers Programme 2009 Information on talks/workshops, graduate vacancy sources, employer presentations and events for faculty students Check out Pdf at www.qub.ac.uk/careers and sign up for events at online Events Diary

6. Applications/CVs/Interviews – Autumn Workshops 1-2pm SGC from w/c 5 Oct – w/c 23 Nov • CVs – Develop a Winning CV (Mondays) • Applications – Read Between the Lines (Tuesdays) • Interviews – A Conversation With a Purpose (Thursdays) Book your place at www.qub.ac.uk/careers

7. The Recession...your thoughts?… • Are graduate employers still recruiting? • Should I look outside my degree area? • Should I do a Masters or other further study? • Should I try a ‘safer’ option eg teaching, public sector? • Should I be more strategic about who I’m targeting?

8. Impact of recession on Physics (as far as we can tell): • Need to bear in mind NI grad market is always competitive • Graduate recruitment generally badly hit • Industry generally hit harder than academia, but not across the board • Financial services sector still recruiting - not all bad news • Major companies often not stating number of graduate vacancies for 2010 • Flexibility (including location) is key – some recruiters have opportunities across UK/Ireland • Also consider temporary and other types of contracts

9. Employment • Further Study • Training • Time Out

10. Some potential career options with Physics • Research scientist • Medical physicist • Lab technician • Teacher • Teach First prog • Software developt Remember that 40-50% of graduate jobs open to any degree Other options – • Meteorologist • Finance-related • Geosciences-related • Patent Attorney • Scientific Adviser

11. Physics 2008 Grad/PG Destinations • 29%employment (of which 60% graduate jobs) • 48%F/t further study • 17% Other • 6% Unemployed Examples: • Trainee actuary – Spence & Partners • Graduate Developer – Fidessa • Auditor – Deloitte • Physics Teacher – Grammar school • Asst Administrator - QUB • PGCE - various • MSc Plasma Physics - QUB • Atmospheric Physics – n/k

12. Current vacancies -1 Scientific Services Industry E.ON UK, 3M UK, GSK, Cadbury, Sainsburys Computing/IT– Asidua Govt/defence AWE, Dstl (“MSc Info Assurance Industrial Placement”) Industry/defence Thales, Bae Systems

13. Current vacancies - 2 Other ideas • Mercer Belfast – Retirement Analysts (session 3-5.30pm Wed 11 November Mercer offices in Belfast) • Asst Trader - SIG Ltd (ROI) • Axa - Actuarial Student programme (GB) • FSA (London) • Watson Wyatt – Actuarial Consulting (GB, ROI) • Civil Service Fast Stream • Teach First

14. Recruitment Timetable and Systems Major employers mostly recruit to the ”Milkround” timetable i.e. applications by December of final year, interviews in January/February and assessment Centres in March/April They use some/all of the following methods to select • On-Line Applications • Aptitude Tests • On-Campus Interviews • Telephone Interviews • Assessment Centres

15. Careers Fairs–Whitla Hall • 20 October 2009 Admin, Finance and Management • 21 October 2009 Engineering, Science, IT • 4 November 2009 Law • 10 February 2010 Work Experience Check Faculty of Eng/Phys Sci Programme, What’s On weekly update and Events Diary at ww.qub.ac.uk/careers

16. Vacancy sources Queen’s Careers • Careers website • Queen’s Careers Fairs • Financial Services Recruitment Opportunities Prog (available now at SGC or at www.qub.ac.uk/careers) • Queen’s Careers Guide 2010 (available as above) Employers • Employer presentations at Queen’s • Prof bodies Graduate Directories • Available from SGC Websites • Prospects, Gradireland, Careers Local/national press Recruitment agencies • can help get a foot in the door See ‘Jobsearching’ section of Queen’s Careers Guide 2010 for further ideas

17. Are you the ideal candidate? • Good degree • Technical knowledge (if reqd) • Structured work placement/ other work experience • Extra-curricular activities at QUB or outside • Transferable skills/aptitudes • Career management skills eg business skills/awareness, I.T. • Flexible/adaptable/motivated/willing to learn

18. Beat the Recession: • Review your CV/what you have to offer • Be flexible – have a ‘Plan B’ • Commit to personal development eg work experience • Do the research • Use your networks • Get the right help eg Careers, Employability and Skills, academic staff etc

19. Employment • Further Study • Training • Time Out

20. Reasons for considering postgraduate study: • Interest in the subject • Academic ambition • Long term job prospects • More time to consider career options • Avoid recession

21. Further Study Options • Taught courses • Specialised degree • Usually 1 (sometimes 2) years • Taught in similar way to u/g degrees • Diploma eg PGCE – normally 9 months • Masters – normally 12 months • Another undergrad degree – change of direction?

22. Why a taught course? • Can be stepping stone to further study eg PhD • Can be requirement or advantage in entering employment, esp. Competitive job areas where a further qualification can give you an edge • However, won’t guarantee any advantage in graduate job market • Can be useful for career development

23. Further Study options Research • PhD – normally 3 years • Original research under supervision • Not normally taught as with Masters • More like a job – regular hours etc • Need motivation for long-term study • Need to be able to work largely on your own (with support from tutor)

24. Why a PhD? • Essential for academic careers and postdoc research • Can aid career development within scientific organisations/companies • Some specialised finance areas may require PhD eg quantitative finance , computational modelling • Transferable skills • Again though, a PhD doesn’t guarantee a higher level job

25. Closing dates • PGCE (Post-Primary) QUB – 1st November 2009 • PGCE (Primary) UUC – 10 December 2009 • GTTR (Primary) GB – 1 December 2009 • GTTR (Post-Primary) GB – up to 30 June 2010 and beyond • Financial Services Recruitment – varies but closing dates for some opportunities start from 22 Oct through Nov (and beyond in some cases)

26. Funding PG diplomas – limited except eg Teaching, Social Work Masters – very limited, many students self-fund PhD – more options available eg DEL Research Studentships and some scholarships Get more info from: Admissionswww.qub.ac.uk/ado Postgraduate Office www.qub.ac.uk/pao Graduate Prospects www.prospects.ac.uk

27. Questions to ask yourself? • Am I genuinely interested in PG (or other further) study? • Do I have a realistic idea of where it will take me afterwards in terms of my career? • Have I chosen the right course/field of study? • Have I chosen the best university for what I want to do (may not always be QUB)? • Can I afford it?

28. Employment Further Study Training Time Out

29. Graduate Training Involves on and off-job experience/training • Intro (business training) • www.introprogramme.com • E2 (export development) • www.e2programme.com • Knowledge Transfer Partnerships • www.ktponline.org.uk • Others at www.qub.ac.uk > Students > Job Vacancies > Graduate Training Schemes

30. Employment • Further Study • Training • Time Out

31. What can I do? Work experience eg BUNAC, Camp America, JET Programme www.qub.ac.uk/careers > Useful Websites Voluntary work eg Belfast Computer Clubhouse www.belfastclubhouse.org Volunteer Now NI www.volunteernow.co.uk Short courses eg Learn a language? IT skills? Travel egAustralia Working Holiday Visa ww.immi.gov.au/ visitors/working-holiday/417/

32. Further 1-1 help • Duty Adviser (drop-in) • 9.00 to 5.00, Monday to Friday • (Phil Clarke generally available Wednesdays 1-5pm) • Guidance interviews (by appointment) • (Phil Clarke available Wednesday and Thursday mornings) • E-mail guidance • Register at www.qub.ac.uk/careers