About
There are many careers open to science graduates who would prefer to use their science knowledge and skills outside a lab setting. Opportunities exist across the public, private and voluntary sectors - from business, health and communications, to research, policy work and teaching.
See the Science Council article on the 10 types of scientist working today.
Prospects and targetjobs also have advice on alternative graduate careers for scientists. The Pharmaceutical Careers Guide from Origin lists potential career paths in the pharmaceutical industry.
The Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has advice for both undergraduates and postgraduates, including career options.
You can hear from graduates working in a range of science-related careers, including science writing, recruitment, medical sales and meteorology in Beyond the lab (YouTube) – a series of short videos produced by the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS).
What do Newcastle University science graduates do after their degree?
Examples of what some of our science graduates are doing up to 3 years after finishing their course*:
- medical writer
- data analyst
- innovation manager
- business intelligence analyst
- secondary science teacher
- science recruitment specialist
- trainee project manager
- risk analyst
- science explainer
- ecological consultant
- clinical trials specialist
- business development manager
- statistician
- policy advisor
*Taken from LinkedIn’s Newcastle University Find Alumni tool.
Events
Recruitment events, open days, talks and employer and sector insight events give valuable insight. There is also the opportunity to make useful contacts.
Regular events for this sector include our annual Science Careers Outside the Lab event, with speakers from a range of careers including science education, government, patents, medical writing, science recruitment, pharma sales, teaching, data science, law and environmental consultancy.
Employers who have attended in the past include: Civil Service Fast Stream, CY Partners, Environment Agency, EY, NHS, Northumbrian Water, Oxford University Press, Teach First, Womble Bond Dickinson and the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology.
The Organisation for Professionals in Regulatory Affairs (TOPRA) holds an annual one-day careers fair, aimed at professionals and life science students and graduates who are interested in a career in healthcare regulatory affairs. It's free to attend for TOPRA members.
Nature, international journal of science, organises an annual Careers Live event in October aimed at science graduates and researchers. It's free to attend and features exhibitors from academic, life and clinical science organisations, plus talks and workshops.
Silicon Milk Roundabout is a free 2 day job event for tech professionals. It’s an opportunity to meet and chat with employers - roles include digital marketing, data science, project management.
Read on to:
Roles
The following job profiles include descriptions of typical duties and entry requirements, plus links to vacancy sites and employers.
Click on the sections below for some examples of the roles that may be open to you. Have a look at our other Explore Occupations pages for more inspiration.
Science communication: education and outreach
Science communication: education and outreachGet an insight from science graduates talking about their roles in science communication, education and outreach for our Science Careers Outside the Lab event in March 2021.
Science communication: writing and publishing
Science communication: writing and publishingGovernment & policy
Government & policyGet an insight from science graduates talking about their roles in government and policy for our Science Careers Outside the Lab event in March 2021.
Business & management
Business & managementGet an insight from science graduates talking about their roles in business and finance for our Science Careers Outside the Lab event in March 2021.
Energy & environment
Energy & environmentGet an insight from science graduates talking about their roles in environment and sustainability for our Science Careers Outside the Lab event in March 2021.
Information, research and data
Information, research and dataManufacturing & supply chain
Manufacturing & supply chainHealth
HealthHealthcare scientists
See Prospects: Healthcare and our Healthcare sector-specific page for more job profiles.
Get an insight from science graduates talking about their roles in healthcare, including the NHS Scientist Training Programme, for our Science Careers Outside the Lab event in March 2021.
Scientific sales, marketing and recruitment
Scientific sales, marketing and recruitmentGet an insight from science graduates talking about their roles in recruitment, marketing and sales for our Science Careers Outside the Lab event in March 2021.
Legal services, patents & regulatory affairs
Legal services, patents & regulatory affairsGet an insight from science graduates talking about their roles in legal services for our Science Careers Outside the Lab event in March 2021.
Skills
Skills
Prospects: What can I do with my degree? lists the skills specific to your degree including:
- critical and analytical skills
- problem-solving
- teamwork
- verbal and written communication
- project management
- planning, organising and time management
- attention to detail
Gaining Experience
Getting a graduate job is competitive. Undertaking relevant work experience will not only raise your profile with an employer, it will also allow you to develop new skills and gain a valuable insight into industry.
You can get a better understanding of what employment in a particular job or sector is like and whether this would be the right career choice for you.
Finding work experience
Several large employers, such as MSD, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and GSK, offer summer internships and industrial placements in a range of roles – from clinical research and data science, to commercial roles including finance, sales and marketing. Applications generally open a year ahead, around September, with closing dates as early as October and November.
Some companies, eg Unilever and BP, also offer insight programmes for first year students, ranging from a day to a week, usually in the spring. These can often lead to a fast track to their internship or placement programmes.
Smaller companies often don’t advertise opportunities. You may need to contact them with a speculative approach. Do this early, as it can be very competitive.
Organisations such as professional bodies, research councils, universities, and research institutes often advertise internships. Examples include Cancer Research UK, Wellcome Trust, and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, which offer opportunities such as funding, science communication, policy, bioinformatics and marketing. You can find links to professional bodies in the About section in each of our Explore Occupations pages.
Advertised opportunities - all sectors
Advertised opportunities - all sectors- MyCareer - search for term-time and/or vacation internships for opportunities on and off campus. If you’re looking for work experience in science-related organisations, try selecting ‘Science and research’ under Occupational areas, plus an additional field, eg ‘Management and business’. Ensure you click on ‘Match all’ to bring up relevant opportunities.
- Careers Service: Internships, placements & shadowing - includes links to lots of vacancy sites for summer internships and placement years
- Year in Industry - paid 10-12 month placements for undergraduate students
- Gradcracker - includes internships and placements open to science students
- New Scientist - sometimes advertise internships
- Pharmiweb.Jobs - search using Internship as a keyword
Finding organisations
Finding organisationsFind organisations that interest you and get in touch directly - always with a named contact. Be specific about why you are writing to them and what you’re looking for.
Show your enthusiasm for the sector and highlight any relevant skills. Don’t give up if you don’t get a reply – follow up with a phone call or email to show that you’re keen.
In the North East
In the UK and overseas
Opportunities by role
Opportunities by role
The following is not an exhaustive list, but examples of the type of opportunities that may be available within specific sectors. These can include paid internships, voluntary work, modules and part-time jobs.
Click on the sections below for inspiration.
Science education and outreach
Science education and outreach
This area of work is about making science accessible and engaging and presenting it in an easy-to-understand way. This could be in schools as a science teacher, or bringing science to the public at events and festivals, in museums or through workshops in the community.
Work experience opportunities include:
You could also contact science outreach/education providers for possible opportunities – see STEM Directories to find organisations and events. Within the North East, you could try:
- Life Science Centre - sometimes advertises opportunities for science explainers
- RTC North - STEM Ambassador Hub North East England, based in Sunderland
- NETPark - science park in County Durham. They deliver an outreach and engagement programme to engage local communities about the opportunities offered by the commercialisation of science there
Science communication
Science communication
Science communication covers a range of career areas, including science writing and journalism, science publishing, events and PR.
Employers include pharmaceutical companies, science publishers, the NHS, government, research institutes, charities, media organisations and professional bodies, such as the Royal Societies of Biology and Chemistry.
The PSCI-COM science communication mailing list features regular discussions and job/internship adverts.
Scientific publisher, Springer, offers 3-6 month internships in publishing, including editorial, research and corporate communications.
Charities can offer opportunities in events and communications, for example, Cancer Research UK recruits paid part-time events assistants and volunteers to help run its fundraising events such as Race for Life.
As well as looking for advertised opportunities, you can also contact companies directly to ask if they could offer you work experience. The University of Kent Careers Service has a list of medical communications and science publishers.
Finding work experience in science communication can be difficult, so it’s worth considering gaining experience in different ways, such as writing science articles for the Courier, entering science writing competitions (some come with a prize of an internship) and volunteering to help organise science or health-related events and festivals. MedCommsNetworking lists events and webinars that may be useful for finding out more about the field and what employers are looking for.
You could also try to find work experience in similar roles outside the science industry, for example, many PR and publishing companies offer internships and placements. Have a look at the Gaining experience sections on our sector-specific pages:
Government and policy
Government and policy
Typical employers would be local and central government, scientific professional bodies, e.g. Royal Society and Institute of Physics, thinktanks and charities.
See also Government, Politics and Social Research for more ways to gain experience.
Business and management
Business and management
You can find business-related internships and placements within a wide range of science organisations, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. See the links to Advertised vacancies and Finding organisations above.
The Careers Service manages term-time and summer internships for external companies in the North East and for departments and schools within the University. We sometimes have business-related internships with science and pharmaceutical companies – these are advertised on MyCareer throughout the academic year and early summer. Read about Emily’s experience of a marketing internship with CY Partners, a scientific recruitment agency in Newcastle.
If you’re struggling to find work experience in a science or pharmaceutical company, it would be worth trying to find related experience outside the industry to gain relevant transferable skills. The sectors listed under our Business and Finance pages include advice and sources of work experience - see also our Internships, Placements & Shadowing pages.
Energy and environment
Energy and environment
You can find opportunities within a wide range of organisations, including pharmaceutical, oil and gas and utility companies, government, research institutes, professional bodies, charities and environmental consultancies. There are also opportunities within the nuclear industry, for example, Sellafield offers summer internships and placement years for science students.
- See the Gaining experience sections within the following sector-specific pages for sources of vacancies and employer directories:
- NERC Research Experience Placements offer funding for undergraduates to complete environmental science summer research placements
- The Met Office offers summer internships and placement years in a wide range of roles including science and forecasting
Information, research and data analysis
Information, research and data analysis
You can find work experience opportunities in data science, informatics and statistics within a wide range of organisations, including the NHS, pharmaceutical companies, government, and research institutes.
Opportunities in clinical research can be found within pharmaceutical companies, such as MSD, and contract research organisations (CROs), such as Labcorp. The Clinical & Contract Research Organisation lists member profiles for CROs and drug development companies.
PSI has a list of medical research and pharmaceutical companies who offer internships and placements in statistics and programming.
See the links to Advertised vacancies and Finding organisations above, plus the links under the Government and policy section above to search for opportunities.
If you’re struggling to find work experience in a science or pharmaceutical company, it would be worth trying to find related experience outside the industry, eg in finance, retail or travel, to gain relevant transferable skills.
Manufacturing and logistics
Manufacturing and logistics
You can find work experience within the pharmaceutical industry, eg MSD offers 12 month placements in manufacturing and supply chain.
See also the links to Advertised vacancies and Finding organisations above.
If you’re struggling to find opportunities in a science or pharmaceutical company, it would be worth trying to find experience outside the industry, eg in manufacturing, engineering or transport companies, to gain relevant transferable skills. Have a look at the Gaining experience sections on our sector-specific pages:
Health
Health
Getting work experience in the NHS can sometimes be difficult, as departments may not have the resources to be able to offer this. Some NHS Trusts only offer work experience to school pupils or students on specific courses (eg medicine and physiotherapy), while others have set work experience programmes or are happy to be contacted speculatively to arrange work experience or shadowing.
Many hospitals have a dedicated staff member who deals with placements - check the NHS Trust website for hospital contact details. If you are unable to find this information, you could ring the hospital switchboard and ask to speak to the work experience/placement co-ordinator.
NHS Health Careers has advice on ways to gain healthcare-related experience.
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust offers opportunities for work experience, shadowing and volunteering.
For other NHS Trusts in the North East, see Health Education England.
See also our occupational pages, Public Health and Healthcare for additional sources of work experience.
Scientific sales, marketing and recruitment
Scientific sales, marketing and recruitment
There are various opportunities, particularly within the pharmaceutical industry for marketing roles.
For medical/scientific sales, Pharmafield has a useful article about trying to find work experience in this industry. Work experience can be hard to get, but it’s worth trying to shadow a medical sales rep if you can. Pharmiweb has advice on how to get shadowing experience.
See our list of specialist recruitment agencies under Finding Jobs to find companies who hire science recruitment consultants.
For more opportunities, go to Advertised vacancies and Finding organisations.
Have a look at our sector pages: HR, Recruitment and Training, Retail, Buying and Selling and Marketing for advice on finding general experience in these fields. If you’re struggling to find work experience in a science or pharmaceutical company, you could try to find related experience outside the industry, eg in retail sales, which would demonstrate relevant transferable skills.
The Careers Service manages term-time and summer internships for external companies in the North East and for departments and schools within the University. We sometimes have marketing-related internships with science and pharmaceutical companies – these are advertised on MyCareer throughout the academic year and early summer. Read about Emily’s experience of a marketing internship with CY Partners, a scientific recruitment agency in Newcastle.
Legal Services, patents & regulatory affairs
Legal Services, patents & regulatory affairs
For advice on finding law-related work experience, see Legal Professions.
Patents and trademarks
Work experience in patent law can be difficult to find; it’s worth contacting employers directly with a speculative approach. Recruiters will also value experience in law firms and in a scientific or technical environment.
The Biochemist Blog includes an article from a postgraduate student who undertook an internship with an intellectual property firm.
Regulatory affairs
The Organisation for Professionals in Regulatory Affairs (TOPRA) has resources for starting out in regulatory affairs, with tips and advice, including volunteering. Their Jobs Board sometimes advertises paid internships. They also run short courses to provide an insight into regulatory affairs and offer career coaching to members.
Several pharmaceutical companies offer year-long placements in regulatory affairs, eg Glaxo SmithKline (GSK).
For more opportunities, go to Advertised vacancies and Finding organisations.
Other ways to gain experience
Other ways to gain experience
All work experience is valuable, so if you can't find experience directly linked with your field of choice, why not try some of these alternative ideas for gaining skills and experience:
Finding Jobs
You can find science-related graduate jobs in a range of occupations – from clinical research and data science to commercial roles including finance, sales and marketing.
Many large employers, such as Unilever, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and GSK, recruit at the start of the autumn term, while others (particularly small and medium sized companies) recruit all year round.
Smaller companies often don’t advertise opportunities, or may only advertise on their own website. You may need to contact them with a speculative approach. Do this early, as it can be very competitive.
Organisations such as professional bodies, research councils, universities, and research institutes often advertise graduate jobs. Examples include Cancer Research UK and Wellcome, which offer graduate programmes in various roles including finance, investments, communication, policy, informatics, technology, HR and marketing. You can find links to professional bodies in the About section in each of our Explore Occupations pages.
New Scientist has advice on how to find a graduate job in science after university.
Advertised opportunities - all sectors
Advertised opportunities - all sectors- MyCareer - our vacancies database, with employers targeting Newcastle University students and graduates
- Graduate Jobs - includes links to lots of vacancy sites for both graduate schemes and graduate jobs
- International Jobs - for help with finding jobs overseas
- New Scientist
- Nature Careers - science jobs
- Guardian Jobs
- Jobs.ac.uk - jobs in universities and colleges, includes PhD and research roles
- STEM Graduates - opportunities with small to medium sized companies, aimed at final year students and recent graduates with a science, technology, engineering or maths related degree
- Gradcracker - includes vacancies open to science students
- NextPharmaJob.com - vacancies across a wide range of roles, including communication, recruitment, clinical research and regulatory affairs
- ResearchGate: Research Jobs - PhD and jobs listings for careers in research, science and academia.
- Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) - three-way partnerships involving a business, a graduate and an academic institution. Graduates work on research projects while gaining industrial experience with an employer. Projects are competitively paid, with funding for personal development, and typically last 1-3 years – there are often opportunities in science. View current opportunities
- SpaceCareers.uk - includes jobs in data science, communication, research and marketing
- Eurosciencejobs - research and postdoc opportunities across Europe
- Angel List - find a job in a start-up, eg data scientist, writer, product manager
Finding organisations
Finding organisations
Find organisations that interest you and get in touch - always with a named contact. Be specific about why you are writing to them and what you’re looking for.
Show your enthusiasm for the sector and highlight any relevant skills. Don’t give up if you don’t get a reply – follow up with a phone call or email to show that you’re keen.
In the North East
In the UK and overseas
Specialist recruitment agencies
Specialist recruitment agencies
Recruitment agencies can be a useful source of vacancies, particularly in the science industry. They also have a wealth of industry knowledge.
In the North East
UK and overseas
Vacancy sites by job role
Vacancy sites by job role
Click on the relevant sector below to view sources of vacancies and employers.
This is not an exhaustive list, but aims to give you an example of the type of opportunities that may be available.
Science education and outreach
Science education and outreach
This area of work is about making science accessible and engaging and presenting it in an easy to understand way. This could be in schools as a science teacher, or bringing science to the public at events and festivals, in museums or through workshops in the community.
See the Careers Service website for advice on applying for teacher training and routes into teaching. Teaching in Schools also has links to job sites.
Jobs.ac.uk and THE unijobs advertise jobs in universities and HE colleges.
GEM lists opportunities within the heritage and cultural sector, eg museum education and outreach.
Leicester University’s Museum Studies Jobs Desk often has opportunities for learning and education officers in science and medical museums.
The PSCI-COM science communication mailing list includes regular job adverts, including for outreach and public engagement opportunities.
BIG, the STEM Communicators Network, advertises jobs and has a list of science centres and festivals, which could be useful for speculative applications.
You could also contact science outreach/education providers for possible opportunities – see STEM Directories to find organisations and events.
Within the North East, you could try:
- Life Science Centre - sometimes advertises opportunities for science explainers
- RTC North - STEM Ambassador Hub North East England, based in Sunderland
- NETPark - science park in County Durham. They deliver an outreach and engagement programme to engage local communities about the opportunities offered by the commercialisation of science there.
Science communication
Science communication
Science communication covers a range of career areas, including science writing and journalism, science publishing, events and PR.
Employers include pharmaceutical companies, science publishers, the NHS, government, research institutes, professional bodies, such as the Royal Societies of Biology and Chemistry, health charities and the media, including TV, radio and advertising.
As well as looking for advertised opportunities, you can also contact companies directly to ask if they have any graduate opportunities. The University of Kent Careers Service has a list of medical communications and science publishers.
Many science/medical communications agencies include a writing test as part of the recruitment process for medical writer roles. For advice and tips, see Carrot Recruitment: How to Master the Writing Test: A Guide for Medical Writers.
Sources of vacancies across science and medical communication
- The PSCI-COM science communication mailing list includes regular discussions and job adverts.
- BIG, the STEM Communicators Network, advertises jobs and has a list of science centres and festivals, which could be useful for speculative applications
- The Association of British Science Writers advertises jobs in publishing, communications and marketing
- FirstMedCommsJob.com advertises entry level jobs, suitable for new graduates. They also have an agency directory of medcomms agencies across the UK and Europe
- Search for jobs on NextMedCommsJob.com
- The Healthcare Communications Association has a list of members, including medcomms agencies, industry and health charities
- NHS Jobs - search using ‘communications’ as a keyword
- Cancer Research UK’s graduate programme has previously included a policy, information and communications stream
- Civil Service Jobs - search for opportunities in science or health related departments and organisations including DEFRA, the Met Office and Public Health England
- W4MP Jobs - includes opportunities in communications, events and public affairs, for government, political parties, charities and thinktanks
- Pharmafile has a member directory, useful for research and speculative applications
- ID Search & Selection is a recruitment agency specialising in medical and healthcare communications
Scientific publishing jobs
Scientific publishing companies often advertise in publications such as New Scientist. The main publishers tend to be based in Oxford, Cambridge, London and the south coast.
Examples of publishing houses for scientific journals include:
The Royal Society of Chemistry offers graduate roles in publishing and communications. See their Publishing Editor blog for more information about the role.
Atwood Tate is a recruitment agency for the publishing industry which often advertises scientific and medical publishing roles, including editorial and marketing.
See also the links to Advertised vacancies and Finding organisations above, plus our sector-specific pages:
Government and policy
Government and policy
Typical employers would be local and central government, scientific professional bodies, eg Royal Society and Institute of Physics, thinktanks and charities.
For a list of professional bodies, research councils/institutes and vacancy sites, see our sector-specific pages:
Business & management
Business & management
There are opportunities within business, finance and consulting for graduates to apply their scientific background and analytical skills, for example, to help solve clients’ problems or to provide market intelligence. Typical employers include pharmaceutical and life science companies, consultancies, health charities, government and energy and utility companies.
The NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme offers a wide range of specialisms, including finance, HR and general management.
Cancer Research UK has graduate programmes in finance, HR and scientific strategy and funding.
Use the Advertised vacancy sites and Finding organisations sections above, plus the Finding Jobs sections of our Business and Finance sector pages, for further sources of vacancies and ways to find employers.
Energy and environment
Energy and environment
There are opportunities for science graduates within a wide range of organisations, including:
- higher education and research institutions, including research councils and research centres such as the British Antarctic Survey
- industry, for example, the energy industry, utilities and pharmaceutical companies. There are also opportunities within the nuclear industry, for example, Sellafield's graduate scheme has programme areas including environmental, safety support and technical aimed at STEM students
- environmental, ecological and sustainability consultancies
- charities, environmental NGOs and pressure groups, eg National Trust, RSPB, WWF, Friends of the Earth.
- Local and central government and non-departmental public bodies, including Defra, Natural England, the Met Office and the Environment Agency. See Civil Service jobs, to search for vacancies
- national park authorities
- intergovernmental and international organisations, such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and international think tanks
See the About and Finding Jobs sections within Environment and Energy and Utilities for sources of vacancies and ways to find organisations.
See also the links to Advertised vacancies and Finding organisations, plus the links under the Government and policy section above.
Information, research and data analysis
Information, research and data analysisManufacturing and supply chain
Manufacturing and supply chainHealth
Health
There are various career options within health, from healthcare science and academic research to health promotion and environmental health.
Opportunities can be found within the NHS, private healthcare, local and central government, professional bodies, academic and research institutions, and the not-for profit sector.
Within the NHS, the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme has various specialisms, including health analysis and policy and strategic management.
To work as a healthcare scientist in the NHS, you need to complete the NHS Scientist Training Programme (STP). This is a graduate-entry training programme that leads to more senior scientist roles in the NHS. There are several roles which involve patient contact and are not lab-based, such as audiology, physiology, genomic counselling and medical physics.
You can search for health-related opportunities on the following sites:
For information and advice on health-related careers, including medicine, nursing and allied health professions, plus links to sources of vacancies, see Healthcare and Public Health.
Scientific sales, marketing and recruitment
Scientific sales, marketing and recruitment
There are lots of opportunities, within the pharmaceutical and life science industry for sales and marketing roles.
You can search job opportunities for sales, marketing and/or recruitment roles on the following sites:
For more opportunities, go to Advertised vacancies and Finding organisations.
Legal services, patents and trademarks
Legal services, patents and trademarks
For advice on a career in law, including training, see Legal Professions.
Patents & trademarks
Opportunities are available within private practices, eg specialist law firms, or within industry (‘in house’), eg within science or engineering companies. The majority of patent attorneys work in private practice.
A science degree is usually the minimum requirement, with some employers also preferring candidates to have had some research or industrial experience.
Regulatory affairs
Some vacancies within regulatory affairs are aimed more at graduates who have had some relevant experience, though there are entry-level graduate schemes available, eg GSK’s Future Leaders Graduate Programme.
Try contacting companies speculatively, to enquire about possible entry-level vacancies.
It may be possible to gain experience in a related role or sector, such as quality assurance roles within the pharmaceutical industry, moving into regulatory affairs once you have built up your knowledge and skills.
ABPI have a list of pharmaceutical recruiters in the UK who run graduate training programmes. Look for opportunities advertised on their website or make a speculative enquiry.
For more opportunities, go to Advertised vacancies and Finding organisations.
