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The respondent to this survey is Fiona who is from a White British background.
| What qualifications did you hold prior to starting university? | 10 GCSE's
3 A Levels |
| What was the name of your course? | Chemistry - BSc/Chem |
| While at university have you worked part-time? | No |
| While at university have you performed any voluntary work? | No |
| While at university have you undertake any work experience? | No |
| What is your status? | In full or part time employment |
| What is your job title? | Information Scientists |
| What responsibilities do you hold? | Maintain Database
Conduct literature Searches
Manage workflow and allocation of reports |
| What do you enjoy the most about this job? | The variety of responsibilities that I have |
| What do you enjoy the least? | It is not as challenging as I had hoped it would be. |
| What was involved in the recruitment process for this job? | An application form, interview and presentation. |
| Do you feel you have a career plan? | No |
| When did you start thinking about what you wanted to do after graduation? Thinking back did you leave enough time for this? | I was too worried about finals to think about this - I wish I had researched masters degrees and other options. I ended up travelling overseas to give myself some thinking space. |
| Did you experience any difficulties when it came to finding work after graduation? If yes, please describe some of the problems you faced? | The main problem was not knowing what I wanted to do, and being faced with so many choices. I also didn't understand how, having done a science degree I was able to apply for other types of jobs such as marketing and HR. |
| What do you wish you had known before you started applying for jobs? | All the options - I felt so overwhelmed that I just went with the first thing that sounded interesting, rather than ensuring it was something I would enjoy doing. |
| What advice would you give to someone applying for jobs now? | I am lucky in that although I don't 100% enjoy my job, I am in an organisation that provides fantastic training. I am also able to transfer between departments, so I hope to find a job that is more suited to me. I would suggest that you are likely to make mistakes, or take options that are not the best choices, so finding an organisation that supports training and career development is better than holding out and waiting for the dream position - that may not exist, or live up to expectations. |
| Would you have done anything differently while at university to prepare for your career? Please give details. | I would have done some of my own research sooner, without relying on the careers advisers - we got all those talks within a short space of time and I felt overwhelmed. |
| How do you feel your degree has prepared you for today's labour market? | There are loads of jobs about, the large percentage of which require a degree, but when you look into what your roles and responsibilities will be I often think "why do I need a degree to do that?". If I had gone into science maybe I would think differently. |
| What impact did your course have on your career aspirations? | Undecided still |
| Did you make use of the careers service at university? | No |
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