Sophie Q.
About me
| Sophie Q. | |
| Chemistry | |
| Chemistry | |
| Taught Postgraduate | |
| 2015 | |
| Singapore |
My employment
| R&D Assistant | |
| Reckitt Benckiser | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Science and research | |
| Large business (250+ employees) | |
| 2015 |
More about Sophie
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A day in the life of a R&D Assistant in the United Kingdom
Each interview is a win-win situation
My career history
Since the completion of my MSc by Research coursework, I've been a data technician for a railway engineering company, the deputy manager of a takeaway and an intern at the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence. I've also been a researcher engineer at a large research institute, a tutor at a educational centre, and finally a volunteer at a speech therapy clinic prior to starting my MSc course!
Where I hope to be in 5 years
I'd like to be an expert in my field, no matter what field I'm in, so I'm working on that!
My advice to students considering work
Take every interview seriously! I learnt from my interviewer that one of the candidates just failed to turn up, and others just didn't engage with the interviewer during the process. Each interview is a win-win situation - you either get the position (big win!) or you get more experience at handling interviews (win!).
My advice about working in my industry
I've learnt that students who spend a year in industry in this sector stand a much higher chance of being re-employed in the same company after graduation. Since there's slightly lesser competition for places in the year in industry programme, my suggestion would be for interested candidates to start early and complete a year in industry. For graduates who are past that stage, don't lose hope as a strong interview could get you a place as well. Show interest in the company, in your interviewers, and in the position you're interviewing for.
What I do
Surprisingly for a chemistry graduate, I don't do much laboratory work at all. I do, however, write a lot of technical documentation which requires a good understanding of the sciences.
Skills I use and how I developed them
Extracurricular skills:
Time management is important in my job as my work comes and goes in waves - luckily for me, the priority list is determined largely by my boss who monitors existing stock levels of the products we are transferring. I've also found a keen eye for detail to be key to excelling in my job, and I've found this out the hard way!
What I like most
I have increased visibility as I do get lots of documents published under my name, and I also liaise with people from other departments.
What I like least
I spend way too much time sitting down!
Next steps...
If you like the look of Sophie’s profile, the next steps are down to you! You can send Sophie a message to find out more about their career journey. If you feel you would benefit from more in-depth conversations, ask Sophie to be your mentor.