Did you know around 70% of graduate jobs are open to students from any degree discipline? You may think employers look for subject matter expertise, but they are really interested in the transferrable skills students develop during their degrees.
By studying a science degree you will have developed highly employable skills like problem solving, numeracy, teamwork, analysing and thinking logically.
These can be applied to a number of different roles you may not have considered before.
Data Scientist/Analyst
At first glance a data analyst and a data scientist appear very similar, however the roles have distinguishable aims. A data analyst makes sense out of existing data through routine analysis and writing reports. While a data scientist works on new ways to capture, store, manipulate and analyse that data.
A data analyst will translate numbers and data, then use data analysis to produce accessible graphs, charts, tables and reports. Data analysts are in high demand across all sectors, such as finance, consulting, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, government and education.
As a data scientist, you will be responsible for extracting, analysing and interpreting large amounts of data to make it accessible to businesses. You’ll use your technical, analytical and communication skills to collect, interpret and present the data to help a business find patterns and solve problems.
To be able to show an awareness of the industry, online resources like the Data Elixir newsletter can help you could stay up to date with developments in the field.
There are also career-specific jobs boards out there, including DataScientistJobs, which can aid in your job search.
Sales
Sales professionals link the consumer with the producer of goods or services. This typically falls into two main categories: business-to-business (B2B) sales, where salespeople sell to another business, and business-to-consumer (B2C) sales, where the salesperson sells directly to the public.
If you were looking for something more science-based in this field, a Medical sales representative might be the role for you. Here you would work for pharmaceutical companies and sell medicines, medical equipment and prescription drugs to healthcare professionals such as GPs, hospital doctors, pharmacists, nurses and dentists.
Finance
With a science background you could also go into banking or finance. The industry will require the numeracy skills and ability to research efficiently you would have gained during your degree.
Graduate schemes are the most common way of entering the field and typically involve one to three years of training alongside hands-on experience. Find out more and begin your search for 2024.
Consulting
For some scientists looking to work outside of scientific research, consulting is an attractive option. Top employers in this field include KPMG, Capgemini and Deloitte, who seek students every year for their graduate schemes.
As a Management consultant, for example, a science degree will provide you with the analytical skills you need to solve client problems and improve the business’ performance.
As well as your degree, it could be useful to demonstrate to employers your commitment to the profession by gaining membership of the Institute of Consulting (CMI). The Management Consultancies Association (MCA) will also help you to keep up to date with industry news.
This is by no means an exhaustive list – you could also look into HR and recruitment, marketing, or transport and logistics. Perhaps all, or none, of these sound appealing to you; just remember you are not confined by your degree subject, what matters most is your skills.
Maebh Springbett, Careers Information and Events Assistant