As a researcher, you are a highly skilled individual. You may have decided that you wish to pursue a career outside the academic career path, but where to start?

It’s time to do some research and reflection. What’s your skillset? What type of role do you want? What jobs are out there? What company do you want to work for and why? What’s your career ambition?

Some of these can be challenging questions, and the PFDC is here to support you so if you need support book a one to one and attend the Planning a career change course.

To help you get started, the PFDC talked to postdocs that have pursued careers outside research in academia – you can explore what they had to say in the videos on this webpage.

The PFDC has also collated a list of job titles and companies which previous postdocs from Imperial have moved on to. This information has been taken from the PFDC one-to-one appointments, mock interviews and the PFDC Exit Survey.

Job titles

When beginning your search for new roles, knowing what job title to look for can be difficult and frustrating. Below is a list of job titles which postdocs and fellows from Imperial have applied for. Use this list to get a better understanding of the range of job titles out there and look them up online to find their job descriptions.

This will help you understand what different roles require and how your skillset compares to the person specification:

• Job titles (pdf)

Companies

Who will hire postdocs? What company do you want to work for? What industry do you want to work in? There is a variety of companies looking for highly skilled individuals, but knowing which ones to look for can be challenging. Use the list of companies to get an understanding of the range of companies and industries which postdocs have applied to previously.

Please note that this is by no means an exhaustive list; this is just a starting point and a sample of some of the job roles and companies that Imperial postdocs have moved to.

• Companies (pdf)