GRADnet PGR Alumni Case Studies
Read about what some of our SEPnet PhD graduates are doing now:
PhD Graduate: Matthew Withers, University of Portsmouth
Company: CDO2
Role: Embedded Software Engineer
“A PhD is an excellent opportunity to learn and develop many new transferable skills for future employment.”
PhD G
raduate: Riley Ilieva – University of Surrey
Company: National Instruments (now Higher Research Scientist with NPL)
Role: Applications Engineer
“My advice is to take full advantage of everything at your disposal. This doesn’t mean that you necessarily want to do any of the jobs that you hear about but it will help to guide you to a job that you do enjoy and can develop in. ”
PhD Graduate: Rob Phippen – University of Southampton
Company: IBM
Role: Integration Software Architect
“You can be certain that you have technical aptitudes and this will stand you in very good stead in the software industry.”
PhD Graduate: Maan Najem – University of Surrey
Company: Royal Marsden Hospital
Role: Radiotherapy Physicist
“Explore all options available by taking voluntary roles at different companies for few weeks which can help you to increase your knowledge and experience as well as expand your networks.”
PhD Graduate: Heather Campbell – University of Portsmouth
Company: University of Surrey Physics Department
Role: Outreach Officer
“Don’t feel you have failed if you choose to do something different from academic research.”
PhD Graduate: Rosh Sellahewa – University of Surrey
Company: KPMG (now Manager with Deloitte)
Role: Intellectual Property and Contract Governance
“You can still enjoy a job role even if it’s not in science! Your first role invariably won’t be the right one and employers won’t be phased if you move relatively quickly if you know it’s not for you.“
PhD Graduate: Kelly Nock – University of Portsmouth
Company: We Predict
Role: Data Scientist
“Working in cosmology developed my innovative thinking and analytical approaches to data. The core skills I developed during my PhD are now directly applicable to my role as a Data Scientist.”
PhD Graduate: Andrew Witham – University of Southampton
Company: Symetrica
Role: Team Leader – Algorithm Development Team
“Though it is fascinating to study physics topics such as relativity and quantum mechanics, be sure to keep a keen interest in developing skills that will be useful in future careers with physics regardless of the specialised subject area.”
PhD Graduate: James Etherington – University of Portsmouth
Company: Crowd Connected
Role: Data Scientist
“Statistical techniques that I learnt during my PhD are very useful in my current role.“
PhD Graduate: Jon Emery – University of Portsmouth
Company: National Grid
Role: Network Analyst
“The research skills I gained while studying my PhD have proved invaluable; being able to research a problem’s background, develop innovative solutions and then communicate the results clearly.”
PhD Graduate: Phil Goddard – University of Surrey
Companies: Housing Association Charitable Trust and Sainsbury’s (now Senior Data Scientist, Kindred Group)
Role: Data Scientist
“Unless you want to stay in research, you need to work at getting a technical role outside academia. Don’t give up! If you go from academia to business, it may take a while to build up skills and find your niche.”
PhD Graduate: Rachel Gregory – University of Southampton
Company: KU Leuven
Role: Intellectual Property Officer
“Think outside the box – your analytical skills have applicability in areas you may not have previously encountered.”
PhD Graduate: Tim Higgs – University of Portsmouth
Company: ClearviewIP Ltd
Role: Senior Analyst
“Being able to produce meaningful statistics from large and, inevitably, imperfect datasets is a valuable skill in the commercial environment.“
PhD Graduate: Michael Hodgson – University of Surrey
Company: Centronic Limited
Role: Design & Development Engineer
“Think outside of your research bubble! Physics is about applying logical thinking to practical problems which every company in the word would like. If you’re interested in a role, go for it – that’s all that is required.
PhD Graduate: Stewart Martin-Haugh – University of Sussex
Company: Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Role: Software Developer
“I love what I’m doing and it’s definitely working out career wise.”