SCIENCE & RELATED COURSES
JOB ROLES
* Energy
The energy industry provides a huge range of jobs for science graduates, including oil and gas supplying and electricity generating and distributing.
Opportunities that arise in any year depend very much on the price of energy and the financial situation.
Many graduates work for global oil companies, such as Shell, finding new oil fields and improving products or developing new ones.
Key skills
* an ability to analyse data quickly
* good communication and organisational skills
* adaptability
* an ability to understand new developments and policies
* an ability to present information in an intelligible and accurate manner.
Training
All sectors offer training to provide new recruits with relevant skills and technical knowledge. Employers such as Shell and Schlumberger have various training programmes.
Tips for success
Develop a focused idea of what area of the industry you want to work in before hitting the job-hunting trail.
* Food & drink
The food and drink industry isn’t just about retail – manufacturers and researchers employ large numbers of food scientists, biochemists and microbiologists to develop new products, techniques and processes.
Food scientists and technologists work for consumer goods companies, such as Cadbury and Unilever, developing new products and processes.
What work do food scientists do?
* work for food, retail and catering industries, government research institutions and environmental health and trading standards departments like NAFDAC
* research fundamental aspects of food such as composition, microbial contamination, shelf-life, etc.
* develop new food products
* improve existing food products
* liaise with other functions such as buying, marketing and sales
* scale up procedures for factory production
* routinely test the quality of raw materials and finished products
* liaise with customers to ensure products are developed to their requirements.
Key skills
* practical and organisational skills
* creative flair
* confident at handling statistics
* confident at communicating both orally and in writing
* self-motivation
* problem-solving ability
* the ability to use specific laboratory techniques. |
