杏吧原创

EVERYBODY knows that students love to stay up all night, but a recent study by Toshiba shows it鈥檚 stress rather than parties that is the more likely cause. Ninety per cent of the students surveyed were concerned about their future 鈥� worried by their salary potential and the competition for jobs. Going for a higher degree can increase your chances of employment and get you a higher salary, yet many students seem reluctant to take this path. New 杏吧原创 speaks to the experts to help answer your questions 鈥� and perhaps banish those doubts.

Am I ready for a PhD?

鈥淭he basic thing you should ask yourself is 鈥榃hy do I want to do this?'鈥� says Charlie Ball from the . 鈥淏e honest with yourself,鈥� he adds.

Postgraduate study can enhance your life in a variety of ways, so people can have different reasons for going into it; make sure yours are the right ones.

鈥淎 PhD is an opportunity to fall in love with a subject,鈥� says Tim Edwards, who gained a doctorate in maths from (UCL). But it is a huge commitment, and a decision that shouldn鈥檛 be taken lightly. 鈥淒on鈥檛 do it just because you can鈥檛 find a job,鈥� says Paul Southern, a research engineer at the Royal Institution in London. 鈥淚t may be easy at first but the final year might well be one of the most stressful times of your life.鈥�

If you鈥檙e unsure about taking on a PhD, a master鈥檚 can be a great way to test the water. 鈥淎 master鈥檚 is a chance to try an area of knowledge before committing to it for a career, which is very sensible,鈥� says Ball. But don鈥檛 think a master鈥檚 will guarantee you a PhD place, warns Kathy Barrett, careers advisor at UCL. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not necessarily going to help you go further in a research career unless it helps you to change your speciality slightly.鈥�

An alternative option is to get work experience. 鈥淎 summer internship between your penultimate and final year of undergraduate study will give you a firm understanding of what research is really like and what comes after the PhD,鈥� says Barrett.

Can I afford it?

Most PhDs are funded by one of the UK鈥檚 seven , which invest 拢2.8 billion a year in research. In the sciences, the legwork for funding is usually done in advance by the research group or university department. For the would-be student, timing is everything: to get the well-funded places you need to apply early. Don鈥檛 wait until you have your undergraduate results to start your search, says Ball. Voice an interest with your chosen department as soon as possible. If you don鈥檛 know who to talk to, get advice from your current supervisors. Whatever you do, 鈥渄o it now鈥�, he advises.

Getting funding for a master鈥檚 can be more difficult. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not done in the same way as for an undergraduate degree, where you can get funding from your local council,鈥� says Barrett. But you can get a career development award from a bank, which is a loan specifically for a master鈥檚 degree. This will have to be paid off in the same way as any other bank loan, but has a lower interest rate and might have similar features to a student loan.

Some research councils also have grants for master鈥檚 courses, and once you get going you may be able to find work related to your studies to help pay the bills. 鈥淢ost of my funding came from the ,鈥� says Edwards, 鈥渂ut I also earned extra money by teaching in the department, marking coursework and tutoring A-level students.鈥�

聯I earned extra money by marking coursework and tutoring students聰

How do I choose the right project鈥�?

鈥淭he important thing is to choose a subject area that interests you,鈥� says Edwards. A good supervisor will help you with the specific goals of your PhD, he adds, but don鈥檛 be afraid to ask what sort of work you might be doing. Find out what methods you will be expected to use and think about the skills you want to develop.

Ask yourself, 鈥淲ill I be interested in this long enough?鈥� advises Mathew Kallumadil, who is halfway through a PhD in nanotechnology at UCL. 鈥淎 lot of students have a 鈥榤id-PhD crisis鈥� where they start losing interest. That can be a real fear.鈥�

鈥�and the right supervisor?

鈥淕et the gossip and some first-hand experience,鈥� says Barrett. Whether you鈥檒l get on with any particular individual is bound to be a personal thing. 鈥淪o find out as much as you can about the way they supervise people, then go and meet them to see whether or not you get on with them.鈥�

You should also think about the way your potential mentor works and whether that suits you. If they are world renowned, they might not be around for much hand-holding 鈥� so if you are the kind of person who needs plenty of support, that relationship is unlikely to work out. Barrett also suggests looking up the people who have trodden the same path before you. Have they gone on to great things?

鈥淩emember that you are choosing someone with whom you will probably spend a lot of time over the next few years,鈥� says Edwards. 鈥淚 chose a supervisor I knew well from my undergraduate days and who I saw as a great teacher with infectious enthusiasm. I knew I could count on his support and inspiration. Your relationship with your supervisor can be crucial to your happiness.

鈥淲hatever motivates you 鈥� teacher, boss, champion, inspiration or galvanising competitor 鈥� finding the right fit is more important than it might seem from the undergraduate experience.鈥�

And don鈥檛 forget, a well-connected supervisor might be your ticket to some fantastic places. 鈥淢y supervisor really enjoyed travelling,鈥� says Southern, 鈥渟o I made some good contacts with people at universities across the world and went to international conferences, which really broadened my horizons.鈥�

How do I get work experience?

The simplest way is to go to your university department and ask if you can help out during the holidays. 鈥淪tudents forget that universities don鈥檛 close outside term time. They鈥檙e really busy and would be glad of a hand,鈥� says Ball. A lot of universities now have spin-off companies, so it鈥檚 worth enquiring there, too.

Even working in a bar can be valuable experience, says Ball, although it is best to find work related to your degree. 鈥淲hen you apply for a job, the more you can show that you have done things that lead up to it 鈥� whether that be visiting relevant organisations or getting some work experience 鈥� the more convincing you are as an applicant,鈥� says Barrett.

Industry or academia?

鈥淲e constantly view academia and industry as two separate cultures with a huge gulf in between,鈥� says Geoff Scott, head of strategic development at BT Innovation. 鈥淭o be innovative you have to know the context of real problems for real customers 鈥� it鈥檚 difficult to see this context when you鈥檙e only in academia.鈥�

Collaborative Awards in Science and Engineering (CASE) studentships are one way to bridge this gap. 鈥淭hese tend to be projects run between industry and academia, where science students work on a collaborative project,鈥� says Barrett. Jointly funded by the major research councils, they involve a wide range of private, public and voluntary-sector organisations.

But be warned: they are extremely competitive, says Angela Flannery, director of R&D science policy at AstraZeneca, which runs a number of CASE studentships each year. 鈥淪tudentships provide valuable experience that can greatly improve the career prospects of students. The stipends are also more generous than other studentships,鈥� she says.

One way to increase your chance of success is to make sure you stand out from the crowd, says Matthew Bailey, who coordinates PhD programmes at the University of Edinburgh funded by the British Heart Foundation. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 automatically select those students with the best academic record; an unusual CV can provide a hook to catch the attention of the selection panel.鈥�

A studentship also provides invaluable support from your sponsor. 鈥淣ormally a student will work at AstraZeneca for between six and 18 months in total,鈥� says Flannery. 鈥淪tudents get the opportunity to use state-of-the-art equipment, up-to-date instrumentation and IT support. They will be exposed to different parts of the pharmaceutical business and are shown how their work relates to market opportunities.鈥�

The importance of this inside training shouldn鈥檛 be underestimated, stresses Barrett. 鈥淥ne skill that employers are looking for by the bucketload is business awareness. If students can get that sort of experience, it will help them to bridge the divide between academia and industry.鈥�

Can I go abroad?

Over three-quarters of the students surveyed by Toshiba had considered moving abroad to gain experience in R&D, citing better opportunities as their main incentive. A stint abroad can also look good on your CV and broaden the mind, says Ball. 鈥淎 lot of employers, especially internationals, really prize experience abroad,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut from a personal development angle it can also be hugely enriching.鈥�

聯A lot of employers really prize experience obtained abroad聰

Some studentships exist specifically for research abroad. The , for instance, supports around 20 students each year for an 鈥渆xtended period of advanced study or research at a centre of learning overseas鈥� and one of these could stuff an extra 拢20,000 in your money belt.

Individual universities also have their own schemes in place. 鈥淎t UCL there are funds to help people do part of their PhD abroad: for instance, if they are going to go and learn a new technique,鈥� says Barrett.

Of course, there is always the option to study abroad full-time. Some countries 鈥� Sweden is one 鈥� have great science links and heavily subsidised courses, with the bonus of being taught in English.

Will I get a job at the end of all this?

With unemployment in the UK at its highest for over a decade, are students right to fret over their future?

鈥淒oing something for the love of it is a crucial part of study,鈥� says Ball, 鈥渂ut that isn鈥檛 going to put dinner on the table when you finish.鈥� The good news is that employment prospects for postgraduates are good, and the salary is likely to be higher than for those without a further degree, he says (see graph). Postgrads also tend to advance in their career more quickly, and are at an advantage further up the ladder, where jobs may require more than a first degree.

Going to as many conferences as you can should improve your employment opportunities, says Southern. 鈥淚 was in a conference in Japan and one of the people presenting happened to mention that my current boss had a position open,鈥� he says. 鈥淣etworking is something that many science graduates feel uncomfortable doing,鈥� Ball acknowledges, but the reality is that it is absolutely crucial. 鈥淭he more people you know, the more likely you are to hear about a juicy position.鈥�

Getting behind the podium is invaluable, too. 鈥淭he experience of presenting at conferences will give you a huge advantage in overcoming one of the biggest concerns employers have about science graduates 鈥� that they have poor communication skills,鈥� says Ball.

John McLean, head of marketing and strategy at BT, agrees: 鈥淚 would be looking for what other ancillary skills students have,鈥� he says. 鈥淥f great importance is whether applicants have an awareness of how they interact with people.鈥�

Newer, more structured PhD courses can arm you with prized skills like these. The four-year 鈥淣ew Route PhD鈥�, developed by the UK government, the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the British Council aims to do just this. 鈥淲hat the New Route PhD is about is providing underpinning training,鈥� says Judith Smith of the New Route PhD consortium. 鈥淚t was the first programme to provide generic training skills to students, such as presentation skills, networking and understanding enterprise.鈥�

The course provides a much greater depth of knowledge across the field, says Smith, making you more adaptable and, ultimately, more employable.