The list below includes projects that have been highlighted to us so far and is in no way comprehensive or exhaustive.
So, if you know of any existing stories or projects that you think would be good additions to this list please let us know and we'll add them to the list!
Contact: jen.reynolds@vitae.ac.uk
Vitae projects
What do researchers do? Career profiles of doctoral graduates
Through their career stories the researchers in the ‘What do researchers do? Career Profiles of doctoral graduates' publication provide us with insights into the relationship between their doctorates and the career journey that they have taken.
Career stories on film
The 'careers stories on film' project is a series of films which illustrates the range and variety of careers that people with a research training go on to do, both within and outside HE, in order to highlight turning and tipping points and inspire current researchers in HE about their own careers and decisions.
What do PhDs do?
The 'What do PhDs do?' (2004) publication contains extracts from interviews with employers and doctoral graduates on their personal insights into the value of their doctorate qualification and references to other studies of doctoral career paths.
External projects
Academy of Medical Sciences
This webpage presents a series of interviews with people at different stages of their careers in the biomedical sciences and academic medicine.
AHRC
A survey looking at destinations of those who undertook arts & humanities doctorates funded by the AHRC. Page 15 of this PDF document shows 6 career profiles.
Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)
This website has been developed by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry to provide information on careers in the industry - for students, careers advisers and other interested groups.
Association of Social Anthropologists
Thirteen profiles of anthropologists who work in a variety of settings. These personal accounts illustrate some of the applications of anthropology, what they actually do, and what they think of it.
Beyond the PhD
A career resource for arts and humanities doctoral researchers. On this site are some thought provoking personal and professional perspectives that aimed to inspire researchers to think about their own future, beyond the PhD.
Cambridge AWiSE - Women in SET
Posters on this site show women from different SET disciplines and from different career stages but they have one thing in common: an excitement and passion for SET.
icould.com
icould is a free, inspirational resource, offering an insight into real career stories told by real people, delivered through a website containing a core of over 1000 stories accessible to all, on film, online. icould’s purpose is to inspire people to think differently about their futures, by giving them a vivid insight into the working lives of real people in real jobs.
Institute of Physics
Career stories listed include career stories from those who have a physics doctorate or undergraduate qualification.
Jobs.ac.uk
jobs.ac.uk have compiled profiles of individuals in various positions within universities and other organisations.
Medical Research Council – Scientist Profiles
Seventeen profiles including the career highlights, daily activities and future ambitions of some of the MRC-funded scientists.
NERC staff come from all sorts of backgrounds and do a wide variety of jobs. These case studies will give you an idea of the range and diversity of their work, their staff and their research students.
Prospects.ac.uk
Two career stories appear in the ‘Your PhD... what next?’ publication aimed at doctoral researchers.
Royal Society - Mothers in Science: 64 ways to have it all
The 64 participants have taken many different routes to their current positions. On each page of the PDF document, the career path and family life of a woman research group leader in academic science are plotted on either side of a single timeline. Each woman has also provided a brief description of her research interests and of how she combined research and family life.
Science Careers - Career Profiles
'Science Careers', a free online portal from the publishers of the journal 'Science', features articles on alternative careers, interesting new fields, career profiles, and advice, and the site offers job postings, a funding database, and an online forum. The link above takes you directly to profiles of scientists from all over the world.
Servier UK
A selection of career profiles of employees from an independent research-based organisation specialising in ethical pharmaceuticals, Servier.
UKRC
A selection of links to other sites that contain career stories about women in SET.
UKRC - Women and girls case studies
A growing collection of case studies, which cover a variety of themes, such as women who have returned to work after a career break or women who were awarded a UKRC bursary.
UKRC - Women of outstanding achievement
This collection of portraits is both a celebration and tribute to the collective and individual contribution that women are making to science, engineering and technology.
University of Bath - Career paths of academic researchers
The skills and experience gained by research staff in academia enable them to pursue a very wide variety of careers within and beyond the higher education sector. The case studies on this website are of the career paths of former academic researchers. They have been compiled by careers advisers in the universities of Leeds, London, Newcastle and Swansea.
University of Bristol careers service
Eight brief academic career case studies from the University of Bristol.
University of Bristol - Non-academic case studies for research staff
Nine brief career case studies for researcher jobs outside of academia.
University of Bristol - Alternatives to lectureships
This page outlines some career options within HE that are not standard lectureships. It is intended to give some ideas of HE alternative careers.
University of Leeds career centre - Contract research staff case studies
Results from research tracking ten contract research staff who moved from academia into industry, commerce or another organisation.
University of Salford
This site details the career stories of postgraduate researchers who have gone into a variety of careers after completing their research. Film stories will be added to this site shortly.
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde has brought together case studies of some of their graduates from across different faculties. Read about what they do now, how they got their posts, how the skills they gained in postgraduate research helped, and their 'tips for success.'
Other projects you may find interesting
KTP case studies
The case studies outline the experiences of the company, academic (doctoral researchers and undergraduates) and Associate involved in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership placement.
NESTA - Crucible alumni
Brief profiles of those who have been on the NESTA Crucible course.
scenta role models project
The scenta role model project specifically demonstrates the diverse range of careers across the science, engineering and technology industry sectors.
STEP Enterprise - Social science workplace experience programme (SSWEP)
The ESRC has established a scheme to offer undergraduate and postgraduate social science students the opportunity to undertake eight-week placements during the summer months. The following case studies demonstrate the impact and range of placements that have been supported through SSWEP.
The Social Research Association
This page is a brief and general introduction to the types of organisations who employ social researchers.
UKRC - GetSETWomen blog
A blog made up of one-off entries from different members of the GetSETWomen network.
University of Aberdeen - Career tracking project
Details of Aberdeen’s career tracking project. The results will be added to the webpage when the data has been collected.
Vitae - Part time researchers
Vitae conducted nine interviews with researchers who have successfully completed a doctorate part-time. All of the researchers interviewed have undertaken their doctorate at different points in their life and with different motivations. These film extracts will be useful to current part-time researchers and those involved in training and supporting them.