Samantha Currie

"I studied for my doctorate at the Liverpool Law School, graduating in 2007. The topic was migration in the context of European Union enlargement.

"I am now a lecturer in law at the University of Liverpool. I teach and continue to develop my research. I have published a book, an edited collection, and a number of articles.

"I feel very lucky to have been able to develop my career here. I began my lectureship whilst I was writing up my thesis, and found the transition from doctoral researcher to lecturer a very smooth one. I was teaching during my doctorate, which helped prepare me to deal with the time pressures post-appointment, and my initial responsibilities were often an extension of what I had been doing during my doctorate.

"I feel that I have constantly drawn on my experience as a doctoral researcher. In particular, presenting conference papers has stood me in good stead. I was encouraged to build up networks of contacts from an early stage, and this too was good preparation for academic life. I received excellent careers advice from my supervisors. This has had a massive effect on my career, both in the job application process and my subsequent development as a researcher.

"It is increasingly important to have good quality publications and teaching experience in order to compete for academic posts. It is also important to complete your doctorate, or be in the final stages, before taking up a post."