Established career stories

My career  

I did a BA honours degree in history of art and design but instead of going into the art world decided to go into a job where I worked for one of the largest IT firms in in the UK, if not the world. 

I decided to leave the IT business after having my second child.  Although a great environment for starting a career it was at a time when there was no work life balance. Juggling child-care and constant travel did not fit well. 

My challenges 

Being in the IT world sometimes presented challenges with it being such a male dominated environment. I would say two out of ten members of staff were women in the early 90’s within that company. 

It was very much that women were still second-class citizens. It’s almost like we were being asked ‘what the hell are you doing in this industry?’ 

My advice 

It's all about having the belief in yourself at the end of the day - to clearly communicate to your peers and know where you want to be and what you can offer. It’s making yourself visible.  

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My career

I started off back in 1979 as a 16 year old school-leaver going into an apprenticeship with, what at the time was called, Post Office, which later became British Telecoms. I was working in their test department and that meant, as a young person, I was not only going to college to learn about electronics and telecommunications, but I was also getting hands on experience in laboratories.

Over the years I had several jobs at various laboratories across the country until I joined NPL in 2017. I started working in business development and moved to work in NPL’s Huddersfield site as the laboratory manager.

My challenges

Throughout my career there have been a couple of challenges. We used to have a school's career service, which was terrible back in the day. I remember my careers advisor saying to me, what do you want to do? I said, “I want be a scientist”. They said “No, that's not for you. You should go into banking.”

Interact with as many people as you can. Think positively of everybody.

 

My advice

Be open and honest about your feelings about things. Share your thoughts. Interact with as many people as you can. Think positively of everybody.

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My career

My average day consists generally of various admin and coordination tasks, both routine and responding to more urgent incoming requests as these arise, making sure that anything that needs arranging is sorted. 

I've always wanted to write from childhood. I certainly never thought I'd go into admin and probably would have found that idea quite boring as a child.  

My challenges

I think a big barrier throughout was my mental health. I have a bipolar diagnosis. I was diagnosed in 2013 and it got to the point where I barely managed to finish my studies. 

From about the age of 14 or 15, I'd struggled with depression, and it seemed like the help I was getting wasn't enough.

 

My advice

My advice for anyone going through similar experiences is to be kind to yourself and make self-care a priority. It's quite cliche, but that's important in a work setting. 

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My career

I’ve worked at NPL for 25 years and am a Senior Scientist in the Advanced Engineering Materials team. I am not a career-driven person but have been able to achieve real variety in my work, which has kept the science interesting. I have been able to challenge myself without feeling I have to aim for promotion to succeed.

My challenges

When I came back to work after my first maternity leave, I could only do two days a week to start with because that was all the space they had at the nursery, which made getting back into the swing of work hard. I now work 4 shorter days a week and really appreciate the flexibility of hybrid working. It's made a massive difference for me not feeling like I'm missing out on things because I work part time. When I used to be on-site every day, I had to leave at 2:15 to get back for the school run and often felt I was missing out on important meetings.

Work-life balance

Alongside my usual work, I run the Parents’ Network. As a parent working part time, it's great that NPL is now so flexible in terms of hybrid working. I can work from home and take control of my schedule to balance my commitments between work and home life. I also have the flexibility to come onto site whenever I am needed for face-to-face meetings.

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My career

I hadn’t considered NPL as a place to apply, as I was looking for jobs in Cambridge area. To my surprise I learned NPL had hubs across the country, including one in Cambridge. Shortly afterwards I came across the job position in the data science department and applied.

If I think back 10 or so years, I honestly never thought I would get to where I am now. I am surrounded by bright and quick-thinking people.

 

My challenges

If I think back 10 or so years, I honestly never thought I would get to where I am now. I am surrounded by bright and quick-thinking people, who know so much more than me and publish great research. 

From time to time, you will doubt yourself and your worth. Yet every now and then there will be moments when you realise your work matters and adds value.

 

My advice

I think it’s important to consider your career not as a progression of pre-defined steps, but as something that you choose to fulfil your needs at different life stages.

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