My twin sister is a physicist. She had a job here at NPL and she was really enjoying it. There was a job going up in her area in microwaves and RF measurement and I applied. I got promoted in April 2020 to Research Scientist and worked the whole way through lockdown. I spent that time largely on my own in shielded labs and it made me have a rethink of my prospects.
Being a woman in STEM was really difficult. Typically, in the Biological Sciences, it's overwhelmingly female, yet still we're completely underrepresented in terms of the funding paths or appreciation. Within geology, it's quite difficult getting into the field. As a female, particularly if you're going to more remote areas, there’s so much more that you have to think about.
You don’t have to enjoy every part of your job, but enjoying the main aspects of your job is really, really important.
There have been times where I've had to put my health first or had to take a step back, and that doesn't make me less of a scientist to have to do that.
It’s been a bit of a weird and wonderful path, but I'm enjoying where I am at the moment.
I’m doing research in computer science, in particular things that are to do with verification of software, and formal verification and proofs. I work in the Data Science team at NPL and we’re currently undertaking a project to improve the ergonomics of software and ensure its quality and safety.
There are loads of people who have told their story in the past regarding their mental health, but I think it’s rare to hear a story that starts when the person is very young or when there is no strong environmental factor. In my case, as far as I can remember, I was depressed.
What’s difficult to talk about is that there’s nothing going wrong. I mean, depression is always like this. There’s nothing ever going particularly wrong. Nothing is really bad. Somehow the mind just doesn’t want to be here.
If something isn’t working out for you right now there will be another opportunity coming very soon. This will be just as good and right now you just don’t know about it. These things can come in many forms and for me it was finding a job that appreciated my skills.
I never had a dream job or goal because I did not imagine that I would survive this long.
I didn't really know what I wanted to do after university and I was so stressed by the whole experience that I thought maybe I didn't enjoy physics. But actually what I didn't enjoy was being at university. I applied for a job at NPL and that's where I am now.
I have a long-term health condition that I only got diagnosed a few months before I started at NPL. This long-term health condition has both physical and mental aspects which are both linked together and make each other worse.
Telling other people you work with can be helpful. Most people are kind and supportive.
I started looking for marketing and communications internships because I had absolutely no experience whatsoever. When I left university, I found it extremely hard.
I was lucky enough to get a marketing internship at a start-up in London. I worked there for around 6 months when I realised, I wanted work that was more structured and secure.
One of my biggest barriers was experience – it was so hard to find. I would email charities and organisations saying I will work for free as long as I can get some experience, but the job market was awful just as I started looking.
For me there are a few areas I’d focus on if I could go back in time or would recommend to others: female empowerment and imposter syndrome. Remember to look after yourself. Mental health is so important, and it can really get impacted during the job-hunting stage.