There are many careers open to science graduates who would prefer to use their science knowledge and skills outside a lab setting. Opportunities exist across the public, private and voluntary sectors - from business, health and communications, to research, policy work and teaching.
Prospects and targetjobs also have advice on alternative graduate careers for scientists. The Pharmaceutical Careers Guide from Origin lists potential career paths in the pharmaceutical industry.
The Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has advice for both undergraduates and postgraduates, including career options.
You can hear from graduates working in a range of science-related careers, including science writing, recruitment, medical sales and meteorology in Beyond the lab (YouTube) – a series of short videos produced by the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS).
What do Newcastle University science graduates do after their degree?
Examples of what some of our science graduates are doing up to 3 years after finishing their course*:
Regular events for this sector include our annual Science Careers Outside the Lab event, with speakers from a range of careers including science education, government, patents, medical writing, science recruitment, pharma sales, teaching, data science, law and environmental consultancy.
Employers who have attended in the past include: Civil Service Fast Stream, CY Partners, Environment Agency, EY, NHS, Northumbrian Water, Oxford University Press, Teach First, Womble Bond Dickinson and the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology.
The Organisation for Professionals in Regulatory Affairs (TOPRA) holds an annual one-day careers fair, aimed at professionals and life science students and graduates who are interested in a career in healthcare regulatory affairs. It's free to attend for TOPRA members.
Nature, international journal of science, organises an annual Careers Live event in October aimed at science graduates and researchers. It's free to attend and features exhibitors from academic, life and clinical science organisations, plus talks and workshops.
Silicon Milk Roundabout is a free 2 day job event for tech professionals. It’s an opportunity to meet and chat with employers - roles include digital marketing, data science, project management.
The following job profiles include descriptions of typical duties and entry requirements, plus links to vacancy sites and employers.
Click on the sections below for some examples of the roles that may be open to you. Have a look at our other Explore Occupations pages for more inspiration.
Get an insight from science graduates talking about their roles in science communication, education and outreach for our Science Careers Outside the Lab event in March 2021.
Get an insight from science graduates talking about their roles in environment and sustainability for our Science Careers Outside the Lab event in March 2021.
Get an insight from science graduates talking about their roles in healthcare, including the NHS Scientist Training Programme, for our Science Careers Outside the Lab event in March 2021.
Get an insight from science graduates talking about their roles in recruitment, marketing and sales for our Science Careers Outside the Lab event in March 2021.
Getting a graduate job is competitive. Undertaking relevant work experience will not only raise your profile with an employer, it will also allow you to develop new skills and gain a valuable insight into industry.
You can get a better understanding of what employment in a particular job or sector is like and whether this would be the right career choice for you.
Finding work experience
Several large employers, such as MSD, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and GSK, offer summer internships and industrial placements in a range of roles – from clinical research and data science, to commercial roles including finance, sales and marketing. Applications generally open a year ahead, around September, with closing dates as early as October and November.
Some companies, eg Unilever and BP, also offer insight programmes for first year students, ranging from a day to a week, usually in the spring. These can often lead to a fast track to their internship or placement programmes.
Smaller companies often don’t advertise opportunities. You may need to contact them with a speculative approach. Do this early, as it can be very competitive.
Organisations such as professional bodies, research councils, universities, and research institutes often advertise internships. Examples include Cancer Research UK, Wellcome Trust, and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, which offer opportunities such as funding, science communication, policy, bioinformatics and marketing. You can find links to professional bodies in the About section in each of our Explore Occupations pages.
MyCareer - search for term-time and/or vacation internships for opportunities on and off campus. If you’re looking for work experience in science-related organisations, try selecting ‘Science and research’ under Occupational areas, plus an additional field, eg ‘Management and business’. Ensure you click on ‘Match all’ to bring up relevant opportunities.
Find organisations that interest you and get in touch directly - always with a named contact. Be specific about why you are writing to them and what you’re looking for.
Show your enthusiasm for the sector and highlight any relevant skills. Don’t give up if you don’t get a reply – follow up with a phone call or email to show that you’re keen.
Newcastle Helix - 24 acre site built for international tech and science businesses. Includes:
The Biosphere - includes a variety of life science and chemical companies
The Core: Occupier directory - includes an academic publisher, energy companies, health economist, patent attorney firm and a medical diagnostics company
One Nucleus: Member Directory - not-for-profit Life Sciences & Healthcare membership organisation with headquarters in Cambridge
LinkedIn Alumni tool - see where Newcastle University graduates are working for inspiration
Opportunities by role
Opportunities by role
The following is not an exhaustive list, but examples of the type of opportunities that may be available within specific sectors. These can include paid internships, voluntary work, modules and part-time jobs.
This area of work is about making science accessible and engaging and presenting it in an easy-to-understand way. This could be in schools as a science teacher, or bringing science to the public at events and festivals, in museums or through workshops in the community.
Work experience opportunities include:
Newcastle University Student Ambassadors - representing and promoting the University. You could get involved with delivering presentations in local schools, working at University open days and developing resources for outreach activities. Applications typically open at the start of each academic year
The University’s Street Science Team who help to promote STEM subjects. Applications typically open at the start of each academic year
STEM ambassadors - volunteer role to encourage and inspire young people to progress further in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects
You could also contact science outreach/education providers for possible opportunities – see STEM Directories to find organisations and events. Within the North East, you could try:
Life Science Centre - sometimes advertises opportunities for science explainers
RTC North - STEM Ambassador Hub North East England, based in Sunderland
NETPark - science park in County Durham. They deliver an outreach and engagement programme to engage local communities about the opportunities offered by the commercialisation of science there
Science communication covers a range of career areas, including science writing and journalism, science publishing, events and PR.
Employers include pharmaceutical companies, science publishers, the NHS, government, research institutes, charities, media organisations and professional bodies, such as the Royal Societies of Biology and Chemistry.
Charities can offer opportunities in events and communications, for example, Cancer Research UK recruits paid part-time events assistants and volunteers to help run its fundraising events such as Race for Life.
Finding work experience in science communication can be difficult, so it’s worth considering gaining experience in different ways, such as writing science articles for the Courier, entering science writing competitions (some come with a prize of an internship) and volunteering to help organise science or health-related events and festivals. MedCommsNetworking lists events and webinars that may be useful for finding out more about the field and what employers are looking for.
You could also try to find work experience in similar roles outside the science industry, for example, many PR and publishing companies offer internships and placements. Have a look at the Gaining experience sections on our sector-specific pages:
Typical employers would be local and central government, scientific professional bodies, e.g. Royal Society and Institute of Physics, thinktanks and charities.
Early diversity programme - 5 day paid insight in London for first-year undergraduates from diverse backgrounds
Summer diversity programme - 6-9 week paid internship within a government department for undergraduates and postgraduates from diverse backgrounds
W4MP - search using ‘intern’ as a keyword. Often includes opportunities in policy work, for government, political parties, thinktanks and charities. Some internships may be available to graduates only.
You can find business-related internships and placements within a wide range of science organisations, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. See the links to Advertised vacancies and Finding organisations above.
The Careers Service manages term-time and summer internships for external companies in the North East and for departments and schools within the University. We sometimes have business-related internships with science and pharmaceutical companies – these are advertised on MyCareer throughout the academic year and early summer. Read about Emily’s experience of a marketing internship with CY Partners, a scientific recruitment agency in Newcastle.
If you’re struggling to find work experience in a science or pharmaceutical company, it would be worth trying to find related experience outside the industry to gain relevant transferable skills. The sectors listed under our Business and Finance pages include advice and sources of work experience - see also our Internships, Placements & Shadowing pages.
You can find opportunities within a wide range of organisations, including pharmaceutical, oil and gas and utility companies, government, research institutes, professional bodies, charities and environmental consultancies. There are also opportunities within the nuclear industry, for example, Sellafield offers summer internships and placement years for science students.
See the Gaining experience sections within the following sector-specific pages for sources of vacancies and employer directories:
You can find work experience opportunities in data science, informatics and statistics within a wide range of organisations, including the NHS, pharmaceutical companies, government, and research institutes.
Opportunities in clinical research can be found within pharmaceutical companies, such as MSD, and contract research organisations (CROs), such as Labcorp. The Clinical & Contract Research Organisation lists member profiles for CROs and drug development companies.
If you’re struggling to find work experience in a science or pharmaceutical company, it would be worth trying to find related experience outside the industry, eg in finance, retail or travel, to gain relevant transferable skills.
If you’re struggling to find opportunities in a science or pharmaceutical company, it would be worth trying to find experience outside the industry, eg in manufacturing, engineering or transport companies, to gain relevant transferable skills. Have a look at the Gaining experience sections on our sector-specific pages:
Getting work experience in the NHS can sometimes be difficult, as departments may not have the resources to be able to offer this. Some NHS Trusts only offer work experience to school pupils or students on specific courses (eg medicine and physiotherapy), while others have set work experience programmes or are happy to be contacted speculatively to arrange work experience or shadowing.
Many hospitals have a dedicated staff member who deals with placements - check the NHS Trust website for hospital contact details. If you are unable to find this information, you could ring the hospital switchboard and ask to speak to the work experience/placement co-ordinator.
There are various opportunities, particularly within the pharmaceutical industry for marketing roles.
For medical/scientific sales, Pharmafield has a useful article about trying to find work experience in this industry. Work experience can be hard to get, but it’s worth trying to shadow a medical sales rep if you can. Pharmiweb has advice on how to get shadowing experience.
See our list of specialist recruitment agencies under Finding Jobs to find companies who hire science recruitment consultants.
Have a look at our sector pages: HR, Recruitment and Training, Retail, Buying and Selling and Marketing for advice on finding general experience in these fields. If you’re struggling to find work experience in a science or pharmaceutical company, you could try to find related experience outside the industry, eg in retail sales, which would demonstrate relevant transferable skills.
The Careers Service manages term-time and summer internships for external companies in the North East and for departments and schools within the University. We sometimes have marketing-related internships with science and pharmaceutical companies – these are advertised on MyCareer throughout the academic year and early summer. Read about Emily’s experience of a marketing internship with CY Partners, a scientific recruitment agency in Newcastle.
For advice on finding law-related work experience, see Legal Professions.
Patents and trademarks
Work experience in patent law can be difficult to find; it’s worth contacting employers directly with a speculative approach. Recruiters will also value experience in law firms and in a scientific or technical environment.
Venner Shipley LLP - offer unpaid work experience for one week in Easter or summer vacations, including chemical and life science patent opportunities
Dehns - two-week paid summer placement opportunity to gain an insight into the work of a patent or trademark attorney
Intellectual Property Office (IPO) - UK government body responsible for intellectual property (IP) rights including patents, designs, trademarks and copyright
All work experience is valuable, so if you can't find experience directly linked with your field of choice, why not try some of these alternative ideas for gaining skills and experience:
You can find science-related graduate jobs in a range of occupations – from clinical research and data science to commercial roles including finance, sales and marketing.
Many large employers, such as Unilever, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and GSK, recruit at the start of the autumn term, while others (particularly small and medium sized companies) recruit all year round.
Smaller companies often don’t advertise opportunities, or may only advertise on their own website. You may need to contact them with a speculative approach. Do this early, as it can be very competitive.
Organisations such as professional bodies, research councils, universities, and research institutes often advertise graduate jobs. Examples include Cancer Research UK and Wellcome, which offer graduate programmes in various roles including finance, investments, communication, policy, informatics, technology, HR and marketing. You can find links to professional bodies in the About section in each of our Explore Occupations pages.
Jobs.ac.uk - jobs in universities and colleges, includes PhD and research roles
STEM Graduates - opportunities with small to medium sized companies, aimed at final year students and recent graduates with a science, technology, engineering or maths related degree
Gradcracker - includes vacancies open to science students
NextPharmaJob.com - vacancies across a wide range of roles, including communication, recruitment, clinical research and regulatory affairs
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) - three-way partnerships involving a business, a graduate and an academic institution. Graduates work on research projects while gaining industrial experience with an employer. Projects are competitively paid, with funding for personal development, and typically last 1-3 years – there are often opportunities in science. View current opportunities
SpaceCareers.uk - includes jobs in data science, communication, research and marketing
Eurosciencejobs - research and postdoc opportunities across Europe
Angel List - find a job in a start-up, eg data scientist, writer, product manager
Find organisations that interest you and get in touch - always with a named contact. Be specific about why you are writing to them and what you’re looking for.
Show your enthusiasm for the sector and highlight any relevant skills. Don’t give up if you don’t get a reply – follow up with a phone call or email to show that you’re keen.
Newcastle Helix - 24 acre site built for international tech and science businesses. Includes:
The Biosphere - includes a variety of life science and chemical companies
The Core: Occupier directory - includes companies such as an urban consulting think tank, health economists, patent attorneys and a biomass fuel supplier
BioNOW - biomedical and life science companies in the North of England with member directory
In the UK and overseas
Find organisations on MyCareer - click ‘Search' then 'Organisations’ to find companies the Careers Service has worked with. Can filter by keyword, sector and region
One Nucleus - includes lists of biotech company clusters
search on LinkedIn to find companies in your region and sector. You can also use LinkedIn's Alumni tool to see where Newcastle University graduates are working, for inspiration
GoinGlobal - worldwide country guides with job search resources and CV guidelines. Also includes an employer directory where you can search by location and industry, eg pharmaceutical manufacturers
This area of work is about making science accessible and engaging and presenting it in an easy to understand way. This could be in schools as a science teacher, or bringing science to the public at events and festivals, in museums or through workshops in the community.
BIG, the STEM Communicators Network, advertises jobs and has a list of science centres and festivals, which could be useful for speculative applications.
You could also contact science outreach/education providers for possible opportunities – see STEM Directories to find organisations and events.
Within the North East, you could try:
Life Science Centre - sometimes advertises opportunities for science explainers
RTC North - STEM Ambassador Hub North East England, based in Sunderland
NETPark - science park in County Durham. They deliver an outreach and engagement programme to engage local communities about the opportunities offered by the commercialisation of science there.
Science communication covers a range of career areas, including science writing and journalism, science publishing, events and PR.
Employers include pharmaceutical companies, science publishers, the NHS, government, research institutes, professional bodies, such as the Royal Societies of Biology and Chemistry, health charities and the media, including TV, radio and advertising.
As well as looking for advertised opportunities, you can also contact companies directly to ask if they have any graduate opportunities. The University of Kent Careers Service has a list of medical communications and science publishers.
BIG, the STEM Communicators Network, advertises jobs and has a list of science centres and festivals, which could be useful for speculative applications
FirstMedCommsJob.com advertises entry level jobs, suitable for new graduates. They also have an agency directory of medcomms agencies across the UK and Europe
NHS Jobs - search using ‘communications’ as a keyword
Cancer Research UK’s graduate programme has previously included a policy, information and communications stream
Civil Service Jobs - search for opportunities in science or health related departments and organisations including DEFRA, the Met Office and Public Health England
W4MP Jobs - includes opportunities in communications, events and public affairs, for government, political parties, charities and thinktanks
Pharmafile has a member directory, useful for research and speculative applications
ID Search & Selection is a recruitment agency specialising in medical and healthcare communications
Scientific publishing jobs
Scientific publishing companies often advertise in publications such as New Scientist. The main publishers tend to be based in Oxford, Cambridge, London and the south coast.
Examples of publishing houses for scientific journals include:
Wiley - offer 10 week paid internships for students and graduates
Atwood Tate is a recruitment agency for the publishing industry which often advertises scientific and medical publishing roles, including editorial and marketing.
Typical employers would be local and central government, scientific professional bodies, eg Royal Society and Institute of Physics, thinktanks and charities.
Civil Service Fast Stream - most streams are open to any degree subject, with a few targeted at science students, including Science & Engineering, Digital, Data & Technology, Government Operational Research Service and the Government Statistical Service
NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme includes a policy and strategy management specialism and The Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) Health Policy Fast Track scheme
For a list of professional bodies, research councils/institutes and vacancy sites, see our sector-specific pages:
There are opportunities within business, finance and consulting for graduates to apply their scientific background and analytical skills, for example, to help solve clients’ problems or to provide market intelligence. Typical employers include pharmaceutical and life science companies, consultancies, health charities, government and energy and utility companies.
industry, for example, the energy industry, utilities and pharmaceutical companies. There are also opportunities within the nuclear industry, for example, Sellafield's graduate scheme has programme areas including environmental, safety support and technical aimed at STEM students
environmental, ecological and sustainability consultancies
Graduate opportunities in data science, informatics, statistics and clinical research exist within a wide range of organisations, including the NHS, pharmaceutical companies, government, research institutes and contract research organisations.
Elsevier is a global information analytics company which specialises in science and health. They offer graduate opportunities in business analysis and data science.
Turing Talent - internships and graduate programmes, primarily aimed at masters/PhD students and graduates. Opportunities include data science and data analysis
You can find opportunities within the pharmaceutical industry in manufacturing and supply chain, eg GSK offers these streams as part of its Future Leaders graduate programme.
There are various career options within health, from healthcare science and academic research to health promotion and environmental health.
Opportunities can be found within the NHS, private healthcare, local and central government, professional bodies, academic and research institutions, and the not-for profit sector.
To work as a healthcare scientist in the NHS, you need to complete the NHS Scientist Training Programme (STP). This is a graduate-entry training programme that leads to more senior scientist roles in the NHS. There are several roles which involve patient contact and are not lab-based, such as audiology, physiology, genomic counselling and medical physics.
You can search for health-related opportunities on the following sites:
For information and advice on health-related careers, including medicine, nursing and allied health professions, plus links to sources of vacancies, see Healthcare and Public Health.
For advice on a career in law, including training, see Legal Professions.
Patents & trademarks
Opportunities are available within private practices, eg specialist law firms, or within industry (‘in house’), eg within science or engineering companies. The majority of patent attorneys work in private practice.
A science degree is usually the minimum requirement, with some employers also preferring candidates to have had some research or industrial experience.
Some vacancies within regulatory affairs are aimed more at graduates who have had some relevant experience, though there are entry-level graduate schemes available, eg GSK’s Future Leaders Graduate Programme.
Try contacting companiesspeculatively, to enquire about possible entry-level vacancies.
It may be possible to gain experience in a related role or sector, such as quality assurance roles within the pharmaceutical industry, moving into regulatory affairs once you have built up your knowledge and skills.
ABPI have a list of pharmaceutical recruiters in the UK who run graduate training programmes. Look for opportunities advertised on their website or make a speculative enquiry.
