Science faculty students
Source: https://www.york.ac.uk/students/work-volunteering-careers/careers-resources/science-careers/ Parent: https://www.york.ac.uk/students/work-volunteering-careers/careers-resources/
We can help you to explore your career options, gain useful experience, and find the jobs you want to apply for - whether that's in the lab, or elsewhere.
Options with your subject
Resources from professional bodies to help you identify the next steps in your career journey
Science work experience
Pointers for different routes to work experience, including placements and volunteering
Looking beyond the lab
Consider how the skills developed in your science degree can equip you for a range of other careers.
Finding and applying for jobs in science
Recruitment practices vary across different organisations, so you should use a variety of job hunting strategies. Some organisations will attend recruitment fairs and use recruitment websites, whereas others will seek out more specialist recruitment sources or recruit from within their organisation as far as possible, eg from internships, year in industry placements or insight events.
The websites below advertise science specific jobs and graduate schemes. Further details of websites can be found under individual job sector pages and the Looking beyond the lab page. Examples include:
- Gradcracker – website for science, technology and engineering vacancies including placements / internships and graduate jobs; employer information; section for university STEM societies. Gradcracker offer regular webinars - discover employers, their opportunities and application processes; sign up for live events or watch the recordings.
- NHS jobs websites includes a search jobs by region/ city, A-Z list of employers, guides on making successful applications and interview skills section
- Listen to job hunting advice from York alumni in our Graduate Voices video
Practice interviews on Shortlist.Me
- Interviews with employers including
- GSK Research and development
- AstraZeneca Science and research
- Roche
- a range of interviews and workplace simulations with different employers, and several skills / competency / strengths based interviews you can use to practise
- Register for the interviews or activities using your York email address.
Specialist STEM recruitment agencies and job sites
Some employers use specialist scientific recruitment agencies to help them fill permanent and short-term vacancies. The agency will screen candidates for the employer and select those with relevant skills and experience. There is no charge to candidates for using these services and they can be a useful addition to your job search resources and may also be able to offer you application advice. Some scientific recruitment agencies include (you can search on Agency Central):
- SRG - science, clinical and engineering
- CY Partners - chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, life sciences and clinical
- CK Group - scientific, chemical, waste, biotechnology and pharmaceutical
- Cogent Skills - a range of science companies
- Gradcracker - for candidates with a STEM background
- KO2 - electronics and embedded systems businesses
- Made Futures - vacancies in the manufacturing sector
- Matchtech - engineering recruitment specialists
- Reed - scientific and FMCG recruitment
- Robotics Jobs - robotics, automation and AI
- Samuel Frank Associates - specialising in control and automation engineering recruitment
- Smart 4 Science - scientific and related technology industries
- Space Crew - space industry international jobs site
- STEM Women
The hidden job market
Not all vacancies are advertised and some employers prefer to recruit through word of mouth or speculative approaches. Others may advertise opportunities, but only on their own websites or through social media, where they will find an audience who are already showing an interest in their work and organisation. Look at the following links for leads to help you find organisations:
- UKRI research councils and AIRTO, the Association for Innovation, Research and Technology Organisations
- UK Science Park Association for a list of science parks throughout the UK; tenants in over 100 locations include start-ups and SMEs in science and technology.
- Research other specialist directories, such as: UK Biotech, a directory of bioscience companies in the UK and ITER, a list of fusion labs throughout the world. Professional bodies and trade associations sometimes list member organisations and/or vacancies, for example the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry careers website has a list of pharmaceutical recruiters
- Use networking and social media in your job search (see the networking page). Create a LinkedIn profile, join groups and follow organisations that are relevant to your interests. Participate in discussions and look out for vacancies. Follow organisations and individuals of interest to get alerts about vacancies and events.
- Attend our networking events and recruitment fairs. These are open to all students and are an excellent way of finding out more about the sector you are interested in by talking to people already working in it.
Applying for opportunities
For speculative applications, when you find a company you’re interested in, check their website for vacancies or an address for speculative applications. You could submit your CV and cover letter, demonstrating how your skills and experience could benefit them. If they are interested in you they may keep your application on file for future opportunities or tell you if they use a specific recruitment agency.
CVs and covering letters
Watch:
Check the recruitment agency SRG CV guidelines (PDF
CareerSet is our online AI tool for feedback on your CV. It focuses on the language, content, formatting and impact. It will give you a score and suggestions for how to improve your CV. As you make changes to your CV you can continue to use the tool to improve your score. If you are struggling to get a score above 70% we can look at your CV. Read more about writing a good CV.
Interviews
You can use Shortlist.Me to prepare for job interviews. Try these interviews with employers working in science and research:
- AstraZeneca practice interview
- Roche practice interview
- Biology practice interview (a general practice interview for Biology students studying at York)
Find out more about interview prep on the Apply for jobs pages.