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.  

Read the full story here

My career 

I worked in a school for about a year looking after their IT equipment. In between all this I was doing various amounts of job hunting and looking for new opportunities and this resulted in me coming to NPL. 

I like the variety in the work I do. My typical day may include assisting the scientists or any other parts of the business with my IT specialisation. 

My challenges 

As a young person, I suffered significant sight loss in one eye and by the time I got to university, my eyesight started to change in my other eye. It can be quite challenging sometimes saying that you've got a disability because some people don't always see it and it can be difficult to talk about it. From fear of how others may perceive or judge me. 

My advice 

It’s always worth talking to charities or organisations to see what expertise and knowledge they may have to share regarding your disability or condition. 

Read their story here

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. 

Read the full story

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.

Read the full story

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.

Read the full story