Successful Careers beyond the Lab

There is a major demand for people with scientific training in a wide range of professions based on and maintaining relations with science. However, there is a lack of good first-hand information about alternative career paths to research. From entrepreneurship, industry and the media to government, public relations, activism and teaching, this is a readable guide to science based skills, lifestyles and career paths. The ever-narrowing pyramid of opportunities within an academic career structure, or the prospect of a life in the laboratory losing its attraction, mean that many who trained in science and engineering now look for alternative careers. Thirty role models who began by studying many different disciplines give personal guidance for graduates, postgraduates and early-career scientists in the life sciences, physical sciences and engineering. This book is an entertaining resource for ideas about, and directions into, the many fields which they may not be aware of or may not have considered.

David J. Bennett is a Senior Member of St Edmund's College, Cambridge, and part natural part social scientist in both academia and companies. He has long-term experience, activities and interests in the relations between science, industry, government, education, law, the public and the media, and has spent the last twenty-five years running large, international, multidisciplinary, science-based projects. Richard C. Jennings is an Affiliated Research Scholar in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. His research interests are focused on the responsible conduct of research and the ethical uses of science and technology. He is an active member of Scientists for Global Responsibility and has worked with BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, on a 'Framework for Assessing Ethical Issues in New Technologies'.