Spotlight: Katharine Maussen

Current occupation: GIS production manager for the Belgian National Geographic Institute (NOT the magazine)

Summary: Ph.D. in Crater lake geochemistry obtained from Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. Got current job < 1 year after Ph.D., did not apply for postdocs.

“I was not prepared to go through the cycle of finding postdoc after postdoc and moving countries and continents on short notice.”

“[…] a big part of my job is developing new workflows which requires the abstraction and creativity which is typically developed during a PhD project.”

Spotlight: John A. Stevenson

 

Current occupation: Senior Software Developer at the British Geological Survey (BGS)

Summary: Ph.D in Physical Volcanology, awarded by The Open University and based in Lancaster, UK. Subject: Explosive Subglacial Rhyolite Eruptions in Iceland. This was followed by 10 years postdoc experience before a move to software development.  BGS is my second non-academic job.

“Your PhD has given you amazing critical thinking, analytical and communication skills, but most importantly it shows that you can work independently.”

“I regret the time that I spent chasing quick win, high impact papers that ultimately ended up being neither.  I would recommend that unless you are desperately keen for an academic career, it is better to focus on activities that are more likely to give you satisfaction.”