Careers after MSCA Individual Fellowship

Gabriele Hi, I didn't take the IF but I think it's not an exclusive dilemma only for MSCA IF, There are so much more options than just academia and companies, e.g. public sector/Gov, NGO, startups, entrepreneurship. it's important to stress once again that only a minority of Phds/postdocs will end up in a tenure track in academia, I believe this is now being highlighted in workshops and trainings around the world. The majority will end up in other roles. It really depends what you are after, for example some people are willing to compromise salary for other benefits like happiness, location, prestige, family and vice versa, sometimes the reality forces you to move elsewhere (e.g. brexit) Hope it complicates your dilemma even further :) Cheers, Leonid

Hi, Gabriele.

Your question is very relevant. I wish EC had better tracking records and data if they really want to promote a professional call in research and innovation. The only official source I am aware of is this presentation: https://op.europa.eu/fr/publication-detail/-/publication/73494930-d865-11e9-9c4e-01aa75ed71a1/language-en. 

There you can see some uncited data, presumably, their own survey results, that MSCA individual fellows considered "95% of them were employed after their IF", and "around 40% were promoted to more senior positions after their MSCA fellowships". 

40% sounds good, but I doubt one can rely on it too much.  

Dear Gabriele,

I think this is an excellent comment. We notice at our university that many seem to have the same question: "What options are there? What comes after?"

Maybe it would be interesting to have a seminar on this where more senior alumni let us know what happened after their IF/PhD? Maybe with the possibility to ask them questions after.

It would be nice to see different stories from different people who ended up in different places. It would be amazing to hear from people in positions like those mentioned by Leonid. I was wondering, does the UK chapter plan on hosting a seminar of this sort? I know quite a few people who would love to attend.

We are considering a local seminar, but if we could make something bigger with a broader range of career options it would be even better.

 

Best wishes,

Caroline

Dear Gabriele,

As Leonid said, there are very many non-academic career options. Industry can but doesn't always mean Research and Development and can often mean product marketing, sales, medical writing, regulatory affairs, data science or many other roles. Non-academic doesn't always mean industry and can be public administration, NGOs, startups, consultancy or a multitude of other functions. Making a start outside academia is often a combination of inclination and opportunity.

The Bridging Science and Business Working Group has been most active on this topic and is currently running regular webinars. The MCAA YouTube Channel contains many videos posted by the BSB Working Group.

All the Best,

Brian

Dear Gabriele,

When I won my IF, I moved from Italy to UK. After the end of my fellowhips I found a position as Senior Lecturer in London. I started to apply for new positions during my second year of my fellowhips and it has been not easy to find a permanent position.

I'd like to highlight a point that it is important (in my opinion). The IF considers the career development plan as an important section  within the proposal. However, there is no formal implication of this plan. In my opinion, we should stress the important to take into account our career development plan in a more official way (e.g. the host Institution can provide a contract at the end of your fellowship or the Industry where you run your secondment should offer you a contract).

In my opinion, each IF researcher should have, at least, an opportunity "included" in the award -at the end of the research period.

We should changes current rules...but this is something (potentially) relevant for future researchers!

Silvia

Dear All,

Thank you for your interesting responses! Of course I know that there is the possibility of other career paths, but personally I don't know anyone that went to work to the public sector or other after a Marie Curie, nor I know where it is possible to find open positions. 

The information shared by Brian about the group within the MCAA about business/science is also very interesting.

A seminar with various contributions from senior MSCA fellows/phds will be very useful for all of us, and maybe it can be useful also for the speakers, to share their experience like Silvia did here on the forum (Thank you).

The board is thinking about organizing a seminar, we will keep in touch.

Hi Gabriele,

I am one of the MSCA fellows who went into the not-for-profit sector, I am now a policy adviser and have several connections with researchers who went in a similar direction, some of whom who are now civil servants or working for Parliamentary offices.

So plenty of options in that direction as well!

All best, Karen

Hi Gabriele,

I recommend taking a look at the papaphd.com podcast. It's full of good advice, suggestions and different experiences on the topic of careers for researchers. 

In my case, I stayed in academia for quite a few years after my IF until I decided to try something different. It's just a matter of defining what is important for you and combining it with opportunities available. And what is important may change over time, at that turning point it's usually when a career transition is most successful.

All the best
Fernanda

Hi all,

greetings from Sao Paulo, Brazil! I am currently on a MCGF postdoc and will be returning to Birmingham next year for my final year. I would also be really interested in setting up a workshop on future career options / funding possibilities for the time after the Fellowship, which undoubtly will come soon enough. I would also be happy to get engaged in setting something up! Being on a postdoc programme, for me it would be really interesting to hear from former Fellows who have continued their careers in academia, especially since I do not really know the UK context that well and am not as familiar with the career paths that exist (and even more so after Brexit and with covid which probably will impact quite a lot on the academic sector) and/or consulting/public policy, since I have my feet in both areas. 

Hugs from Brazil

Susanne

 

Dear ex Marie Curie fellows,

I had a strange career path after the Marie Curie fellowship. First I went to work for UN in Turkey for one year. Then I decided that I want to go back to my academic career, to go back to Italy, where I could not at first find jobs but then worked doing consultancy for the UN for three months. It was smart-working, as I was working for the UN in Turkey at the time. Then I worked as a researcher in a Horizon 2020 project in Luxembourg for 1.5 years. My career was going up and then went down, and then I again went back to Italy to find jobs, one year of unemployment, and now I am employed at the UNIPI as a postdoc with a one-year contract.

I am not sure that I am the best person to give career advice as I never had continuity in the labour market or in my career path. The contracts were not long-term but also because I did not know what to do in unemployment times.  I also want to underline that my Marie Curie was for one year and for finishing my thesis, so I am not a proper 3-4 year Marie Curie fellow. I know that the ones who had a longer Marie Curie fellowship (for PhD) are really more successful in the research sector.

I hope I can help if you want to do an online seminar.

Currently also doing tutoring to a student, as much as I can.

 

best regards,

Sahizer.

 

 

 

 

Hello everyone,

I was MSC IF at the University of York (2016-2018) from UK I had to move back to Spain ( Valencia) for family reasons.

However I was planning my academic career starting my IF.  The aim was apply for a postdoc  position in Spain while running my IF project and involve colleagues, from the institution where I would like to incorporate, in my project. 

The strategy worked because when 100 places were opened to apply as Senior researcher (2018) to reincorporate in a Spanish institution I got the support of the department were I would like to occupy my position . Finally luckily I won a quite stable Senior researcher position in 2019.

Just related to my experience, I suggest to have a clear Idea of your career aim and focus on It, the MSC is a great chance to strategically drive your career in a direction, but this must be planned before starting the grant. Of course always need somewhat of luck!

 Cheers Gianni

 

 

 

Hi Everyone!

Looking at the thread, I think t would be great if we can conduct a workshop or similar kind of a gathering and discuss the options that can be pursued after the fellowship.

It is always better to have a thought while pursuing the fellowship so that we can utilise our time for our career path.

In my experience, "what exactly we want" is more important.Else it will be a black board and end up something else.

I would be more than happy to volunteer or participate in the workshops to support the fellows.

Regards

Kranthi

Hi,

I would be happy to give a small contribution if I can. Just few hints for current IF researchers... 

For example, one thing that I think is important when you want to continue your career in academia (in teaching sector, particularly) is the opportunity to use some of your funds to pay a post graduate courses, such as the PG Cert in Higher Education that may represent an important step to your future job search (eg teaching in HE). 

Hello Siliva, are you on Slack already otherwise we'd need your email address to invite you

No, I am not.

My email address is: silvia.riva@email.it

Thank you

Silvia

Good morning everyone,

 

I think is a great idea to share our experiences through slack app.