I also think people should change their mindset. People in Professional Services sometimes think there should be a clear pathway in the same way that Academic Promotions is a clear pathway, but it can’t work like that. They’re different careers. Look for opportunities and apply for them: it can be scary, but you sometimes have to move around to get the things you want.
Tell us about your career path at Queen Mary: how long have you worked here, and in which roles?
I started at the William Harvey Research Institute in January 2008, as a laboratory manager. Previous to that, I'd been a postdoctoral researcher at King's College London. I knew that I wanted to change, that I wasn't going to be a professor and run my own group. I wanted something different. It took me a couple of years to find the post that I wanted, moving from research to management.
I started working in a new team headed by Professor Sussan Noursargh, who had relocated from Imperial, and stayed there for five years. In that time, the group grew quite a lot, and changed location. I learned a lot from that role; it was nice ‘starting fresh’ with a small group we were all learning new things together.
Then I applied for this post that I've got now. The reason I applied was that one of my colleagues – another lab manager – told me she’d seen it, and convinced me to give it a go even though I wasn’t sure. And then I got the job. So she was right!
I've been in this post since December 2013 moving from a Grade 6 to a Grade 7. With respect to what might be next, I am exploring options both within the university and externally. Within the university, however there is a gap between Institute/School Manager and COO/FOO roles. I am very happy in my role and find it challenging but rewarding, my colleagues especially are fantastic, but regardless I am keeping an eye on what could be next.
So my career has been research, and then the move into management; I really like that because I can still use my research knowledge in the medical school. The challenges of this job are very different to those of a researcher.
What are the differences between work in research and the role that you've got now?
The main difference is not doing any bench work. When you're a researcher, you are driving your own research, your own ideas; you do experiments and write up papers and apply for grants. This can be quite narrow minded, a single focus on a goal. When I was a researcher I'd never really thought about how the university worked, or anything like that. I was just in my own group, getting my own thing done, and being really focused on that.
Now, I have a wider view of how the university actually works, what’s happening to make sure that the researchers can get on with their research.
What's been the best thing about moving away from research into management? What are the benefits of it to you?
One thing is time. When I was doing experiments, I’d quite often do really long days, just because of the nature of the work. I'd have to go to the hospital in the morning, for the ward round. I’d have to be there at half past six in the morning to get patients’ consent to take samples, then wait for theatre, get the sample, go back to the lab, process the sample, and do the experiment.
So I could be doing 12 hours in a day or more. And when I started a family, I found it wasn’t compatible with those hours. You can make it work, but it's a bit more difficult. Personally I find my work-life balance is better in this post, but that could be how you make it yourself.
Which aspects of your work experience, both inside and outside of Queen Mary, have helped you the most in your career progression?
At school, I always enjoyed science and I was good at it. I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a scientist – and that was what I did. As I got older, however, my goals changed. Moving to lab management was pivotal as it gave me a wider view of what was possible in a university career.
A major aspect was having a fantastic mentor in my previous manager, Professor Noursargh. I didn’t always like the things she said to me! but looking back, I could see that she was right and it was all really good advice. She was (and still is) an extremely key person for me.
What resources and support Have you found most useful?
At Queen Mary, there’s quite a lot of training available, which is good.. There's quite a good variety.
But I think most of it is actually on the job. It’s your peers and who you've got around you. Everyone that I've worked with, to be honest – I can't think of anybody that hasn't been helpful.
You talked previously about encountering a ceiling at this point, and how you might move forward. What are your plans for the next five years?
I don't know. Some days, I think I would like to look for the next step, and I wonder what that could be. Other days, I wonder why I’m doing that. Is it just because I think I should? Actually, I'm very happy in my post now. Why should I think I have to move on? If anything interesting comes up, I'll have a look. But I wouldn't say that I've got anything specific planned.
What advice would you give to other people trying to develop their Professional Services careers within Queen Mary?
I think you need to build a network. Get yourself on cross-faculty committees and groups. You get more experience of the different departments, which I think is really valuable, and you get a bit more known across the University. Queen Mary is smaller than other universities, especially in London, there’s a smaller pool of people – so it’s a little bit easier to get that experience, and you should take advantage of that.
And look out for secondment opportunities.