To ask for career advice / guidance for an introvert?

[AwkwardPaws27]

I'm becoming increasingly concerned about my poor earning potential and can't figure out the best route to increase it.

I have just finished an evening course, a level 4 certificate of higher education in life sciences which I've really enjoyed (awaiting grades but predicted a distinction). I have the option to go onto a Biomedicine degree, with entry into the 2nd year, but I'm not sure this will lead me any closer to a decent salary without further study e.g. a PhD.

I had originally planned to use the CertHE to apply for veterinary medicine but I have an anxiety disorder and didn't feel confident that I would be able to cope with the stress of the job, so I declined my interviews.

I currently work in an NHS medical library and am doing a level 3 diploma related to this. However, there is no scope for promotion here, and I have another 8-12 months before I'd complete this. With the diploma and a year or so more experience I could potentially do a part-time masters, but I worry I'll still be rejected in favour of candidates with a undergraduate degree.

I've also considered accountancy as I'm good at maths and meticulous, but that would mean starting from scratch as other than doing some account reconciliation type stuff in a previous job, I have no finance experience.

If my partner ever left, I would be financially fucked, so I feel worried about having a child without "future proofing" and getting a decent career first (our relationship is good, but you just never know what the future holds).

Any anxious introverts out there in bioscience / maths / library type jobs who can share their route?

Bump...

OK so I am very introverted (I'm not woking at the moment, but will take you through my career a bit.

I did in fact train as an accountant, management accountancy in the public sector. I had no experience at all when I started. I found the exams not too difficult. A few weeks after passing my final exams I got a job as a financial analyst at the Treasury. An excellent job. I then went on to do project management and training delivery. All of which I really enjoyed.

So, difficulties I have faced: I am rubbish in meetings. I always found that I wasn't quick enough to respond. I hated giving inaccurate information and would prefer to take me time to give the right answer. My boss, an extrovert used to say she'd suggest the moon was made of cheese if needed. Whereas, if I was asked that, I'd have to go and find out the composition of moon-rock.

How I got around it. I used to research my topics in advance, go armed with my facts and figures. People knew they could rely on me to give a well-reasoned answer and not just any answer. I did have to force myself to sometimes just say "I don't know how much that is, I think it's around x, but will get back to you" Hated it though!

On training, the very idea of delivering it filled me with horror. But I treated it as acting kind of.

Could you study up to Honours level? What about the Open University? I've just finished a degree there.

Changebags that sounds very like me - I hate the thought of passing on inaccurate information and would rather check and get back to someone with the correct advice.

What qualification did you do?

I have a conditional offer to go into the 2nd year of a Biomedicine BSc, potentially completing that in 2-3 years (evening course) but I'm not sure about it. I did look into OU before I did this course, I'm worried about wasting yet more time on a course that doesn't actually lead into a career.

Clinical coding?

I did CIMA and quite enjoyed it. My employer paid for my training. But then I made it economical for them by not bothering to sign up to college classes .

I don't think any learning is a waste.

You work in a medical library. Is it attached to a hospital? If so, set up a meeting with someone who works in the lab and talk through your options. You already have quite a bit of experience in research through your work in the library.

Clinical coding salaries in the NHS only seem to go up to around Band 5, I'm really looking to increase my earning potential to 30k+ (somehow!).

We have an R&D department but it's more psychology-related research due to the type of services the Trust provide, and I don't do anything research-related in my current role as I'm not a qualified librarian. I just find obscure papers etc. Lots of admin, following and developing processes, but nothing I could really say involves research.

OP, you seem to suggest that introversion is a hinderance that limits your selection of jobs. Is it social anxiety or shyness rather than introversion which you are referring to. What is it about certain types of jobs you don't like?

I am almost a complete introvert and score very highly on introversion on almost every personality test known to man. However, my job requires me to deal with people on a daily basis in what can be difficult interactions. I will need to recharge when I come home - that is the introvert in me - but I do enjoy my job on the whole.

Maybe it is something other than introversion that is focusing your choices?

With your medical background, can you work for a patent agent? You will need a technical background (this is where your life sciences comes in) and good writing skills to describe the patents you are protecting. You will be at the fore front of developments in life sciences and it will be intellectually rewarding. You will need to work with people, like the scientist or inventor.

I'm an introvert and also did a biomedicine degree. I began as a trainee medical writer and that line of work really suited me. Over time I branched into also doing desktop research (this role is usually called a research associate). For example, searching the Internet for articles or patient forums to understand the costs, issues, social challenges experienced by people with particular medical conditions. I also went into writing patient leaflets and other materials to communicate scientific information in an easy to understand format. This is quite well paid work (£30k +) and is well suited to someone who likes accuracy, detail and procedures. The work can be done freelance once you've got some experience and can be very flexible. I often worked at night as I seemed to be more productive/creative then. As long as the job was done by the deadline then my manager didn't mind when I did it. I also did some project management and tended to run teams and projects by email so had time to think about solutions. I love health and science and this career works well for me and i think most of my colleagues are introverts.

blueshoes I struggle with anxiety and in a previous role (acting customer care manager in a veterinary hospital) being shouted at by unhappy clients basically broke me. I ended up crying in the loos after a particularly difficult call, and left shortly after.

I was thinking about something finance-related as I was very good at puzzling out discrepancies in client accounts in that role though. Give me a stack of invoices to work through and I'll happily sit and plough through them.

Patent work or medical writing sounds very interesting - how did you get your first roles in this?

It was over 10 years ago when I started but I think I found the role through one of the specialist recruitment agents in the field such as Barrington james, carrot pharmacy, nonstop pharma etc. It was an entry level position but plenty of scope to move as quickly as you wanted. There was a client manager on projects I did so I didn't have to deal with clients, just did the writing based on what they needed.

You mentioned contracting/invoicing. The nhs has roles like a dental contracts manager or gp contract manager where a healthcare background can be useful in working with healthcare providers but you also spend time looking at data to understand activity, finances and payments and the general business of overseeing a contract the CCG/AreaTeam/health board has with a practice. These roles tend to be band 6 plus in the NHS.

I agree pharma would be good. What about compliance and regulatory affairs? Pays well, too

Ok so for most of these roles it does sound like it is worth continuing with degree. I hope it won't matter too much that it is a BSc not a BSc (Hons)...

I think having a good science degree is respected andbeneficial for many career options. It involves medicine, maths (including statistics), analytical skills, report writing, experience of working with of a range of sources and referencing skills. So many transferable and useful skills. I'm definitely glad I did biomedicine, good luck.

Fwiw, librarianship is fine for either extroverts or introverts - there's lots of niches. I
But it's rarely a quiet, researchy sort of job - if you get higher than library assistant you will need to go to a lot of meetings, there's often covers to do where you're in charge and have to be able to diffuse tense situations, and many roles on the more tech side require management skills, either of people or of services.

I'm not saying it's a bad idea at all, it's a great career, but it's rarely a low interaction, low pressure role. However librarians are generally really lovely. Might be worth attending a few careers events if you can?

It's also really hard to get a full time qualified role in - but you've got experience which is a massive chunk of the battle there.

Oh: also the pay is mostly wank. Senior managers can expect a max of 40-50k ish in most places, but there's very few of them - the standard librarian salary in a uni will stagnate around 30k and it can take a looong time to get there.

Oh: also the pay is mostly wank. Senior managers can expect a max of 40-50k ish in most places, but there's very few of them - the standard librarian salary in a uni will stagnate around 30k and it can take a looong time to get there.

MsSusan thank you, I really like the people I've met through library work - as most of the time you can help them on some way (even if it's not exactly what they wanted).

I also checked with the course leader and the Biomedicine course IS BSc Honours - the website was incorrect!

Is it at an IBMS accredited biomedical science course you've been accepted onto? So you'll do your portfolio at the end?

It is quite normal for IBMS-accredited biomedical scientists working in NHS labs to get up to Band 6 and Band 7 by their late twenties/early thirties. So I'd stick with the route you're on, if it's an accredited course.

It isn't accredited - I couldn't find an evening degree which was.

Another vote for accountancy as a long term option if you have a numbers brain. You can train on the job, and employers will pay for your training in many cases. People I trained/worked with had all sorts of backgrounds including science phds and music degrees, so suggest you continue with your degree and then see what you want to do next. You could be part-qualified a couple of years after graduating, with good earning potential and relative job security.

Also, you're likely to have lots of anxious introverts as colleagues - I've made some wonderful friends just like me over the years of my career

I agree with Thenorth, a lot of my colleagues have tended to be introverts too as they are also drawn to certain careers. When I worked in pharma, I did end up doing business proposals and 'selling' products/services but as the customers were often introverts then they appreciated my approach and the detail i could provide so it didnt feel like the 'selling' I'd previously associated with sales people. They had a problem and I helped solve it.

Every back office job is designed for an introvert. Most CEOs of multinational corporates are introverted to some extent they just pretend they aren't when it counts. I've met a fair few who take acting classes and toastmaster classes to master 'story-telling' and who purposely use video/facetime meetings because they hate talking to large groups without it. If you're talented and good at one to one interactions then it doesn't matter what your personality type is - you will succeed.