Science careers that aren't lab based

[sunhigh]

Any scientists here who don't work in a lab?

What potential career options would you suggest for a person with a chem masters and phd that don't involve working in a lab? DS is starting to think about applying for jobs and is adamant he's had enough of working in the lab, but wants to do something that uses his scientific knowledge (so doesn't want to go into banking/finance etc)

I'm sure he's looking at all sorts but MN can sometimes come in useful with these sort of dilemmas and we talk a lot...so, has anyone gone off on a tangent after uni and forged a successful career doing something scientific but not hands on?

Regulatory affairs, there's a few consultancies around as well as internal departments in all the big companies.

R&D, for large businesses if he's really good, e.g. Uniliver, R&B etc

Edited to add that it's likely to be lab based initially but can easily move to other areas such as product management as he progresses

Quality assurance, project management, procurement, sales, business development, marketing content, technical support services, m&a research, project proposal writer (all in pharma type orgs). Or scientific publishing, outreach, uni commercialisation/IP and business partnering, lots of possibilities. Is there a part of chemistry he studied that he particularly liked or is engaged with. Lots of opportunities around green chemistry initiatives and working on ESG aspects in chemical industry for example

Oil and gas, lubricants, etc employ chemists, geochemists, interpreting fluids chemistry, production chemists. Mostly office based, liaising with labs but using their lab results for interpretations etc.

@SquirelAttack what did you do in the year between applying and securing your job? He's talking about reapplying next year if he doesn't get anything this time.

I did a Masters in IP law. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this if you already have a masters. I did it before tuition fees went up, and some firms actively discourage people from doing it, so it’s swings and roundabouts.

Any kind of technical writing job would probably be an OK stop gap, or a lab based role.

Operational scientist for a water/wastewater company

I work for a well known diagnostics company, lots of non lab based roles for scientists in R&D and technical support.
I also have friends I did my PhD with who have gone into medical writing

Scientific sales and technical specialists roles. Pay well, good fun, interesting roles, meeting variety of scientists in different sectors and providing technical support in their lab practices and supplies.

Working for a scientific publisher? Being a science writer?

Which area of science is he currently in?

Occupational hygiene - control of health hazards at work.

Medical writing.

Medical writing

Are there many pharmaceutical companies near him? Is he prepared to move? How many years experience in a lab in industry does he have? Does he have any GMP experience?

QA for a lab

I’ve met many scientists in pharmaceuticals who started in the lab and then moved out into more managerial / business focused type roles within 2 to 3 years. It can be a good foot in the door, and gaining good knowledge of the roots of an organisation like that, and with it provide credibility.

For this he would need a good working knowledge of the lab, the tests and regulations that he is the QA for and GLP/GxP experience. Does he have experience in these kinds of labs @sunhigh

OP- What roles/career did DS think he would get/want when he did his masters and PhD?

Just wondering if he had a thought the ABC role would be like this and it wasn't or he has now changed his mind? There might still be roles within ABC but he hasn't found the right one.

There are so many scientific jobs that are not lab based.
Pharmaceutical and agrochemical companies - Regulatory, study design, dossier preparation, QA, sales. Scientific and medical equipment or chemical sales.
Lots of government departments and agencies such as Defra, FSA, HSE, MHRA, Environment Agency- have policy, regulatory and risk assessment teams doing different type of work including approving and licensing use of chemicals.
Private companies working for the chemical companies preparing and submitting dossiers to regulators for evaluation & approval need scientists to interpret, summarise and present data.
Quality, inspection and accreditation services need auditors.
As mentioned earlier- energy, water and waste management industries all have many science non-lab based roles.
So many options, exciting times for him. He should take a look at what's available on scientific jobs or civil service jobs websites to get some ideas.

He's finishing his phd later this year which is inorganic chemistry based

Ecology, flood prevention, environmental health, net zero, water quality...tons.

Private companies working for the chemical companies preparing and submitting dossiers to regulators for evaluation & approval need scientists to interpret, summarise and present data.

This sort of thing sounds right up his street.

I think he saw himself being an academic but after being surrounded by them for the last few years he's seen a lot of the pitfalls and doesn't fancy it anymore

A lot of lab based analysis involves instrumentation… did he get much chance to use mass spec etc? Often reserved for post grad rather than undergrad due to expense. How about metallurgy? Some very well paid management roles in this area.

Many of the patent companies only take PhDs from oxbridge. I have a friend who is a patent attorney and he hates it. Too much stress. The constant fear that you’ve missed something as it’s the other sides job to pick holes in your work and find flaws. He wouldn’t recommend it.

Many PhDs start in the lab and quickly move into more office based roles, management, regulatory affairs, sales etc. I would recommend getting a position with a big company, eg GSK or Astra which will give good scope for moving internally once in the door.