Sectors: Science - hands off

What do we mean by Hands Off Science careers?

Hands Off Science refers to careers that use your scientific knowledge and/or skills beyond the hands-on research environment. The skills of scientists as logical, numerate problem solvers are valued across a wide range of industries and roles, when we refer to Hands Off Science roles, we’re exploring careers that are directly connected to science or the scientific industries, enabling you to apply your knowledge and skills within your work.

Where to start

Hands Off Science careers exist across a range of sectors and industries, from Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Engineering, Technology, Charities and the Public Sector, Health, Government and Policy and much more! Below we outline some common areas of work that Cambridge alumni have progressed into, but with hands off science roles available in such a range of industries, a useful starting point might be to consider:

  • Which areas of science are you interested in?
  • How would you like to use your scientific knowledge and skills?
  • Which organisations or industries are working on or interested in those aspects of science?

While you may be familiar with academia and industry, there are a breadth of organisations engaging with science in a range of ways:

  • Learned societies (e.g. the Royal Society of Chemistry, Institute of Physics),
  • Professional organisations and Professional Bodies (e.g. the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, Institution of Engineering and Technology, General Medical Council),
  • Charities (e.g. Cancer Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society),
  • Government departments and regulatory bodies (e.g. Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs, Food Standards Agency, UK Health Security Agency, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency)

Explore how alumni are using their scientific knowledge in the Hands Off Science category on our blog and check out our Hands Off Science playlist for more inspiration.

Use the Prospects.ac.uk 'What Can I Do with my Degree' pages to explore a range of common destinations for STEM students.

Our Supporters are committed to supporting the development of Cambridge students and graduates.

Where to start

There’s a wide variety of roles in industry, beyond research and development. Some roles help organisations to be more successful and profitable from within, others provide valuable support to scientists conducting research.

  • All organisations (public, private and third sector) need people to lead and run their finances, IT, human resources, marketing and sales.
  • Organisations developing products may need people to manage projects, run trials, secure regulatory approval, provide customer or technical services, and manage procurement/the supply chain.

Will a Masters or PhD be valued?

  • Some specialist roles may value or require a PhD, for example clinical trials, regulatory affairs, or sales and technical support.
  • Companies in the EEA will expect a Master’s level qualification, as they do not have BA degrees.
  • If you have a PhD and are considering applying for a graduate scheme or role open to graduates of any discipline, be ready to explain your motivations and demonstrate the breadth of your experience.

How to get the experience to be credible

  • Many large organisations offer formal internship programmes, which may lead to a place on their graduate scheme.
  • Seek opportunities to gain commercial experience in a smaller organisation. You may need to make a speculative approach to secure an opportunity as many won’t have formal internship schemes.

What Cambridge offers to help with this career

  • Take opportunities to develop commercial knowledge alongside your transferable skills through i-Teams, EnterpriseTECH or student entrepreneurship and consultancy projects. Learn more about activities like this in our Entrepreneurship at Cambridge guide: (under the section Entrepreneurship)
  • Take on leadership roles in your extracurricular activities­; this could include taking on committee roles in student societies, becoming a member of the JCR or MCR, or becoming a student rep within your department.

How to find employers or training courses

  • Browse internship and graduate opportunities via Handshake, and use graduate-specific websites including GradCracker, Prospects, Milkround and TARGET jobs.
  • Attend the Engineering and Tech, Life Science and Graduate Schemes and Internships careers fairs in Michaelmas Term,
  • Explore virtual insight opportunities via the Bright Network or Forage.
  • Use the UK Science Parks Association directories to find smaller organisations across the UK.
  • Sign up to organisation mailing lists and generalist jobs boards.
  • For research and commercial roles in the life science, biotech & pharma sectors see Carrot Recruitment

Hear from Cambridge Alumni

Daniel Chappell explains how he progressed into a career in Clinical Trials project management, a role which combines research with project management and opportunities to influence clinical pathways for patients.

Hear about Joe Polex Wolf's journey from a PhD in Metabolic Diseases to working as a Portfolio Manager and Strategy Project Lead for Novo Nordisk, a role that keeps him close to the research.

Where to start

There are four key roles in patents and IP, each with their own focus and requirements.

  • Patent Attorney: you will liaise with inventors and analyse scientific research to assess whether inventions are innovative and eligible to be patented, before writing patent drafts to be submitted to patent examiners. Further details on the role, training routes and salary can be found in this Patent Attorney Job Profile. Access a comprehensive guide to becoming a Patent Attorney via IPCareers.co.uk.
  • Patent Examiners: work for the Intellectual Property Office or the European Patent Office and assess patent applications. Further details on the role, training routes and salary can be found in the Patent Examiner Job Profile.
  • Intellectual Property Lawyers: are trained as solicitors and are involved in patents are infringed or contested.
  • Technology Transfer - see the next section for more details.

Learn more via the Careers in Ideas website

Will a Masters or PhD be valued?

  • Most of these roles (with the exception of IP Lawyer) will require at least an undergraduate degree in a science subject. In practice, many Patent Attorneys, particularly in the life sciences, also hold a PhD and academics may be more receptive to technology transfer staff with PhDs.
  • Patent Examiners at the European Patent Office must have at least a Master’s, as well as excellent language skills.

How to get the experience to be credible

  • Law firms offer 1–2 week vacation schemes for both law and non-law students. If you are a non-law student you may only be eligible to apply in your final year. Use the resources on the Law – Solicitors page for more information.
  • Some patent firms offer open days and summer internships, search for opportunities using the resources highlighted below.
  • Demonstrate an interest in the commercialisation of science, whether via experience in industry or as part of an industrial facing research group.

What Cambridge offers to help with this career

  • Take opportunities to develop commercial knowledge alongside your transferable skills through i-Teams, EnterpriseTECH or student entrepreneurship and consultancy projects. Learn more about activities like this in our Entrepreneurship at Cambridge guide: (under the section Entrepreneurship)
  • Join the Cambridge University Law Society.
  • Meet Patent Firms at the Engineering, Science and Technology Careers Fair in Michaelmas Term.
  • Attend the Law Careers Fair to meet IP lawyers in Michaelmas Term.

How to find employers or training courses

  • Patent firms frequently attend the Engineering and Tech, Life Science and Law careers fairs in Michaelmas Term.
  • Browse Handshake for vacation and training opportunities.
  • Sign up to IP Careers for trainee positions, vacation schemes and open days. Some firms welcome speculative applications.
  • Use Civil Service jobs to find opportunities in the government’s IP office.
  • Search jobs.ac.uk for technology transfer roles which will be advertised throughout the year.
  • Use our Law Sector pages for advice on vacation schemes and training contracts.

Hear from Cambridge Alumni

Hear alumni stories and learn more about a career in Patents and IP by catching up with our Careers Panel.

Annie Miles shares her experience of moving from a PhD in Medical Science to becoming a trainee patent attorney in the biotechnology and life sciences group at J A Kemp.

Where to start

There are many jobs in science communication: running the peer review for a science journal; medical writing for a medical communications agency; science writing for a magazine, website or company; managing social media and communications for a science-related charity, and working in a science museum.

All will look for a broad base of scientific knowledge, as well as excellent communication skills that can be adapted to different audiences. Highly-valued abilities include being able to use a variety of media, and work efficiently to meet deadlines.

Will a Masters or PhD be valued?

  • It is possible to undertake specialist Master’s courses in science communication. This will enable you to extend your skills, do real projects, and network. It is not, however, compulsory for entry into the field.
  • Many working in science communication do have a PhD, and the level of knowledge acquired this way will be valued, but this isn’t essential.

How to get the experience to be credible

  • Get involved with opportunities in communication (particularly science communication) alongside your studies. This may involve managing social media for a student society, doing outreach work for your department, or writing your own webpage, blog or social media account.
  • Engage with how science communication is done, and form your own views on what works, and what doesn’t. Reading science magazines, watching relevant TV shows, and listening to radio shows or podcasts will help you to understand the art.
  • Connect with science communicators via social media. The Naked Scientists are based in Cambridge, follow Kat Arney’s blog for a good example (a Cambridge graduate), and look at the Scholarly Kitchen for publishing news.
  • Get involved with the learned society that is most relevant to you (eg the Royal Society of Chemistry, Institute of Physics).
  • Many employers in medical writing and communications offer training programmes with no experience required e.g. including Ashfield Health's allegro programme. Some organisations, like Costello Medical, offer internships and it is possible to gain experience working as a freelancer e.g. via the Aspire Scientific Aspirations Programme.

What Cambridge offers to help with this career

How to find employers or training courses

  • Some graduate schemes exist, such as the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Publishing Editor scheme or the Wellcome Trust’s graduate scheme.
  • There’s no one place to look for science communication opportunities, and there are many different job titles they could be advertised under. Get creative with your searching. Look at the LinkedIn profiles of science communicators for ideas of key words to use across a broad range of jobs sites.
  • Follow @BIGchats on Twitter to stay up to date.
  • If you're interested in medical writing take a look at the MedComms Networking site for more advice and opportunities to connect with those working in the sector.

Hear from Cambridge Alumni

Hear from Earth Sciences graduate Greg Palmer about the diversity of work in public engagement and science communication and hear about his experiences in the Department of Earth Sciences in Cambridge, The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and his current role at the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute.

Dr Lisa Heinke shares her experience of moving into scientific publishing after her PhD, enabling her to have the best of both academia and the world outside by enabling her to explore and connect with scientists in a much wider field.

Natural Sciences graduate Andrew Briggs shares his experience of trading the lab for medical writing via a training programme for aspiring medical writers

Claudia Stocker's organisation, Vivid Biology, shares the journey to becoming a Science Illustrator, working with academics and industry clients to visualise complex scientific subjects in a visually appealing way.

Hear from the Public and Patient Involvement and Communications Strategy Lead for the National Institute for Health Research Dr Amanda Stranks.

Where to start 

This branch of consulting uses specific scientific or technical knowledge to solve problems for clients. It can provide external research and development (R&D) for companies commercialising technology or solve scientific and technical problems that they find difficult.

This area has several subsectors:

  • Medical, healthcare and pharma
  • Innovation and product development
  • Engineering and environmental R&D
  • Technology, IT and systems consulting

Sci-tech consulting offers the chance to use your specialist knowledge in a business context. Having a wide technical base is important.

Will a Master’s or PhD be valued?

This sector particularly values research-based postgraduate degrees. The deeper the scientific or technical nature of their work, the more likely they will require a higher degree.

Firms that are more business focused, (including many in healthcare or life science consulting) will be more open to undergraduates.

How to get the experience to be credible

  • Undertake technical or applied projects, either inside or outside your course.
  • Look for internship opportunities in consultancies, or within the commercial environment.

What Cambridge offers to help with this career

  • Get exposure to commercialising technology via i-Teams or CUTEC. Learn more about opportunities to develop commercial knowledge in the Entrepreneurship at Cambridge guide (under the section Entrepreneurship)
  • Build your transferable skills and commercial knowledge through student entrepreneurship activities or consulting projects.
  • Meet scientific and technical consultancies at Engineering and Tech, Life Science and Consultancy careers fairs in Michaelmas Term.
  • Check out our Consultancy pages for further resources, including the Consultancy directory and guidance on making effective applications.

How to find employers or training courses

There’s no single place to find opportunities in sci-tech consulting, but the Cambridge area is home to several top firms. Resources for management consulting jobs may not always cover sci-tech consulting, so you may need to do some targeted research.

  • Meet scientific and technical consultancies at the Engineering and Tech, Life Science and Consultancy careers fairs in Michaelmas Term.
  • Search for opportunities on Handshake using keywords like ‘physics’ or ‘life science’.
  • Cambridge Network publishes jobs and has a directory of local companies.
  • Use LinkedIn to identify firms either via their jobs listing, or by looking at the profiles of Cambridge alumni.

Hear from Cambridge Alumni

Get inspiration from alumni and learn more about Sci Tech consulting by catching up with our annual Science and Technical Consulting Careers Panel via the Catch Up on Past Talks page.

Greg Dickens talks about the varied role of innovation consulting, his journey from veterinary medicine to consulting and the qualities you need to enjoy this role.

Hear from Alumni Engineer Tom Smith about his role as an Energy & Sustainability Consultant

Harry Bickerstaffe shares his journey from Medicine to life sciences consultancy

Where to start

Science can often have important implications for government policy. Likewise, policy decisions affect science in a variety of ways, from funding strategies to regulatory approaches.

Typical science policy employers in the UK include:

  • UK Civil Service and government departments including the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, DEFRA, the Met Office and Health
  • Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST)
  • Scientific professional bodies such as the Royal Society of Chemistry, Institute of Physics, Royal Academy of Engineering, Institute of Food Science & Technology, British Ecological Society, and the British Psychological Society
  • Research funders and charities such as the Wellcome Trust, Royal Society, Cancer Research UK, and RSPCA.

Other countries will have analogous organisations. You could also consider EU and international organisations such as the UN, WHO and OECD.

Will a Master’s or PhD be valued?

Additional insight into how scientific research works obtained via postgraduate qualifications will be valued in this career path, however there are entry routes into policy for those with undergraduate degrees.

How to get the experience to be credible

  • Internship opportunities may be available in some of the organisations listed above, including the Wellcome Trust and UK Civil Service.
  • PhD students should look out for POST 3 month fellowship schemes and the UK Research and Innovation Policy Internships Scheme.
  • Develop your ability to write content explaining technical information to those from a non-technical background for example writing for BlueSci.
  • Engage with policy developments such as the Campaign for Science and Engineering, POST Publications and the work of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee.
  • Many science policy organisations are active on LinkedIn with regular newsletters and blogs, follow organisations and connect with those working in the field to keep yourself up to date.

What Cambridge offers to help with this career

How to find employers or training courses

  • Science graduates can apply to any of the Civil Service streams, but may be particularly interested in the specialist stream for science and engineering. Many graduates secure direct entry roles in government departments via Civil Service jobs. For further information visit our Public Sector A-Z page.
  • Other sources of jobs for science policy include New Scientist, Nature Jobs, the Times Higher Education and Guardian Jobs. Look for job titles that include ‘Policy Advisor’, ‘Scientific Officer’ and ‘Programme Manager’.

Hear from Cambridge Alumni

Dr Jennifer Harris shares her enthusiasm for a career in science policy and how to navigate the range of organisations where you can work in policy.

Olivia Rowe shares her experience of applying to the Civil Service and affecting change for mental health after her degree in Psychological and Behavioural Sciences.

Hear from Sustrans’ Head of Public Affairs and Geography alumni, Rachel White

Now you have looked at this page, think about your next steps. Everyone's journey is different. There are many ways to move forward. Here are some actions you could take now:

Research Impact: Technology and Knowledge Transfer

Where to start  

Technology Transfer (TT) and Knowledge Transfer (KT) involve facilitating impact from research by helping researchers develop their ideas, technologies and inventions into commercial opportunities. The British tech sector has grown 10-fold in the last decade. Venture capital (VC) investment into this sector has risen from £1.2bn in 2010 to £11.3bn in 2020. 

It is a fascinating area of work, requiring a solid scientific base and an ability to understand and work with a broad scope of science and technology. While research impact has traditionally focused on science and technology, it is now widening to include the arts, humanities and social sciences. It requires an interest in entrepreneurship and commercialisation, alongside excellent interpersonal skills to build and manage positive relationships between a range of stakeholders. 

Typical day-to-day activities can involve: 

  • Meeting with academics to discuss new or existing technologies
  • Analysis of new inventions (including market analysis and prior art searching)
  • Working with patent attorneys to co-ordinate new patent filings or existing patent management
  • Project development (including applications for translational funding)
  • Marketing technologies to potential licensees
  • Review and negotiation of legal agreements and management of post-deal relationships

Technology Transfer offices within research-intensive Universities will have entry level roles. 

Will a Masters or PhD be valued? 

Yes – most roles in TT and KT require a research background, often to PhD level.

Commercial expertise in a relevant broad disciplinary research area is also valued within TT.  

How to get the experience to be credible 

Demonstrate an interest in the commercialisation of science, whether via experience in industry or as part of an industry-facing research group. 

Connect with TT offices to enquire about internship opportunities.

Cambridge Enterprise offers Professional Internships for PhD students via the BBRSC DTP Programme.

LifeArc offers technology transfer fellowships.

What Cambridge offers to help with this career 

Take opportunities to develop commercial knowledge alongside your transferable skills through i-Teams, EnterpriseTECH or student entrepreneurship and consultancy projects. 

How to find employers or training courses 

Find out about Cambridge Enterprise, and sign up to regular news and job alerts.

Look at the list of resources available with the University’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Browse Handshake for vacation and training opportunities. 

Search the Jobs Board on the Knowledge Exchange website.

Search jobs.ac.uk for technology transfer roles which will be advertised throughout the year.