Sectors: Science - hands off

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.
• 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.

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.
• Some patent firms offer open days or vacation placements from 1–12 weeks.
• 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

• 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

• Write for BlueSci: Cambridge University Science Magazine.
• Volunteer for the science festival.
• Support outreach events in your department, or via the CAMbassador scheme.
• Become a STIMULUS volunteer working in local schools. 

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.

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.
• The science policy community uses Twitter heavily, follow the feeds of science policy blogs and relevant policy organisations.

What Cambridge offers to help with this career

• Join the Cambridge University Science and Policy Exchange and take the opportunity to produce communications as a society member.
• Participate in student think tanks and research organisations to develop your research and writing skills related to policy issues. These include Polygeia (for Global Health) or the Wilberforce Society.

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.