More than 100 guests attended yesterday’s Bioscience Careers Day (BCD) and heard from a selection of industry professionals about the variety of careers available to bioscience graduates.

BCD is aimed at undergraduate and master's students, as well as recent bioscience graduates, PhD students, postdocs, careers advisors and school/college students considering a bioscience degrees.

The speakers included: Aoife Codyre, graduate ecologist at Stantec; Samantha Beard, senior ecologist at Stantec; Michelle Latter, senior manager and compliance lead at Pfizer; Christine Smart, director, integrated medical communications at Adelphi Communications; Dr Helen Patrick, genomics STP trainee at Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust; and Chris Longmore MRSB, regional membership officer at RSB.

Chris kicked off the event, speaking about the benefits of learned societies and the ways in which students can use their membership. He emphasised the importance of continuing development outside undergraduate courses, both showcasing and enhancing the skills that set students apart from others.

Chris spoke about how people can get involved in RSB’s work by volunteering at outreach and engagement events and joining local branches, which simultaneously allows students to expand their network.

Aoife and Samantha discussed careers in ecological consultancy, detailing their day-to-day roles, which involve conducting fieldwork and desk-based studies to determine ecological risks. They described the qualifications needed for their industry, including an honours degree and field and report writing experience.

Michelle then gave her presentation on careers in pharmaceutical science, specifically focusing on the opportunities at Pfizer.

Speaking about Pfizer’s portfolio, she described how they apply science and global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. She noted that they strive to set the standard for quality, safety, and value in the discovery, development, and manufacture of health care products.

Michelle’s top tips for becoming a successful professional in the pharmaceutical industry were demonstrating passion, being open-minded and getting involved in work experience to gain both technical and soft skills, like teamwork.

Christine followed up with a talk on the routes into science communication, in particular medical communications. Her advice for good communication was explaining science at the right level to the right audience.

A successful communicator must have an ability to understand complex data and explain it clearly to the target audience, excellent attention to detail, and be a team player, working closely with other writers, editorial assistants, and the creative team.

Helen concluded the annual event with a talk on careers in public health. She outlined the different specialisms students can apply for and the responsibilities she has in her NHS role. Moreover, she discussed the application process, talking about the entry requirements and giving advice on interviews.

This event was organised with support from the Careers Committee, whose role is to support and inform career-related decision making for students and other stakeholders. The committee is made up of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, the Biochemical Society, the British Ecological Society, the British Pharmacological Society, the British Society for Immunology, Gatsby Plant Science Education Programme, the Microbiology Society, the Society for Experimental Biology and The Physiological Society.

The event will soon be available to watch on the RSB’s YouTube channel.