Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

Research (including supervision of research staff), teaching (undergraduate and postgraduate students), and administrative duties (eg I am responsible for obtaining student feedback on our courses).

I have two types of day - those at the University and those where I work at home. I use the time at home primarily for writing up research findings for publication, commenting on drafts of publications that my students or research staff have prepared, and writing grant applications.

My days at the University are spent meeting with students and research staff who are conducting research in our lab, attending committee meetings (eg I sit on the Psychology Teaching Committee), delivering teaching (eg lectures and seminars to undergraduates and taught MSc students), and marking students work.

The freedom to study whatever I find interesting. Working with a wide range of different people.

Managing conflicting demands on your time (eg teaching versus research) and getting the best performance from those who work with you (e.g., postgraduates and research staff).

Social psychology fascinates me - it is the study of how people behave in social contexts. There are so many interesting findings (e.g. that depressed people are more accurate than non-depressed people about what they can achieve) and being able to contribute to the discipline is great. Working in a University with lots of clever, interesting people is also very nice.

My academic qualifications (BA, MSc, and PhD) obviously provided a solid foundation, but to be a successful academic you need to be extremely self-motivated, good at managing your time, and be able to communicate (verbally and in writing) to a range of audiences (eg students, peers, the general public).

The University has a comprehensive staff development programmes. For example, a few years ago I completed the Sheffield Leader Programme.

2003-2004 Postdoctoral research fellowship, University of Sheffield.

2004-2006 Lectureship at the University of Manchester.

2006-present Back at the University of Sheffield.

Continuing to work at the University of Sheffield.

I'm afraid that the old adage - publish or perish - is true. Find a PhD that interests you and then do everything that you can to publish your findings in peer-reviewed academic journals. Papers really are the currency of academia.