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.

I am assisting with data and business analysis for the new identity and access management system project (IdAM). This involves responding to queries on account data through database searches, or processes involved in account management and producing reports and recommendations based on my findings. I also assist with second-line support for user registration and spend some time on the CiCS reception desk each week.

I generally start my day by responding to any user registration support queries and assisting where I can as I'm still learning the broad range of requests we receive each day. I'll then attend the daily project meeting to keep up to date with what's going on and to update others on the progress I've made with my IdAM related projects. Following this I'll usually follow up on my IdAM projects, responding to data requests if there are any, or working on my own reports. This generally involves SQL database searches and excel spreadsheet use. I'll usually have a meeting at some point during the day, either to discuss elements of my own work and take advice on progression, or to investigate a part of one of my projects. I usually take some time each day for online training in areas I feel might be useful, whether it's SQL use, or project management.

I feel like I'm achieving a lot in the project work I take on. With my experiences working in research and writing reports I find myself able to write and present comprehensive and detailed reports with thorough data analysis which generally receive good responses from my managers and lead to changes in policy. So the work I do has a positive effect on University policy.

I've had to learn a lot of new skills in comparison to research. Forming a network of contacts for every aspect of the projects I work on is something I hadn't had to do previously. I also had to undertake online training in SQL to be able to do my job more effectively. I feel like I'm still learning that side of the job.

I had spent the previous 4-5 years working as a lab technician at The Dental School and then SITraN, but in that time I had begun to realise that without doing a PhD I was unlikely to advance in a career in research, or find a permanent contract as a technician. So I began to look at which alternative careers the transferable skills I had learned would be appropriate to. Since I had spent a lot of time on data analysis during my research career and particularly enjoyed it, I decided to apply for this job, especially as the additional skills I'd learn would potentially set me up well for a career in data/business/information analysis.

Data analysis, communication (verbal and written), and critical thinking.

Jan 2014 - Sep 2016 - Research Technician - School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield
Sep 2016 - May 2018 - Research Technician - Sheffield Institute of Translational Neuroscience, University of Sheffield
May 2018 - Current - Corporate Information and Computing Service, University of Sheffield

I feel like I've found what I enjoy and am good at working in IT / data / business analysis. I hope to gradually increase my responsibilities and continue to learn new skills in this area and see what new career pathways open up for me. Ideally, I'd like to continue working for the university.

Think about transferable skills. For a long time I thought that what I'd studied for was my only option for a career, then when I was unhappy in that career I felt trapped. As it turns out, I'd learned enough transferable skills to try something completely different to what I'd spent the last 6 years doing and I'm happier for it.