Career guidance for early career researchers in the life sciences and related fields
Science administration and management is a career area that encompasses a wide range of roles in research institutes, scientific infrastructures, universities, non-profit organisations, governments, funders and scientific societies. The aim of these roles is normally ensuring the smooth running of specific training programmes, funding schemes, services or networks that are aimed at researchers, or supporting the organization’s leadership with strategic projects and analysis.
The job titles and the tasks associated with science administration positions vary greatly. Possible tasks may include a subset of the following activities:
It is possible to enter the career area in a junior role directly from a PhD or postdoc, without additional experience or training. Hiring managers will be looking for examples of analogous work you have done as a scientist – depending on the role, this may include organizational tasks (e.g. organizing scientific events), communication skills with a variety of audiences (e.g. working groups, scientific seminars) or experience writing successful fellowship applications. Career progression may involve moving to a more senior role within the same organisation (though opportunities may be limited in smaller organisations) or moving to a different role (at the same or more senior level) at another organization.
Example job titles:
Note: there is large variety between organizations; some roles may require experience in a more junior role first.
In our careers and skills survey, 38 science administration professionals told us about the competencies they used most often. The most commonly selected competencies were:
In many cases, the working language for these roles is English. However, some knowledge of the local language (B1/B2 level) is often advantageous; and, for some roles, fluency at the B2, C1 or C2 level may be required.
In our careers and skills survey, scientists working in science admin told us that they appreciate that their work:
We highly recommend learning more about the careers using the resources above, then conducting informational interviews to gain further insights directly from former PhDs working in career areas that interest you.
Further internal resources (e.g. library of recorded career talks) can be found on our intranet pages.
The Blue Book Traineeship offers an excellent opportunity to gain work experience in the European Commission’s operations and pave the way for a potential career at one of their Directorate-Generals or Agencies. Today, we interview a life scientist who, in her thirties and after completing a…
Aidan Budd tells us about his career path, and how roles related to the scientific community provide a rewarding career for people with some organisational abilities, good communication skills, and a strong interest in people and organisations.
Ioannis Legouras, an EMBL alumnus working in the area of strategic cooperation and research funding, shared his experience of moving into this career area along with his tips to those interested in following a similar path.