What does your current job role involve?​
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The print edition of the IFJ goes to press on Wednesday evening’s, so I usually have my time structured around that. I tend to visit farms and attend events across Northern Ireland later in the week (as much as possible) because time is more flexible then. ​

I am generally confined to my office at home in Limavady from the start of the week to write up articles for the paper. I also following proceedings in the Northern Ireland Assembly and Westminster, but most of that can be done online from home. We publish content seven days a week online, including articles, videos and podcasts, and I contribute to that throughout the week.​
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I cover Northern Ireland farming news for the IFJ, as well as weekly updates from Dairylink Ireland, a farm development programme. I also compile the Northern section of the Agricultural Land Price Report, a magazine that is published in March each year. It involves a survey of land sales and analysis of price trends.​

Did you complete a work placement as part of your programme at Queen’s?

My placement involved a summer research project at AFBI Hillsborough where I was conducting a study on a commercial pig farm in Co Antrim for three months. After that, I went to New Zealand for 11 months and worked on an 800-cow dairy farm near Invercargill, at the bottom of the South Island. I wrote updates for the IFJ when I was in New Zealand. I went abroad by myself, which was tough at the start, but looking back was beneficial for my personal development.​​

All about Jordan's current role:

"There are no two days the same within my role- which I think is what makes working within the Environment sector so exciting! A large part of my role involves working with businesses across Northern Ireland and advising them on how they can act more responsibly in terms of their environmental impact. Some days this may be speaking at an event about a particular subject matter, carrying out an audit of their biodiversity policies in the organisation, or providing training and workshops to guide them through carbon measurement and implementing an environmental strategy.  I really enjoy having the opportunity to work with passionate individuals and innovative organisations and giving them the knowledge and confidence to be a force for good through their business."  

All about Jordan's time at Queen's:

"I strongly advise completing a one-year placement in industry as the experience is invaluable. You will leave your placement with a better idea of what career you might want to follow and it’s a great opportunity to kickstart your professional network. I would also encourage you to get involved with the numerous opportunities that QUB offer to students to enhance you CV and your student experience. I undertook a study abroad experience in Australia through Queen’s and it was incredible, giving me the opportunity to travel while I studied."  

Key Roles and duties working in new product development at Greencore Way ​

• Product development- from trawls to finished product. We begin about a year in advance going on a trawl to major food events in the UK, recently I went to the the Christmas Taste of London for Christmas 2020 inspiration/trend hunting. We then work collaboratively with our development chefs to come up with some exciting innovation. It's not always NPD but also EPD (existing product development)​
• Submissions- as a supplier to the majority of FTG retailers in the UK we have to go in and present our products to them. We work on accounts and each account (retailer) has its own team behind it.  Each submissions has quite a bit preparation behind it- from making your samples in the development kitchen to ensuring your nutritional and presentation is accurate.​
• Feasibility meetings- this is where you present your product to the main functions involved in actually making the product in the factory- from process, supply chain, technical, operations, packaging, finance etc- can this product actually be made within the production facility- some slight tweaks can come from this - can be tricky but allows you to become cross functional ​
• Nutrition- developing a product that meets the nutritional requirements laid out in a brief. Is there claims we have to hit, calorie reduction etc​
• Costings- a significant part of the job is about developing a product that is cost efficient and we own this aspect of the development - another cross functional aspect of the job where you work alongside finance and buyers where you try to get the best price available for ingredients ​

Overall, I really enjoy the job, the NPD team are brilliant and large (there is about 20 of us working across the different accounts). Greencore work you hard but the benefits outweigh this. 

All about Katie's current role:

"I originally started working in DAERA as a Scientific Officer after university within the Marine Monitoring and Assessment Team. I carried out my placement year within this team which definitely helped me gain the experience I needed whilst gaining good networking contacts along the way.

My current job role involves consenting wastewater treatment work (WwTW) applications from Northern Ireland Water in the North Eastern River Basin, including the east coast of Northern Ireland and Strangford Lough. A typical week for myself would involve planning site inspection visits to treatment works across NI and carrying out surveys to ensure everything is working correctly, to help protect the environment against sewage spills. My job is to alert NI Water of anything unusual so they can send out colleagues to fix the problem. I also process applications for upgrades to treatment works, carrying out Environmental Impact Assessments using GIS to locate any nearby Special Protected Areas and Sensitive Areas, highlighting any potential impact a discharge may have to the environment. I am also involved in calculating storage requirements for sewer overflows and work closely with NI Water, the Marine team in DAERA and fish agencies in terms of consultation. I really enjoy fieldwork when heading out on site inspections as it feels great to contribute to protecting the environment in this way, finding problems that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. I also enjoy working with NI Water to highlight areas that are in need of improvement and brainstorming solutions to provide better treatment in sensitive areas such as Shellfish Waters."  

All about Katie's time at Queens:

"I enjoyed the interactive elements of the course at Queen’s the most. I would say the highlight of my time there would be the fieldtrips involved with the Applied Ecology and Biodiversity modules in first and second year. Heading to the ShareCentre in Fermanagh and the marine labs at Portaferry to carry out our own mini projects and work with fellow classmates was good fun! It was great to put the theory we had learnt into action, whilst working closely with lecturers in a relaxed setting."

All about Paul's current role:

"I am the team lead for the Marine Protected Areas (MPA) team. We monitor and report on the status of MPAs in Northern Ireland waters, work that involved both and land sea-based surveys. During these surveys, we monitor seal and cetacean numbers, fishing activity and general pressure and threats in the area. I am also involved in a lot of stakeholder groups, gaining insight into public opinion of marine conservation issues. More recently, I have started a multi-year shark tagging programme to address gaps in distribution and habitat use to aid with elasmobranch conservation. I enjoy getting out to sea, as skipper of our survey boat it is great to be out observing our marine wildlife and collecting data to aid with marine conservation, all of which lead to real world changes through policy and legislation." 

All about Paul's time at Queen's:

"I was heavily involved in extra-curricular activities as an undergraduate, from scuba diving to the marine biology society. Being part of a committee gave me the leadership skills to take forward into a career so this is something I would encourage. I would approach more members of staff with the offer of volunteering on PhD projects to better enhance my skills and get myself known and recognised in that field of study.. Queen’s has some great funding opportunities so I would get experience in writing these type of applications because the majority of work in the future will require funding of some capacity, and if you are able to bring in your own funding it will stand you out from the crowd.  "

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Key Roles and duties working as an Assistant Scientific Officer​

• Supporting an ecological recovery programme for the Upper Bann and Colebrooke rivers.​
• Collect macro-invertebrate, diatom and water samples from rivers according to RIVPACS and WFD procedures (kick-sampling & brushing cobbles) and data on in-situ water chemistry.​
• Managing invertebrate samples into related groups and identifying to family level for use in calculating WHPT metrics to assess water degradation.​
• Collated and managed data from field & laboratory work in MS Excel.​
• Prepared diatom samples in digestion process to prepare for slide fixation.​

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All about Megan's current role:

"In my current role as an analytical chemist, I am responsible for running analytical tests such as HPLC (High performance Liquid Chromatography), UPLC (Ultra performance Liquid Chromatography), dissolutions, titrations etc. to assess chemical properties and characteristics of drugs products in the stages of development pre and post clinical trials. For the first 3-4 months I am being fully trained in all relevant equipment and procedures to ensure a high level of competency before carrying out tests independently for clients.

I really enjoy this role as I get the opportunity to learn many new techniques and theory that are chemistry based as my biology degree only lightly touched on the chemistry side of drug development. This allows me to continuously learn. This role also enables me to effectively plan workloads, work both independently and as part of a team and become familiar with every step of drug development and manufacture.

Almac is a leading company in the pharmaceutical sector and offers amazing opportunities for career development and progression within the company. An appealing factor that also drew me to the company was the ability to move between departments e.g. if you start in a lab-based position and want to try project management for example, you can apply and progress your career in a different area that suits you and your career goals."  

All about Megan's Career Path:

"Throughout my time at university, I was completely unsure about what specific career I wanted to pursue when I graduated. During my third-year placement I worked at a regulatory affairs company which gave me the responsibility of publishing drug product submissions to the global health authorities so they could be marketed. Although I enjoyed my placement and the experience and skills it gave me, I quickly realised that an office-based job wasn’t for me long term and that I enjoyed the practical and methodological aspect to the labs. This was reaffirmed in final year during my research project.

In final year I decided to apply to the mentoring programme and was paired with my mentor who works in talent acquisition at Almac. This was extremely beneficial for me as he helped me understand potential career paths I could go down and helped me prepare CV’s and interview prep for job applications. Through these discussions I identified Almac as a company I would like to work at due to their career progression opportunities and vast array of positions relevant to a science degree. I explored this potential career option by signing up for an Almac work shadowing day through the School of Biological Sciences career’s team. During the work shadowing day I was introduced to department teams, got interview advice and toured all the buildings, getting overviews of the work each department carried out. This confirmed Almac as my goal company to be employed by and I began applying for job positions before I graduated in July 2024. I successfully completed my interview for the analytical chemist graduate intake programme and began my position in September 2024. Therefore, I would recommend participating in work shadowing days that are offered and apply to the mentoring programme for guidance, networking and preparation for interviews etc."

All about Adam's current role:

"As an Assistant Ecologist I am involved with various aspects of ecology & environmental science, including:

• Protected species surveys (E.g. Bat Activity/Emergence surveys).
• Habitat Classifications & Mapping (E.g. Phase 1).
• Technical report-writing (Habitat Management Plans or Ecological Appraisals).
• Working with various stakeholders (Landowners, planners, engineers etc).
• Specialist equipment and software (BTO acoustic pipeline).
• Understanding the applications of wildlife legislation and best practice within industry (E.g. Bat Conservation Trust guidelines).

I really enjoy the direct connection to the natural environment when working as an ecologist with protected species surveys, habitat mapping, species IDs and ecological appraisals. I have found it incredibly rewarding to be part of projects which have a real positive impact on the environment, biodiversity and ecosystems within my local community. Also, I’m fascinated to continuously develop my knowledge of the natural environment and understand the species, habitats and ecosystems within it!"  

All about Adam's Career Path:

"Previously, I explored the life sciences and biopharma – given the career opportunities within the UK & Ireland. Whilst I really enjoyed my placement working as a Manufacturing Technology intern I felt I had lost the direct connection to the natural environment, which was one of the main aspects I really enjoyed during the degree.

When I finished my placement and returned to Queen’s, I was still considering the life sciences/biopharma career pathway. However, during my Hons (and then MSci) project I got the opportunity to research an exciting and emergent area of sustainable and environmental microbiology. During this project, I got to explore a fascinating area of microbiology in the context of the environment and microplastic pollution. From this experience, I realised that it was the ecology, biodiversity and environmental side of Biological Sciences which I was most interested in and ultimately the direction I wanted to pursue for future career.

I think the opportunity to explore different career pathways early on (E.g. Bioscience Tour or Placement Year) during the degree are vital for making sure you ‘dip your toe’ into the professional world before deciding on the direction after graduation!"

All about Niamh's current role:

"I'm a consultant, working with visual analytics and business strategy.  I work with clients from the start of their engagement right through to the end. I sit with them in initial conversations and I help them build out what they actually want - what is the work that they're currently doing and what do they want to use technology to help transform. So my day-to-day is working on what are the possible solutions. I work in what we call low code, no code.

You don't have to be a computer science graduate to do tech consulting. I think that was one of my biggest fears at the start of this. I knew a bit of Python, a bit of R and can really work with Excel but not everyone is going to have those hard coding technical skills, and you should never underestimate your soft skills in consulting. You can be technical, but working with clients and especially working within public sector or different member firms, soft skills are so important! That's how you get the information and that's how you kind of translate it for technical people to build it. So you should never underestimate that you have to be the personal person that clients will talk to, engage with and build rapport to support their issues."

All about Niamh's Career Path:

"I've been with KPMG about two years now, but before that, I did my undergraduate in biological sciences through Queens and from my dissertation I realised I really like working with data and problem solving. I completed a master's in bioinformatics and computational genomics.  I continued to focus on the data and problem solving elements of the masters and worked into the graduate scheme through KPMG.

One of the key pieces of advice I would give for anyone who's maybe considering consulting or just a move into a different kind of career sphere would be to build out your network.
LinkedIn is incredibly useful and tech in Belfast is a very close knit community. We have women tech makers for women who are looking to get into technology."

Describe a typical day/week in your current role? ​

Working as a Clinical Research Associate (CRA) involves working together alongside Clinical Consultants, Research Nurses and other Industry Leaders within the NHS/HSC. This may be at clinical sites such as St Vincent’s Hospital Dublin or Guys & St. Thomas in London. The flexibility of working with one of the largest pharmaceutical organisations in the world allows me to work and travel nationally or internationally, in order to drive effective clinical trials and ultimately move medicines from laboratories to the patients who need them. ​

No two weeks are ever the same for a CRA – one week could start off working from your home office whereas another could begin in Berlin or Rome at a study investigator meeting. Working in clinical research spanning multiple therapy areas including oncology, respiratory, cardiology and infectious diseases is an incredibly rewarding experience – knowing that your work ultimately improves and saves patients’ lives makes this job tremendously gratifying and like no other. 

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What key steps at Queen’s do you think helped develop you most - and impacted on your early career path? ​

Work placement year completed at MSD working as a split Clinical Trials Coordinator and Junior Clinical Research Associate role from 2016-17. Ability to extend my contract past my initial end-date allowed me to gain even further skills and experience, setting the groundwork to return as a CRA once graduating in 2018. ​

Emphasis on team & group work during course practical sessions and team sports such as rowing set the foundations for productive collaboration and leadership which could be applied in the workplace down the line. Additionally, group study sessions and tutorials organised by the school of biological sciences set out an effective opportunity to teach, work and share ideas with others – allowing me to efficiently lead by example while practicing effective time management skills and work ethics.  

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How would you advise your first year self to make the most of your time at Queen’s?​

Do not doubt yourself and be confident in your decisions and knowledge. If unsure, then ask – if you don’t ask you don’t get! University has become a common part of education and doing something to stand-out is important – whether this be through volunteering, extracurricular activities, or work placements, it is important to have that one-line on your CV that makes you stand out from the crowd and gets you to where you want to be in life.

Describe a typical day/week in your current role? ​

My role is Technical and Performance Coordinator for five municipal wastewater treatment works and a sewage sludge incinerator in Northern Ireland under PFI Omega. Through this role, I am responsible for the continued compliance and process optimisation of these sites and provide a key link between site operations and the wider technical team. ​

My day to day role can differ greatly, however falls under three key areas; Compliance Monitoring, Making Performance Visible and Technical Excellence. ​Through compliance monitoring, I must ensure all environmental (EPA) consents regarding discharged effluent to source, are maintained and targeted. This role can vary from sampling different water sources and testing for key indication parameters to designing input sheets which capture and log data against critical targets. This role works closely with the operational teams onsite and requires good communication and teamwork abilities.  ​Making performance visible is a key role as all exceedances, optimisation projects and time must be reported. This role requires time management as I must check each site’s performance trends daily to make sure all data is within target. ​ Finally, promoting innovation and new technologies is a large part of my role to ensure the all sites are operated to an excellence standard. ​

Did you complete a work placement as part of your programme at Queen’s? If you did, can you tell us a bit about your employer and placement role?​

I completed a year-long placement during my third year at Queen’s with Veolia Water UK. During this time, I undertook the role of Process Technologies for five wastewater treatment works, assisting with optimisation projects and providing key technical support to plant operational teams.​ My placement role included different technical tasks from on-site investigation to data reporting. ​ Veolia is a leading environmental company, specialising in water, waste and energy management across the globe. The company’s purpose is to be resourcers and develop the world’s circular economy through their Impact 2023 Strategy which focuses on tackling major economic, social and environmental challenges.​

What other key steps at Queen’s (apart from placement) do you think helped develop you most - and impacted on your early career path? ​

During my time at Queen’s, I became heavily involved in the Student Union by participating in different clubs and societies along with supporting various university events. I feel this aspect of university life, not only enabled me to meet new people and develop my confidence, but improved my time management skills from balancing degree deadlines with society activities, a key element of my job role. ​

Throughout my time with Queen’s, I was part of the Biochemistry Society, taking on the role of Secretary in my final year. This allowed me to meet my peers and develop a social aspect of my degree. ​I was an active member of the Rowing Club, undertaking many national competitions. This sport pushed me outside my comfort zone daily and helped me understand the importance of teamwork.​ During my final year, I founded and chaired the QUB Scout Network Society. Being chair of a society, taught me valuable organisation and people management skills, which I incorporate into my role daily when coordinating projects. ​

I gained Degree Plus through volunteering with the Environmental Leadership Programme. This gave me a deeper passion for the environment and helped strengthen my CV for work with environmental companies such as Veolia. ​During my final year, I assisted with starting the Green at Queen’s society and remained an active member, again strengthening my passion for the environment outside work. During my final year, I developed a new and exciting research link between Veolia and Queen’s University  through the completion of a joint dissertation venture. Maintaining this relationship with the water industry during my final year, enhanced my technical learning and provided essential support to study, helping me to achieve a First Class Honours.​

How would you advise your first year self to make the most of your time at Queen’s?​

• Get involved with the Student Union and try new things such as joining a new sport to push yourself outside your comfort zone and deal with high-pressure situations. ​
• Say yes to all opportunities, making sure to put in the effort and build your CV. ​
• Do a placement as this helps you understand which industries within your degree you like and dislike and helps focus your modules and career progression in final year.​
• Talk with your lecturers and use all resources Queen’s departments makes available as these will help improve your grades and guide you through your degree.

Describe a typical day/week in your current role? ​

A typical day can range from undertaking site and property inspections, writing reports and meeting with landlords tenants or other agents. My main job role is to provide valuation advice on various property types mainly to banks and financial lenders. This entails an inspection and measurement of the property which can be anywhere in Ireland, ranging from a farm in Galway to an office block in Dublin.

Once the property has been inspected and measured, the valuation report is then written up which comprises due diligence of the property such as location, description, zoning, flooding and planning. In order to value the property, there can be various approaches to be taken depending on a number of factors such as whether there is a lease in place and the availability of comparable evidence of other property types. A majority of valuations are undertaken based on comparable evidence of similar properties transacting in the local market area.  In addition to valuations I also deal with landlord and tenant disputes such as rent reviews or lease renewals whereby the lease has either expired and needs to be renewed or where there is a review of the rent written within the lease.  There are never straightforward and often there are disputes between the landlord and tenant which must be resolved.​
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The most enjoyable aspects for me are ‘getting out and about.’ I have been all over Ireland looking at various property types. It is also quite a social industry with a lot of networking opportunities and various areas to branch out within the sector. I also enjoy dealing with other agents in landlord and tenant disputes which is often over a cup of coffee and gives you a break from the desk for an hour!​

Did you complete a work placement as part of your programme at Queen’s?​

I completed a 12-month paid placement with Belfast City Council in their Scientific Office of their Environmental Health department. This was mainly spent at their offices in Duncrue managing the landfill gas extraction system and undertaking various gas and water sampling monitoring rounds on to be sent to the Northern Ireland Environmental Agency. The placement was good experience and my work undertaken during this period helped me choose a topic for my dissertation in final year. I was also able to use my experience of this placement to gain part time work in a large environmental consultancy, WYG, in my final year where I undertook similar work within the private sector.​

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Looking back – how would you advise your first year self to make the most of your time at Queen’s?​

Looking back and if I were to do it again, I would definitely have involved myself with more clubs and societies. It is a big regret that I didn’t make this step. It’s easy to walk around the societies open days, take the freebies and not actually get involved with anything! Just go for it. ​

Make the most of the careers support services. I had a number of one to one meetings with my career advisor where I was able to select areas which appealed to me and ways of applying / approaching companies. Make the most of all the information they provide and there’s plenty of time to pop in. Be on the ball with the placements, they can be in high demand so do plenty of interview prep and don’t leave it to the last minute (it’s easily done!).​