Career Options and Employability
Durham has an excellent graduate employment record. You can open up a wide choice of careers with a Natural Sciences degree. Many employers prefer a broadly based multidisciplinary science degree rather than a specialism in a single field. Recent graduates have gone into accountancy, administration, law, advertising, the armed forces, banking, the City, the civil service, financial management, general management, information technology, marketing, publishing, retailing, teaching, telecommunications, industrial and academic research.
The University has the Careers Employability and Centre to advise students about their future careers. The Careers, Employability and Enterprise Centre tracks the destinations of all graduates and they have completed an analysis of the employment destinations of the 2006 Natural Sciences graduates and the further study destinations of all 2006 graduates (scroll through to page 65 to find Natural Sciences)
A huge percentage of trainees join KPMG from Durham University to the full range of graduate training schemes ranging we offer, from consulting to compliance. This demonstrates that Durham produces consistently high calibre candidates each year who possess a wide range of competencies both personal and technical. It’s only the skills and abilities of our people which enables KPMG to achieve its global leadership status so in turn; we are committed to engaging with and providing development opportunities to Durham students throughout the academic year.
Rachel Pickles, KPMG
Destination of Leavers (who responded to the DLHE survey) - Natural Sciences 2011
Of students that left in 2011:
- 31.9% are in full time paid employment
Of those in employment:
- 73% are in graduate level employment
- Median salary £22,000
Of those in further study:
- 100% are in graduate level further study
A significant number of Natural Science graduates progress onto higher level study following their degree. Several remain within their academic field of interest, notably at Durham but also other prestigious institutions including Oxford, Cambridge, York, Bath, Edinburgh to name a few. Others pursue vocational professional study such as teaching (PGCE) and Journalism. A small number take conversion courses in law (Graduate Diploma Law) in preparation for training as a solicitor or barrister.
Employment development opportunities
Careers Advisers deliver regular talks to all undergraduate year groups
Year 1 focusing on developing employability skills, penultimate year on internships , work experience and final year on graduate employers/schemes , the recruitment cycle and making effective applications for jobs and further study.
Durham University Natural Sciences graduates progress into a diverse range of careers and employment sectors. The private,public and charitable sectors are all represented. Example roles include Nuclear Environmental Officer, Policy Adviser, Accountant, Research Analyst, Assistant Psychologist, Public Health Analyst, Investment Banking Analyst, Sports Trader, Assistant Scientific Commissioning Editor, Investment Consultant, Management, Recruitment Consultant, Auditor, Insurance Underwriter, Safety Policy and Environment Assistant Manager, Software Developer and Insurance Underwriter to name a few. Example high profile employers include Barclays, Deloitte, Dept for Business Innovations & Skills, Future Science Group, KPMG, NHS, DSTL, HM Treasury, Towers Watson, Bank of America, PwC, Deutsche Bank, Army, Casino Capital Management, JP Morgan, Natural History Museum, Sky News, RAF, United Nations World Conservation Centre
Zahra, Natural Sciences Student
For more information about the Natural Sciences degree programme, please contact:
Dr. James Blowey
Deputy Head of Faculty
Faculty of Science Office
Level 3 Chemistry Building
Durham University
DH1 3LE
UK
Tel: 0191 334 1014
Fax: 0191 334 1018
Email: natural.sciences-director@durham.ac.uk
WWW: Natural Sciences home page
The Natural Sciences web pages are maintained by James Blowey
