career change

Hi. how does anyone approach a career change ? I myself am planning to quit dentistry in search for something else , ideally in the science sector. Any tips on how to go about this would be greatly appreciated? thanks

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Clare _

I would try to look into which area of the science sector you specifically want to go into. As it's sector that would require degrees, it's likely that you would need to go back to uni.
In terms of getting work, any area of scientific research is going to be competitive and you might need to spend a number of years in postdoc after your PhD before you get anything.

In terms of degrees, you will struggle to find anything that would allow you to do straight into physical sciences without doing another bachelor's (along with extra A Levels). For something in life sciences, you should be able to do a postgrad degree or certificate for some sort of conversion with your DDS before you do your PhD, but you would need to check the entry requirements first.

I would check with the people who work in the field to see if it's a type of career you're happy doing first, due to the time and cost involved. I don't think it should be too much trouble if you reach out to academics for career advice, especially if they're from your alma mater. For people who are in industry (e.g. NHS, pharamaceutical companies, oil refineries), you will need to do networking (you can approach people in career fairs, but you could never know what answers they produce would be biased).