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Have a look at and  to find out what roles in this sector involve and how to get into them. These are some of the job profiles available:

Chemistry

Geosciences, meteorology and oceanography

For  information, see Civil Engineering, Geomatics and Construction

Materials

Physics

Technical and research science

For data and information, see Technology and data

• a high level of technical knowledge and computing ability
• an analytical and investigative mind and the ability to organise and carry out research
• attention to detail and a logical and methodical approach to problem-solving
• the ability to prioritise tasks, meet deadlines and work with minimum supervision
• flexibility and the ability to work collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams
• strong written and oral communication skills and the ability to communicate scientific information to non-experts
• you may also need good practical laboratory skills and an awareness of health and safety requirements

• Browse our NCL Graduate Employment and Work Experience directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed.
• Use LinkedIn’s  to find out what Ãå±±½ûµØ graduates are doing now. You could ask to connect with them, to gain advice and insights into their career. See Ãå±±½ûµØ Alumni on LinkedIn to help you get started or watch our quick tutorial on  [3:13±Õ. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
• Attend alumni events, such as Ãå±±½ûµØ Develop, to hear directly from our graduates.  
• Sign up for mentoring support with  a²Ô»å . These aim to match students with industry professionals who can provide invaluable insights. Register to be connected for a one-hour meeting. 
• Attend events such as recruitment events and  employer and sector insights. Hear about graduate jobs, placement schemes, build your network and ask questions.   

Searching for reviews online can be a useful way to get an idea of what to expect from certain roles or employers. Reviews are written by employees with different opinions about what makes a good employer.  

Use the following review sites for inspiration and insight into the recruitment process: 

• – placement year reviews written by students.  
• – graduate job reviews  
• – company reviews from employees 

Sector career guides include:  

Options with your subject:

gives an overview of career options, work experience advice, typical employers and the skills gained from your degree. See:

Royal Society of Biology's includes advice on job-seeking strategies and how to evidence your skills in applications.

Use online magazines and journals to follow news from your industry. Reading about trends and developments is important for applications and interviews. 

Examples include: 

Attend events to hear directly from professionals in the industry. 

See professional bodies below for ideas about the events in different physical science industries.

See also our events page for recruitment events a²Ô»å employer and sector insights.

Join science-specific student societies supported by . These include:

These societies often have guest lectures and discussions. MedTech for example, runs an innovation competition for students with a passion for research, development and medical product design.

Use social media to find industry insights 

´³´Ç¾±²Ô  on LinkedIn to keep up to date. Posts often include news, events and opportunities. You can also find useful insights on careers on X a²Ô»å TikTok. Treat these with caution, as not all content may be accurate. 

Find out more about how to use social media for your career.

Consider joining a relevant professional body/industry network  

Professional bodies often: 

• run networking events  
• have specialist groups you could join 
• post vacancies on behalf of their members 
• have member directories, useful for speculative applications 

Key organisations

Chemistry

• includes .

Geosciences, meteorology and oceanography

Materials

Physics and maths

Research councils and research centres

• (IMA)

Finding professional bodies worldwide 

GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of professional bodies. Find them under ‘Professional and Personal Networking’ on each individual country guide. 

Apply for advertised opportunities as early as possible.  

UK applications typically open early in the academic year from September or October. Some close as early as October or November. Many employers close applications as soon as their places are filled. 

Research summer scholarships are often advertised from November to February.

Use our resources to get started: 

•  - search for internships and placements in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts  
• Internships, placements & shadowing - links to vacancy sites 
• Global work experience - for internships or placements abroad 

Search the following sites for work experience and internships in industry:

• - offer summer internships and industrial placements
• - for summer internships, industrial placements and PhD opportunities
• : lists and in science. They also advertise internships in
• - includes internships and year-long placements
• - internships in the space sector with a range of companies, managed by the UK Space Agency and Satellite Applications Catapult.
• – includes maths and cryptography internships, as well as opportunities in cyber

The Careers Service runs flexible term-time and summer internships with local employers and on campus. NCL internships are aimed at all students, from any stage

• Search for these under Vacancies on . Type in ‘NCL internship’ into the text search box. 
• You can find these advertised throughout the academic year. Full-time summer opportunities are advertised from around March.

Access GoinGlobal for internships in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:  

• additional vacancy websites  
• CV, application and interview advice   
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world.

Other sites include:

• – summer research internships at German universities for second year undergraduates
• - society of applied mathematics, offers internships with global companies

If you’re looking for inspiration, try searching our directories. You can see where our students have had internships and placements in the last five years. To see all results in a search category, keep the search field blank.

The resources in this section advertise both graduate jobs and graduate schemes. See our graduate jobs page to understand the difference between them. 

For graduate schemes, apply as early as possible.  

UK applications typically open early in the academic year from September or October. Some close as early as November-December. Many employers close applications as soon as their places are filled. 

Graduate jobs tend to be immediate start positions which can be available all year round. You are more likely to apply for these towards the end of your studies. 

Use our resources to get started: 

• MyCareer - search for graduate schemes and graduate jobs in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts  
• Graduate Jobs – lists graduate vacancy sites

• graduate programmes
• – maths and science graduate programmes
• - graduate-entry training programme for medical physics or clinical engineering roles in the NHS. See Life Sciences for more information.
• - vacancies in higher education and research
• - job opportunities in research, science and higher education

Chemistry

Geosciences, meteorology and oceanography

For information, see Civil Engineering, Geomatics and Construction

Physics and maths

• - vacancy service for Royal Astronomical Society members
• - jobs in the nuclear industry
• – jobs and PhD opportunities
• - worldwide vacancies

See International jobs for details of overseas vacancy sites. 

Access GoinGlobal for job adverts in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:  

• additional vacancy websites  
• CV, application and interview advice   
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world 

International vacancy sites

• - vacancy search
• - job opportunities in research, science and higher education across the globe
• - Europe-wide vacancies
• - science jobs in Europe in and outside the lab

Start by identifying organisations you are interested in. Our guide to finding organisations below can help. Then use the following steps to approach them speculatively about possible opportunities: 

1. Identify a contact name to address your cover letter to. Call or email to find out who handles recruitment within the organisation. Or, find a key contact in the department you want to work in. 
2. Send them a tailored CV and cover letter. Express your enthusiasm for the sector. Show that you have researched the company. 
3. Follow up your speculative application with a phone call, or email, around a week later. This shows you are serious and motivated. 
4. If your application was unsuccessful, ask for feedback or advice, and keep trying! 

You can use this approach at any point in the year. We recommend that you: 

• start your research as early as possible to gather relevant contacts 
• contact organisations around three months before you want the opportunity to begin

• find organisations on . Select ‘search' then 'organisations’ 
• use the business directories and databases on our Researching employers page 
• search for companies on LinkedIn. The tool shows you where Ãå±±½ûµØ graduates are currently working 
• browse our directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed 

North East organisations

• – list of science and technology companies in County Durham
• has a including chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

 UK organisations 

•  - search employers by sector, eg software engineering or technology 
• – map of companies, universities, funding bodies and networks – maps the capabilities of over 1000 organisations in the industry
• - lists pharmaceutical companies, can filter by those which offer work experience
• Professional body websites sometimes include member directories, which are helpful for finding employers
• - list of companies based within science and engineering
• – list of employers

Search GoinGlobal’s employer directory for company information in 196 countries. Their country guides list professional bodies around the world.

• provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to engage in hands-on summer research experience at some of the world's leading institutions.

• – £500 prize money
• - a cash prize of £1,000 and an invitation to present the results of their thesis at an Ordinary (A&G) Meeting of the RAS.
• - best doctoral thesis in geophysics (including planetary science and solar physics) is awarded annually. The winner will receive a cash prize of £1,000 and an invitation to present the results of their thesis at an Ordinary (A&G) Meeting of the RAS.
• provides motivated undergraduates with the opportunity to work in a research environment in any areas of astronomy and geophysics for part of the summer before their third or fourth year.

• s
• provide funding for short (six to eight weeks) summer research projects for undergraduate chemistry students, working within a university department on a chemistry-related research project.

• provide research experience to undergraduates with research potential, to encourage them to consider a career in scientific research.