| Personal details |
|---|
| Degree: | Statistics |
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| School(s): | School of Mathematics and Statistics |
| Year of Graduation: | Jun-2004 |
| LinkedIn: | |
| National of: | United Kingdom |
| Employment details |
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| Organisation: | Forensic Science Service |
| Job title: | Statistician |
| Occupational Sector: | Statistics |
| What has been your route to getting your current position? |
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St Andrews degree, followed by PhD in medical statistics at Newcastle University. This is my first job!
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| What does your job involve ? |
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I am part of the Statistics and Interpretation group in the research
and development side of the Forensic Science Service. My main area of
work is with DNA developing new methods for the analysis of DNA stains
when there is more than one contributor. I also help with training
non-statisticians in the current methods.
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| What are the best bits of your job ? |
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Working in a very interesting field – and knowing that the research I am doing will be put into good use straight away!
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| Why were you successful? |
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It was necessary to have a PhD in statistics for my job – experience
with the highs and lows of research a must! I spent time during my
degrees developing my transferable skills – presentations, team work,
working independently, positions of responsibility, working with
non-statisticians – could not have been more valuable in job
applications!
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| What skills/ knowledge from your degree have you found particularly helpful in this role? |
|---|
My degree gave me a solid foundation in statistical theory across a
range of topics. When I started my PhD I was in quite a good position -
when I came across a new problem I often had an inkling of where to
start. Some of the topics I studied at undergraduate level have also
been quite helpful in my current job.
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| What advice would you give to students wishing to follow the same path? |
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Take advantage of any extra courses or opportunities to develop new skills while doing your degree(s).
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