Develop your skills and experience

If your goal is an academic career you should take advantage of university-based teaching opportunities and public engagement opportunities.

For academic and non-academic careers in higher education, experience of student support and administration can be helpful, for example with colleges, Careers and Placements, the Library, Student Recruitment and other departments. Internal opportunities are advertised on the University's jobs pages and on Handshake. You could also consider departmental opportunities, such as committee membership, student representation or event planning.

Watch: Building skills and experience through paid and voluntary work

Internships and work experience for researchers

The University of Edinburgh guide Thinking about a PhD Internship and Vitae guide on Work experience during your research outline why an internship is useful and how to find one.

If your PhD is funded by one of the seven UK Research Councils you may have the opportunity to undertake an internship as part of your training. Check with your department/doctoral training centre and search for opportunities via the UKRI website.

Full time internships are more difficult to arrange for research PhD students on a Student visa if this would necessitate a break in your studies. There may be a possible exception where the internship is a required part of your studies. For further information please contact the Immigration Advice Service.

A number of organisations and employers offer PhD internships, mainly in science and technology. Other organisations offer internship opportunities that research students can apply to, but they will not specifically require a research degree.

Opportunities for part-time work and internships are advertised by Careers and Placements on Handshake. Many vacation internship opportunities with large companies are full-time and targeted at undergraduate students, but York Internships often advertise part-time and virtual internships with university departments and local organisations. These often have a research focus and are open to postgraduates.

Virtual Internships

Some companies offer virtual internships, where you may be able to undertake project work remotely whilst having a nominated supervisor. Others offer the opportunity to work through online packages that replicate typical work based projects and teach you the skills required to complete them. These virtual work experience programmes are self-directed and typically take 5-6 hours to complete. They are free to access and don't require an application. Use websites such as The Forage to find them. See Prospects: virtual work experience for more information.

Other types of work experience

Work or job shadowing

This is where you observe an employee for a short period, watching them carry out key duties in their workplace. It can help you gain a better understanding of what a particular job is actually like and whether it might be a good fit for you. It's also a good way to meet people and make contacts for the future.

Some work shadowing opportunities might be advertised online, but it is more usual to organise it by contacting organisations or individuals diretly (with a CV and covering letter) to arrange. Prospects has more information on work shadowing.

It can be difficult to arrange shadowing for some types of work where confidentiality or security concerns are important, but an informational interview might be an alternative option.

Informational interviews

Informational interviews are a way to find out more about a specific profession, industry or organisation. Use networking sites, such as LinkedIn and York Profiles and Mentors to identify someone you might be able to approach for an informal converstion. The aim is to find out about what a specific job, industry or employer is like, and to get advice on your next steps, not to ask for a job or placement.

Outside the University

Use the Do-it website to search for volunteering opportunities in a specific area.

The Brilliant Club runs a Scholars programme and a Tutoring programme in schools and recruits from the PhD community.

Zooniverse, the world's largest and most popular platform for people-powered research, offers opportunities to volunteer remotely on research projects led by professional researchers.

Alternatively, consider your life and organisations you already have a link with - could these offer opportunities to volunteer? For example, are you interested in student representation? Could you be a school governor, Scout or Guide leader? Is there a neighbourhood interest or campaigning group you could get involved with?