Sophie Q.
About me
| Sophie Q. | |
| Chemistry | |
| Chemistry | |
| Taught Postgraduate | |
| 2015 | |
| Singapore |
My employment
| Chemist | |
| Lambson/Sartomer/Arkema | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Science and research | |
| Small business (0-49 employees) | |
| 2021 |
More about Sophie
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A day in the life of a Chemist in the United Kingdom
Briefly describe the organisation you work for
Lambson makes photoinitiators and resins for UV curing. We belong to the Sartomer arm of the wider Arkema UK business.
What do you do?
- Technical troubleshooting for photoinitiators, which involves working with customers to understand their needs and pain points.
- Laboratory investigations, to determine the strengths and weaknesses of our range.
- Attendance at tradeshows and conferences, to promote the range and keep abreast of the latest developments in the market.
- Supporting R&D projects as a project manager.
Reflecting upon your past employment and education, what led you to your current career choice?
After finishing my course, I applied for several chemistry-related jobs but had a lot of difficulty given my visa status at the time. Shortly after, I obtained a spousal visa and that enabled me to land a scientific role at RB/Reckitt. After almost 5 years at RB/Reckitt, honing my scientific skills, I then moved on to another scientific role in medical devices at GBUK, but wanted to return to chemistry.
Is your current job sector different from what you thought you would enter when you graduated?
My current job is certainly different from what I would have expected a few years ago. After 4-5 years at Reckitt, I thought I would stay in FMCG/pharma since that was where I cut my teeth.
I think I overestimated the importance of technical skills, whereas recruiters and hiring managers were more than willing to work with people with the right soft skills even in the absence of relevant technical experience. Personally speaking, when I'm hiring, I certainly don't expect full technical expertise from Day 1 and I believe most recruiters would agree that it is definitely not a problem to train someone up as long as they have a good fit with culture/team values and soft skills.
After a few years of not doing proper science, I was a little apprehensive about getting back into it but it's just like learning to ride a bike, you kind of fall right back into it. Speciality chemicals is definitely a good fit for scientists who enjoyed uni work and who employ logical and methodical scientific methods on a daily basis.
Describe your most memorable day at work
N/A
What’s your work environment and culture like?
As this role is customer facing, there are some expectations around workwear and general conduct. However, the bulk of my work is done in the office/lab and restrictions have loosened somewhat since Covid-19.
Having worked in both academia and industry, my current role is definitely a mix of both and I would expect the larger specialty chemical manufacturers to operate in a similar manner.
Compared to working elsewhere in the world, UK work life is definitely more relaxed. Working patterns in Singapore and the USA (so I'm told) are more demanding, often approaching 50 h a week with far fewer holidays.
What extracurricular activities did you undertake at university and what transferable skills did you develop through these?
I did something like a YII in Singapore and that gave me a lot of exposure to the industry. When I was an intern at the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, my professor kindly worked out a schedule for me to work part-time, and I took on a customer-facing role at an F&B business, which helped a lot with assimilation into UK culture.
What top tips do you have for York students preparing for today’s job market and life after graduation?
It's ok to take some time to figure out what you really want! You don't have to spend your whole life in one industry or one job either.
What topics from students are you happy to answer questions on?
- Adjusting to life in the UK
- Job searching
- Working in FMCG/ Pharma companies (Reckitt/RB)
- Working in Medical Device companies
Next steps...
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