OXFORD

OTHER CAREERS
OTHER CAREERS
Senior Medical Writer,
Oxford PharmaGenesis
PhD in Molecular
Neuroscience, 2010
Research Fellowship,
Wolfson College
WHAT: Medical writing provides a
challenging, varied career, and every day
I learn something new. I work on a broad
range of materials, including manuscripts,
systematic reviews, slide decks, training
and patient education materials,
meetings and congress materials, drug
monographs, regulatory materials and
more!
WHY: Simply put, I really enjoy science
communication. I am also motivated
by knowing that I am helping the
pharmaceutical industry to raise
awareness of diseases and of new
medicines.
EARLY CAREER: After completing my
undergraduate degree in molecular
biology at Cardiff University, I embarked
on a PhD in molecular neuroscience
and still full of enthusiasm for laboratory
science, I arrived in Oxford and worked for
4 years as a postdoctoral research fellow.
During this time, I had the opportunity to
work with patients who were helping us
with our research.
SHIFTING FOCUS: I began to write articles
for The Oxford Student and Phenotype,
the science journal of the OU Biochemical
Society. It slowly dawned on me that
I preferred to communicate about
science rather than actually do it!
GETTING IN: I attended several
MedComms Networking events
to find out more about using my
writing skills. There are several
medical communications agencies
in Oxford alone, so deciding on
the right agency for me was a big
decision. After meeting with several
representatives from different
companies, I decided to apply for a
position as a trainee medical writer
at Oxford PharmaGenesis, and I have
not looked back. It is likely that you
will need to complete several written
tests, as well as attend face-to-face
interviews, before you are offered a
job – but do persevere!
TIPS FOR SUCCESS: Prepare your
application with meticulous care,
be accurate and consistent, and
make it easy and interesting to read:
remember, the people reading your
CV have a highly trained eye and
can spot a spelling mistake or a split
infinitive a mile off!
Takuma Habu
Senior Consultant,
Oxera Consulting LLP
Somerville College, MPhil in
Economics, 2012
WHAT: I am a Senior Consultant
at Oxera, which is an economics
consultancy founded by Oxford
academics in 1982. We advise a range
of clients (corporates, regulators,
lawyers) on economic issues relating to
competition, regulation and corporate
finance. The bulk of my work involves
providing economic and financial
valuation analysis to courts and
tribunals to help resolve commercial
disputes, and the management of these
projects.
WHY: I started my MPhil hoping to
continue on to the DPhil, but I was
conscious that I hadn’t seen economics
‘in action’ at first hand—I had started
my masters straight after finishing my
undergraduate degree. So when I got
an internship at Oxera, I decided to
use it as an opportunity to find out how
economics is used in real life, and to
get an idea about what the life of an
economist is like outside academia. I
finished my internship having enjoyed
experiencing the variety of ways in which
economics can be used to help clients
across different issues in many industries.
It was also good to be surrounded
by other people with a passion for
economics, and I decided that I
wanted to work in an economics
consultancy.
ADVICE: I now find myself involved
in recruitment, and one of the
things that distinguishes a good
candidate from a great one for me
is how passionate they are about
economics. This can come across in
the application where, for example,
you’re asked about your reason for
applying, as well as in interviews.
Working with people who love the
work is much more rewarding, which
makes this an important aspect
when I review applications.
I also look for ‘feistiness’ in people’s
character, especially in conveying
their own ideas in a confident and
convincing manner. We provide the
best service to our clients when we
bounce ideas around to come up
with new and innovative solutions.
We can’t do that if people are
unwilling or unable to challenge the
status quo.
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