Melissa Hale - Graduate Case Study

Melissa Hale graduated from LJMU with a degree in Zoology before embarking on a Masters in Molecular Biology of Parasites and Vectors of Disease at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and then a PhD, followed by roles as a Quickbase Developer, Junior Cloud Developer and SharePoint Developer.

Tell us about your career since completing your undergraduate degree at LJMU.

After my undergraduate degree I was accepted onto my master’s course at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (I went there because I had decided I wanted a career in Parasitology). Then, when I got there, I ended up in the snake venom department (CSRI). I went to an international conference in the Netherlands in 2018, where I met leading venom researchers from all over the world which motivated me towards a career in venom research instead.

After my MSc degree I wanted to pursue a PhD. I didn’t have much luck in 2018 or 2019 (I had around 40 rejected applications). However, one of my failed applications actually led me to a conversation with a professor in Denmark who liked my “determination” enough to offer me a research assistant position in their group. At the start of the pandemic, I flew to Denmark and started one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. I learned a lot both about venom research and also about living abroad by myself (I highly recommend this for any young professional who wants to challenge themselves). Then a few months into that post I finally got accepted onto a PhD (in both parasitology and venom research), albeit back in the UK (after 2+ years of applications). Due to the pandemic I did the first 3-6 months remotely in Denmark.

When I returned to the UK, everything had changed in the workplace. I was actually one of the only people on site in the labs our research group were using for the next three months or so. I found it very isolating. It was just me in a tiny little basement lab hatching parasites in a petri-dish. That wasn’t what I had envisioned when I was desperately applying to all the applicable/interesting PhDs I could find. After 12 months of my PhD I knew I wasn’t fulfilled. I had a lot of turmoil about this because I had told myself from day one of my undergraduate degree that all I wanted was to do a PhD.

The thought of walking away from it was very scary and I didn’t know what to do. It took another six months of “going through the motions” before I realised I needed to do what was best for me even if it was terrifying. Even if I wasn’t quite sure what that was yet. I left my PhD and enrolled on a Software Engineering Bootcamp. It was five months of intensive learning (I’d spend up to 12 hours a day at my PC). It was difficult as I had very little experience in using a computer other than the Microsoft package and some statistics programs from my degrees. Then just before the end of my bootcamp I interviewed for three different positions and was offered employment with each of them; I decided to go with a company called Onepoint Consulting as they had the most emphasis on “continued learning”.

What did your role at Onepoint Consulting involve?  

In a practical sense as a Quickbase Developer, I spend a lot of time sitting behind my computer screen at my desk. The company works with a large variety of clients, so every day looked a little different, depending on what project I was working on. For example, I was working on creating applications for businesses to help streamline or monitor their workflows; mostly for ecommerce type projects (online stores). I worked closely with these clients to understand what exactly they require. Then I produced an application to their brief, tested it and deployed it for them.

Regardless of the type of business or client I was working with, I would say the most important things in this role was to be a good communicator (both actively listening and verbalising what I am doing), attention to detail (as it’s easy to miss the smaller details in such big projects) and being able to break a problem down into its smaller parts and tackle each part at a time to avoid getting overwhelmed. Also a common misconception in data and software is that you have to remember everything, you don’t. You have to know how to problem-solve, and usually there are several ways to solve a problem. Problem-solving is the most versatile skill that I honed during university, and it has served me well in every role I’ve worked in.

It’s also important to have a very keen attention to detail when you’re working with code. The smallest error can break a program. The number of times I have had to go line by line in a program to find a missing semi colon or capital letter where there should be a lower case letter is frightening. There isn’t a spell checker equivalent in coding (not that I’ve found anyway).

What advice would you give current students to make the most of their time at university?

During my undergraduate degree I took part in the optional “year in industry” which gave me valuable experience as a science communicator (six months at Blackpool Zoo) and a researcher for a charity (six months at Lancashire Wildlife Trust). If your programme offers this, I would highly recommend it as the support given throughout the process is excellent and sets you up well for future interviews where you need to talk about your experience in the workplace.

Aside from that, while I was completing my degrees I worked as a security guard during evenings and weekends to help with the cost of university. Working alongside a full-time course can be very demanding, but the benefits well outweigh the negatives. Before working with the public I was very shy and struggled to speak to strangers, however working in that environment forces you to face that fear and overcome it. As I mentioned before, my ability to communicate efficiently has served me very well in and out of academia.

During my time at LJMU I was also a part of a few societies. These were a nice way to unwind and meet people.  

Would you do anything differently if you were a first-year undergraduate student again? 

With the benefit of hindsight, I do wish I had made more of an effort looking for internships / projects with lecturers at the university. That kind of experience really helps, not only to figure out your interests but also to network and potentially help with future applications (such as MSc, PhDs or even research technician/assistant positions).

Do you have any tips for science students who are considering careers in the technology sector or other industries not directly related to science?

I think being open to career possibilities you might not have considered is very important. Attending careers events whenever possible is also a great way to see what options are out there. Speaking with people in different industries is very valuable.  Using online communities like LinkedIn or Twitter to follow relevant industries and look out for events is also a good idea. I also remember pouring over the case studies booklet from LJMU in my final year and trying to figure out what I wanted to do (however at the time it never occurred to me to look at other options outside of typical life science roles). If I hadn’t attended the conference in the Netherlands I never would have known about the research group in Denmark, where I ended up two years later as a research assistant, and I had no idea at the time watching their talk that would be the case. So be open and go to things and meet people, as it can only help you in the long run.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Leaving my PhD was very scary at the time and I just want to reiterate to anyone who is unsure or doubting their decisions, you are doing the best you can with the information you have and if you change your mind in three, six, 12 months, that’s okay. Just keep trying.

At LJMU, we have an employability skills and mind-set framework embedded within all our degrees. Which three of the nine employability skills and which three of the seven mind-set traits did you find most important in your day-to-day role, and how did you use them in practice in your career?

Employability skills – Analysis, problem-solving and decision-making; Professional written and spoken communication skills; ICT and technology / Digital Literacy: Every task in my role requires some degree of problem-solving. Whether it’s planning meetings with clients around other commitments or creating a finished application for the client. I need to break down the problem into smaller steps and execute them. I like to write out the problem (on paper) then make a bunch of boxes underneath and write in the “components” of the problem that I need to solve, then work on each box separately. This is also useful when having to explain to my boss what I have been doing all day/week (I can tell him the individual tasks that led to something rather than just “I made this feature” which minimises the work that went into some projects).

Communication is key in any client dependant role. Keeping them involved and informed throughout the process is important to keeping them satisfied and making sure the project doesn’t stray from what they want. I think it’s important to be able to communicate promptly and professionally both via email and via calls and in person. Admittedly a lot of meetings are done via Zoom and Teams at the moment.

ICT skills are crucial as I spend 99% of my day on a computer. Typing emails, making Zoom calls and programming applications in VS Code. It’s very important to be comfortable working on a computer or smartphone and tablet in this sphere. Also the person in the office who can make the printer work when it decides to play up is always everyone’s best friend.

Mind-set traits – Tenacious, resilient, growth mind-set; Resourceful, adaptable, lifelong learner; Self-aware, self-confident and independent: I have been described as resilient on many occasions. Things rarely pan out how you intend the first time around. The ability to have something go wrong and try again and again is the key to succeeding. Often in my role I will be given a problem to solve, and it might take me minutes or it might take me weeks, but the important thing is to keep trying different solutions until one fits. If I gave up, then my clients wouldn’t be very happy and I would feel like I had failed, but if I keep trying, I can’t fail. Eventually you find a solution.

In this field, the technology is ever-growing and changing, and you have to be prepared to constantly be learning the new frameworks or software.  This might mean using some “free time” so it’s best to find a way to enjoy learning new things. I have found that spending an hour or two in the evenings or weekends to learn new concepts in programming has been incredibly useful, and gives me a lot more scope when working with other people in the company.

Being self-confident is important because of the very common “imposter syndrome” that appears from time to time. Often, I will sit in my office and look around at these very brilliant people I work with, who have several degrees in computer science and have spent years studying it and have made very impressive software programs and feel very intimidated. However, I remember that I was hired by the same employers and I have skills that they do not. We work as a team and learn from each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

Since providing this case study, Melissa has also worked as a Junior Cloud Developer and SharePoint Developer at different companies, which illustrates how transferable her new skill set in coding is to lots of roles within the IT sector.

Support from the Student Futures team 

If you want to talk about potential careers options with your degree, need help finding opportunities or want support with your CV, application forms or preparing for an interview, you can get advice and guidance by booking a 30-minute 1-2-1 careers meeting with a Careers and Employability Adviser from the LJMU Student Futures Team.  You can also come along to a Careers drop-in or CV Café which take place weekly at the Careers Zones for quick careers queries.

If you are thinking about starting a business, freelancing, pursuing a side-hustle or have an idea that you want to explore further, email the Start-up Hub and a member of the team will be back in touch, or visit the Start-up Hub website.

For help finding part-time, temporary or casual you can fit around your studies, email the Unitemps team or visit their website.