Tell us a bit about yourself, your thesis and your current position.
I run the accounts/portfolio of work across education and research policy for ICF, a large public policy consultancy in Europe (circa 50 mil euros). I conduct applied research for Governments and European institutions. I advise them on various policies and I sometimes evaluate the programmes that they have launched. I wrote my thesis on deliberative governance in European higher education (the Bologna process). It was a useful stepping stone seeing as I still work & publish on the topic of my doctoral thesis.
What skills did you gain during your PhD and how do you feel they have helped you in your professional career within and/or beyond academia?
I still work in (applied) research, so my PhD has helped me gain several relevant skills in research methods – quant and qual, on the ability to write and critically engage with long documents, to analyse complex information quickly, to summarise information clearly, to present to diverse audiences, to be resilient. I also gained recognition in terms of my expertise of a given policy area.
Looking back, what advice would you give to yourself at the beginning of your PhD?
I would give myself the advice to treat my PhD as a project that needs to be completed in three+ years. A PhD is one project among a large body of work in someone’s career.
In terms of anticipating a transition to the labour market, I would also remind myself to keep my ‘endgame’ in mind and focus on acquiring skills which are the most in-demand in the labour market, academia and beyond (e.g. quant skills, or at least a certain level of comfort working with Excel and numbers).
I would also remind myself to enjoy this unique chance in life.
Looking back, what advice would you give to yourself at the end of your PhD?
I would remind myself that it’s ‘just the beginning’ & that I have the chance to pursue my dreams. I would also tell myself that my career choices will not remain static. They will change to meet my evolving perspectives and life goals.
(That said, I would also capitalise on my PhD as much as possible in the 2+ years upon completion, to publish and present my work as much as possible in order to gain visibility).
Is there anything you wish you had done during your PhD which you didn’t?
Not really, I had a great time.
What advice would you give to PhD students considering moving into Consulting?
Design your ‘elevator pitch’ to your target audience. Be confident in marketing your skills.
In your view, what value do Social Science Graduates bring to Consulting Firms?
I’ll focus only on public policy consultancies here: Social science graduates bring a lot of value to consulting firms given their knowledge of some of the thematic areas that consultancies work on, their understanding of the social and economic problems that some consultancies seek to address, their commitment to solving these issues and broader skills and competencies.