Today’s scientist can no longer afford to be an egghead. Simon Kent reports from London
IN the movies, scientists are usually portrayed as humourless boffins: all brains and no personality. Take Jeff Goldblum in Independence Day, whose ability to defeat an alien ship, armed only with a laptop, was the result not only of years of dedicated study, but also of a dysfunctional personality.
But while being socially challenged may not prevent you saving the planet, it will hamper your chances of getting a job.
Careers advisers say sci-tech graduates are losing out in the jobs market because they fail to demonstrate adequate social and communication skills.
It’s no longer enough to be an expert. Scientists of the 1990s need to be able to justify their research. Discovering a new molecule, compound or structure is all very well, but if you can’t explain its implications, use and business value to the rest of the company, the work is pointless.
Science graduates at electrical company GEC Alsthom, for example, are expected to liaise with all parts of the business. The organisation hires mathematicians, chemists, metallurgists and physicists.
“We are not only looking for the scientific skills, but people who can apply their knowledge in a business such as ours,” says the company’s United Kingdom human resources director, David Thomas.
An impressive science degree isn’t enough to win you a job at ICL, either. Says human resources manager Tony Robson: “We are looking for people who are good communicators, able to adapt quickly and effectively to new situations.”
Information technology experts are getting the same treatment. “There is still the `deep techie’ part of the industry, where all we need to do is feed you pizza and you write code,” admits Max Dobre, from Cambridge Technology Partners. But at the commercial end of the business, clients need to understand and be understood.
“We want friendly people who can talk to the people who will use the systems – in technical terms, and in non-technical terms,” says Dobre.
Andy Gannon, director of professional service operations at Hewlett Packard, believes the need for additional social skills has evolved alongside society’s attitude to technology.
“People used to get excited about the technology itself. Now they have a better grasp of the value of that technology. As we move into the business space, we expect people to demonstrate skills in teamwork.”
So what happens when companies can’t find the ideal science graduate? According to Peter Saraga, managing director of Philips Research Labs in the UK, professionals with artistic and design backgrounds are increasingly being hired over computer scientists.
Language students are also being trained. Says Dobre: “If you’ve spent years understanding the anatomy of a language, you can train yourself to think in a way that’s conducive to working with computers.”
Other companies sponsor university courses, or provide additional training following recruitment. Universities, too, are taking measures to prepare science graduates for commercial realities.
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology’s department of computation is running a career and professional development module. It gives students experience in group work, communication skills, presentation and negotiation skills.
Now in its second year, the module forms part of the students’ final-year degree course, and similar courses will run in 11 other departments. So at least tomorrow’s graduate may have a chance of becoming the “ideal” scientist: a business person who tells great jokes but can also recite the periodic table backwards.