Which role fits me best?

You focus on a career in the scientific world or as a researcher in business or for the government. You can think of a position as PhD candidate at a university or research institution connection to a university, but also a position as a researcher at a R&D department at a company. A job at a knowledge company such as TNO is also possible.

As a PhD candidate you would work on a research topic for a term of four years and thereafter your promotion. You have to write around four scientific articles and bundle this as one big research result. You can also have the side tasks to guide other employees (laboratory assistants), or to lecture.

As a researcher at a research institute or a company, your activities may consist of the project-based design, execution, analysis and reporting of scientific research. You can also be involved in acquiring new projects. You must continually develop yourself in order to stay up to date with the latest knowledge and new developments in your field.

Example function titles

• PhD candidate
• Research associate, research assistant
• Researcher
• Scientist
• R&D engineer, R&D manager

Professions that fit within the role of education and development focus on training, teaching or educating people in content areas that suit you. They focus on facilitating the development of people both nationally and internationally.

You are interested in helping to develop other people and / or companies, perhaps also in developing countries. It is very important that you can communicate and pass on information in a good way to these different target groups. In addition, you must be able to translate your substantive knowledge into information / training material and you must constantly develop yourself to stay up-to-date with developments in your area.

Example function titles

• Lecturer
• Development officer
• Trainer
• Educator
• Coordinator
• L&D specialist, L&D coordinator, L&D advisor (Learning & Development)
• Consultant (not for profit, NGO)

Professions that fit within the role of consultancy and commercial functions focus on putting professional knowledge into practice, generating turnover, building and maintaining contact with customers.

They are versatile professions, in which you encounter many people, at different levels of the organisation. You often get look at a wide variety of companies within the organisation. They are also demanding professions. Your customers expect a lot from you; namely that you solve their problems. It is not a matter of knowing that you know, but that you can quickly gather the right information, translate this information into the concrete practical problem of the client and convincingly convey it. You need to be stress-resistant, customer-oriented, creative and you need excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Example function titles

• Consultant
• Product manager
• Export manager
• Account manager
• Marketing manager
• Sales manager

You focus on the development and implementation of policy, local, for an organisation or international. Different scales of policy, flexibility, long-term impact, dealing with a lot of stakeholders, negotiation process, background research desk studies, adaptability to different topics.

As a policy officer, you have the task of advising your employer or organisation. You write policies, attend meetings, achieve consensus on certain policy issues and absolutely know how a Business works. After all, the policy officer has the knowledge to know how a certain proposal can go.

Example function titles

• Policy officer
• Policy advisor
• Programme manager

In professions that fit within the role specialist, (technical) specialist you focus on using very specific professional knowledge. As a specialist within (a certain area) of your profession, you apply your substantive knowledge to tackle and solve certain problems, or provide others with specialist information.

The professions you end up with are often specialised in a small area. You are very interested in and committed to (a part of) your field. You keep yourself well informed of all the latest developments. Often it is important that you can translate specialist knowledge into practical applications and that you can translate the knowledge you have into a message that is understandable for people who are not specialised in your area. This role seems a bit similar to a Research role, research is more fundamental and technical specialist is more applicable.

Example function titles

• Specialist
• Technical sales manager (between commercial and technical specialist)
• Technical consultant
• Technical specialist
• Product manager