I completed my MSci at Imperial College London in Physics. I had not previously considered doing a PhD but in my final year I worked on data from the Cassini satellite and found the research really interesting, and decided that spending a few more years working on something similar would be far better than jumping straight into the working world!
I was fortunate enough to find a PhD working on magnetic reconnection in the solar wind, working with Jonathan Eastwood at Imperial. I was able to work on data from multiple NASA and ESA satellites, and after completing my thesis I was awarded the RAS Keith Runcorn prize in 2016.
I loved working in an academic environment but after much deliberation I decided it was time for a change and found a position at Royal Mail in a Business Modelling team. I now work on open ended problems, complex models and lots of data, but in a completely different context and environment to my PhD, supporting a large organisation to make strategic decisions and real improvements. It's very different from academia but I regularly find elements from my PhD supporting me in my working life.