Doctoral students urged to keep open mind on careers

Doctoral students at University College Cork have been given a timely reminder of how a chosen specialisation can sometimes lead to an unexpected career path.

Addressing the PhD students at the launch of The Boolean — UCC’s online doctoral student journal — Allan Prosser of the Irish Examiner outlined how a particular subject choice can have what might appear to be highly unlikely career consequences.

He cited the example of the US managing editor of the Financial Times, Gillian Tett, who earned her reputation as the “go-to” reporter for the global debt crisis, which she predicted in the years prior to the international economic meltdown in 2008.