Alumni

Dan Jones

Career Path: Digital Marketing Campaign Manager, Utilitywise
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

My career has taken a bunch of turns since I graduated, but I'm now on a path that I find interesting and rewarding. After graduating I used my degree to become a Research Scientist at Fujifilm Diosynth in Billingham. Though it was a fantastic job and company to work for, I wasn't sure the lab life was for me. So I set off travelling for what ended up to be over three years around Australia, NZ and SE Asia. I started freelance writing to keep my funds up whilst travelling, and built a blog to practice my writing - which then showed me how much I enjoy content creation and marketing. Fast forward two years and I'm now doing that for a living.

What are you doing now?

I'm a Digital Marketing Campaign Manager for a leading energy consultancy in Newcastle. My job has two sides to it really; on one side I run adverts across various digital channels, on the other I create content and build web pages across various brand's websites.

What was it about Northumbria that made you decide to study here?

It offered a great course, with a wide variety of disciplines. Plus, I love Newcastle, and Northumbria puts you right at the centre of the action.

What was it like studying at Northumbria?

Lots of long lectures (three hours) often in a row meant for very long days, plus plenty of hours in the lab.

What was the best thing about your course?

Human Biosciences offered a pretty unique set of modules. It's similar to Biomed, but it's less focused on a making you a Biomedical Scientist, and more about giving you a broad skillset.

How did studying at Northumbria help you achieve your career goals/ give your career an edge?

Well, it initially got me into a great Research Scientist position but that wasn't for me. Since then, it's demonstrated my problem solving ability and analytical skills which has helped me get various Marketing positions. Thankfully a science degree still carries some clout.