{
  "id": 3021923,
  "title": "Honor Powrie: 10 things I wish I’d known (or done better) when I started my career",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/honor-powrie-10-things-i-wish-id-known-or-done-better-when-i-started",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-24T13:00:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Physics World",
    "slug": "physics-world",
    "url": "https://physicsworld.com/a/honor-powrie-10-things-i-wish-id-known-or-done-better-when-i-started-my-career/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "When I started university, I didn't know which career path I wanted to pursue. Initially, I applied to study geophysics, but soon realized it wasn't my passion and switched to mathematics. After my first year, I again changed my major to physics, as I was better at it but still unsure if it was the right choice for my career. During my degree, I joined the Student Industrial Society which allowed me to visit various companies, including a closing session at Llanwern steelworks with a British Steel careers advisor. The harsh reality of his questions made me realize the need to find out my plans before it was too late. After this experience, I started applying for summer student placements and was offered positions at the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment, which led to me co-authoring a peer-reviewed publication during my summer job. This experience sparked my interest in engineering, leading me to apply for a PhD in high-speed aerodynamics at the University of Southampton. My PhD experience confirmed my love for engineering, particularly aerospace, but made me realize that an academic career wasn't for me. I then found a job at Stewart Hughes Ltd, building vibration-monitoring equipment for mechanical machines, which utilized my academic background and helped in securing US government research funding. Looking back on my career journey, I have a few tips for those starting out: try things out, be honest about what you like and dislike, stretch yourself to find out more, remember that your degree subject may not be the most important thing, get a mentor, enjoy doing various things, stay happy in what you do, be prepared for lateral moves, nominate yourself for awards, and network with peers. A valuable piece of advice I received during a career session was to aim for a specific target, like landing a ball on the green in golf, while being aware of potential pitfalls.",
  "summary": "Honor Powrie offers advice for physicists at the start of their careers The post Honor Powrie: 10 things I wish I’d known (or done better) when I started my career appeared first on Physics World .",
  "key_points": [
    "Started with uncertainty in career path, switching majors multiple times",
    "Joined Student Industrial Society, visited companies including British Steel",
    "Found interest in engineering through summer placement at Royal Signals and Radar Establishment"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}