“By the time I graduated, I had over a year’s experience in the pharmaceutical industry and programming.”

After studying BSc Mathematics at Sheffield Hallam, Alice Switonski now works as a statistician at Reckitt, supporting clinical trials and helping bring new medicines and medical devices to market.

“I work as a statistician at Reckitt on the clinical project team, supporting the development of medicines and medical devices. I help set up studies — things like trial design, identifying suitable populations, and working out how many people need to take part to get meaningful results. I also analyse the study data to check for safety and efficacy, and I support our medical experts in producing research articles for publication.

“I use a lot of what I learned at Hallam — especially from modules like Statistics for Business and Industry. I developed skills in presenting results, report writing, and programming, particularly in R Studio and SAS. Learning SAS was especially valuable for my job — it’s something I now use all the time.”

She chose Sheffield Hallam for its practical course content, the option of a placement year, and the supportive environment.

“I always enjoyed maths at school and wanted to study it further. I looked around universities in the North of England and really liked the course at Hallam because it combined both pure and applied maths. The option to do a placement year was a big bonus — and the support Hallam offered in helping us prepare for that made it feel achievable.

“The maths team were brilliant — really supportive — and I liked having the option to tailor the course in the later years. The people on the course were lovely, and it was a really welcoming and encouraging environment.

“The 24-hour access to the library was super helpful, and I liked that Hallam provided SAS licences so I could install it on my own laptop and work from anywhere. The Careers Hub was especially helpful in final year — with workshops on CV writing, LinkedIn and space to explore career options.”

In her third year, Alice undertook a placement that gave her valuable industry experience — and helped her land her first graduate job.

“I did my placement in my third year and came back for final year after. While it was down to us to apply and go through interviews, Hallam helped us get ready with career fairs, CV support and tutor guidance. During the placement year, I had a tutor who I could contact for advice and who also visited to make sure everything was on track.

“By the time I graduated, I had over a year’s experience in the pharmaceutical industry and programming — having that on my CV and LinkedIn meant I was approached by a recruiter for my first graduate job.

“You get a year tutor throughout the course and a module tutor each year, both of whom are available via office hours or email. Some modules had lab sessions or tutorials which helped put lecture content into practice. If you ever needed clarification, you just had to ask — there were always opportunities to get support.

“By final year, I’d figured out where my strengths were and what areas I wanted to pursue. Having a mix of theoretical and applied modules meant I could build transferable skills — especially programming — that were useful across different industries.”

Now working towards a masters in Statistics, Alice is building on her professional experience and keeping future career options open.

“I’m currently working towards a masters in Statistics, supported by my company. I wouldn’t say no to doing another qualification one day — maybe something more specialised. I enjoy working in the pharmaceutical industry and I’d love to get more experience in other therapeutic areas, like oncology.

“Sheffield is a brilliant place to study. I felt comfortable here straight away. There are loads of green spaces, museums and things to do, and the music and nightlife scene is great. I joined the Hallam Cheer and Dance society and was on the team the whole time I lived in Sheffield — we competed with other universities and performed at events like Varsity. I made so many great friends — on my course and through the society.”