Jack's story
Every day, I collaborate with experts who are trying to make significant contributions in biomedical research, which is extremely stimulating and rewarding.” Jack coutts
Genetics BSc
“My mum was a biology teacher and my granddad was a physicist, so I grew up with loads of exposure to science and always knew it was what I wanted to pursue. My journey hasn’t been totally linear, though - I initially applied to study Engineering, but achieved better A-Levels than expected and decided to switch subjects through Adjustment. This made Results Day quite frantic, but I managed to secure a place on the Life Sciences (with a Foundation Year) BSc (Hons) course at Sussex.
Taking a foundation year helped me settle into university life, and allowed me to ease my way into academic studies. I was surrounded by a diverse mix of people whose perspectives opened my eyes to the wider world, and I made lots of friends. I was also encouraged to explore different disciplines, and ultimately studied on the Genetics BSc where I took modules in maths and coding.
I’ve worked consistently since the summer I turned 16. I’ve had jobs ranging from a hotel porter to a children’s party coordinator before working in bars and restaurants for the first few years of my degree. I wanted to develop more office-oriented experience, so applied to become a Careers Connector in my third year. The role was perfect – the pay was great and the hours were flexible around my studies. I was tasked with helping to spread the word about careers and entrepreneurship opportunities at Sussex, and encouraged to experiment with my own ideas. I decided to produce a podcast where I interviewed Sussex graduates who’d taken alternative careers in life sciences as I wanted to increase exposure to non-traditional career paths.
My experience as a Careers Connector helped me to develop my communication, time management and project management skills. My interviewees were all very accomplished, interesting people, and speaking to them was always intimidating. However, I learned how to ask questions and chair conversations, which has become a super valuable skill that’s helped me in job interviews.
After I graduated from Sussex, I moved to London for my Masters, and I now work for the Francis Crick Institute. My role involves applying bioinformatics and software engineering to the fields of proteomics and metabolomics to facilitate the work of specialist research groups. My major focus involves developing information management systems that can store experimental data and manage projects and lab workflows, as well as developing applications for the analysis of GC-MS data. I also support individual researchers by coding small, tailored programmes to meet their specific needs.
Every day, I get to collaborate with experts who are trying to make significant contributions in biomedical research, and I find this environment extremely stimulating and rewarding. In the future, I’d like to continue working on projects that aim to make a positive contribution to the world, and feel grateful to be a position to do so.”