Career prospects
The Alumnitool on LinkedIn can help you gain insight into possible careers after you finish your degree. It can also help you get in contact with an alumnus or alumna of your degree programme or other programmes. Nearly all graduates have a LinkedIn profile and can answer questions about your future career. They’re often more than happy to share their experiences with you. The video belows explains how the alumnitool works, and how you can use search criteria to find career information that is relevant to you.
Would you like to know more about how you can use LinkedIn to expand your network and put the new information into practice straight away? Take the LinkedIn workshop from Career Services. The workshop Exploring the job market & networking is also useful if you'd like to improve your networking skills, using LinkedIn and other ways.
As a doctor, you know - for example - that smoking can cause lung cancer, and you learn to treat the disease. As an epidemiologist, you look at the smokers: who smokes, what things do they have in common, what other illnesses do they contract, and how do they live? What typifies the smoker? You try to find ways of getting them to quit and prevent, for example, lung cancer.
“The Epidemiology Master's in Utrecht is one of the best in the world. The fact that I was able to start my doctorate in Leiden immediately after completing my Master's in 2008, and that I got a job with MSD in Oss, was certainly related to the fact that I did this Master's in Utrecht.
After training to be a doctor, I became interested in epidemiology: that means looking at the disease as a whole. As a doctor, you know - for example - that smoking can cause lung cancer, and you learn to treat the disease. As an epidemiologist, you look at the smokers: who smokes, what things do they have in common, what other illnesses do they contract, and how do they live? What typifies the smoker? You try to find ways of getting them to quit and prevent, for example, lung cancer.
I learned most during my studies from the two internships. During the first year, there are a lot of theoretical courses. On my first internship with Epidemiology at the university, I was involved in cardiovascular research. I learned to put theory into practice. During my second internship, I also wrote my Master’s thesis. I completed my internship with the Aids Foundation East West, an NGO that is involved in the fight against HIV in Central and Eastern Europe. The two internships really do prepare you well for the real world.
When MSD decided to move back to America, I went looking for another job. I'm now working for Exerpta Medica. I have an independent position, establishing communications between a pharmaceutical company and, for example, doctors and patient groups.”
Saurabh Zalpuri (32) is a Medical Communications Manager at Excerpta Medics BV. Saurabh was born in India, studied medicine in Moscow, and completed his Master's in Clinical Epidemiology in Utrecht.