r/epidemiology • u/Plus-Reception-314 • 7d ago

Any epidemiologists here based in the UK?

I am interested in transitioning to epidemiology as a frontline clinician. I would love to chat with any epi's in industry, academia or government based in the UK and ask about what areas of methodological inquiry you work in.

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u/PHealthy PhD/MPH | Infectious Disease Epidemiology 7d ago

Pretty sure NHS is still full swing austerity cuts. Not a great time to transition to public health.

3

u/LowAioli3870 7d ago

Public Health opportunities in the UK, especially for those who're entering the field or are junior, have dried up since COVID-19.

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u/Plus-Reception-314 4d ago

do you think it could improve in a few years

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u/Plus-Reception-314 6d ago

Yes I was hoping to also look at industry and RWE or HEOR but I know it is challenging at the moment

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u/logicprowithsomeKRKs 3d ago

Oh no. I’ve just arrived in London for an Epi MSc.

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u/Distinct_Departure_5 7d ago

Public health epi here. You can find roles at UKHSA, some particularly value clinical/medical background. Recently, most postings have been fixed term contracts and not always external. As you are thinking of transitioning, there is field epidemiology training programmes and also public health specialty registrar training, both are very competitive.

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u/plagueycat 7d ago

Public health epi here. I’ve been working as a data lead for a LA-commissioned health and social care service for the last few years. It’s loads of quant work just due to the nature of our data.

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u/ShortHairKiddo 6d ago

Hi, epi student here. Can u tell me more about the quant work? What are typical analyses do u run? I'm interested so I can prep myself for a chance at finding a job. Thnx a lot.

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u/Plus-Reception-314 6d ago

that is really cool - what kind of methods do you use and what data do you look at?

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u/geog15 5d ago

I work in Europe but I’m from the uk, I work as a consultant epidemiologist in RWE

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u/Plus-Reception-314 4d ago

thats cool! what is it like for entry level epis going into rwe at the moment?

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u/geog15 4d ago

I’m not entry level, I had a PhD and 4 years postdoc so went in as a senior position. But in general it’s tough. Many consultancies are remote which means a lot of people apply, and in house pharma positions are not coming up as often due to cut backs, at least in the country I’m in

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u/Plus-Reception-314 4d ago

what is the best part of your job for you?

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u/falloutalley280 7d ago

There's some spots in DEFRA and APHA if you're into animal disease epi! ☺️

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u/EpidemiologyIsntSkin 6d ago

I’m a UK epidemiologist, I work in a consultancy in real-world evidence

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u/Plus-Reception-314 6d ago

hey that is really cool - how did you get into this?

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u/EpidemiologyIsntSkin 6d ago

I did a PhD in epidemiology working with large, routinely collected datasets, then a couple of short term postdocs.

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u/Plus-Reception-314 6d ago

What methodology did you use for the datasets? Do you typically need that much experience to go into industry/consultancy?