Food Science

Have a look at Prospects and targetjobs to find out what roles in this sector involve and how to get into them. These are some of the job profiles available:

• Food scientist/technologist
• Product/process development scientist
• Nutritionist
• Technical brewer
• Quality assurance manager
• Quality manager
• Toxicologist

For information on roles in nutrition and dietetics, visit our Healthcare page.

Employers in this sector look for skills including:

• an interest in science and how it applies to food and cooking
• an ability to follow strict hygiene rules and have high standards of cleanliness
• strong written and verbal communication skills
• excellent attention to detail
• an ability to lead and work effectively in teams
• a logical approach to problem-solving
• flexibility
• being able to prioritise your workload
• strong organisational skills
• commercial awareness

• browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed
• use LinkedIn’s Alumni tool to find out what Newcastle graduates are doing now. You could ask to connect with them, to gain advice and insights into their career. See Newcastle Alumni on LinkedIn to help you get started or watch our quick tutorial on Getting inspiration from others [3:13]
• attend alumni events, such as Newcastle Develop, to hear directly from our graduates
• sign up for mentoring support with Graduate Mentor and The 1 Hour Project. These aim to match students with industry professionals who can provide invaluable insights. Register to be connected for a one-hour meeting
• attend events including recruitment fairs and employer and sector insights. Hear about graduate jobs, placement schemes, build your network and ask questions

Searching for reviews online can be a useful way to get an idea of what to expect from certain roles or employers. Reviews are written by employees with different opinions about what makes a good employer.

Use the following review sites for inspiration and insight into the recruitment process:

• RateMyPlacement placement year reviews written by students.
• The Job Crowd – graduate job reviews
• Glassdoor – company reviews from employees

Read career guides for this sector, such as:

• Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) - meet industry professionals through Student Launchpad
• Royal Society of Biology: Food
• Tasty Careers

Use online magazines and journals to follow news from your industry. Reading about trends and developments is important for applications and interviews.

Examples include:

• The Grocer
• Just-food
• Ingredients Network

Attend events to hear directly from professionals in the industry.

Regular events for this sector include Food Matters Live which focuses on food, health and nutrition.

The IFST: Regional networks run events throughout the year. You may need to join as a student member to access these.

See our events, including recruitment fairs and employer and sector insights.

Join student societies, for example the Student Brewing Society. They run Stu Bru, where you can get hands on experience with learning how to make beer and help run the business.

Use social media to find industry insights.

Join sector-specific groups on LinkedIn to keep up to date. Posts often include news, events and opportunities. You can also find useful insights on careers on X and TikTok. Treat these with caution, as not all content may be accurate.

Find out more about how to use social media for your career

Consider joining a relevant professional body/industry network

Professional bodies often:

• run networking events
• have specialist groups you could join
• post vacancies on behalf of their members
• have member directories, useful for speculative applications

Key organisations include:

Professional associations/institutes

• Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFST)
• Quadram Institute Bioscience - research and innovation in gut health, microbiology and food
• Nutrition Society
• Association for Nutrition
• British Nutrition Foundation
• Institute & Guild of Brewing and Distilling

Research councils

• Medical Research Council
• Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

Government agencies

• Food Standards Agency
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Sector skills councils/industry associations

• National Skills Academy for Food and Drink
• Food and Drink Federation
• Society of Independent Brewers
• British Beer & Pub Association
• Nutritionists in Industry

Finding professional bodies worldwide

GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of professional bodies. Find them under ‘Professional and Personal Networking’ on each individual country guide.

Apply for advertised opportunities as early as possible.

UK applications typically open early in the academic year from September or October. Some close as early as November-December. Many employers close applications as soon as their places are filled.

Smaller companies often don’t advertise opportunities. You may need to contact them with a speculative approach. Do this early, as it can be very competitive.

Use our resources to get started:

• MyCareer - search for internships and placements in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts
• Internships, placements and shadowing - links to vacancy sites

Many opportunities will be advertised directly on employers’ careers websites. Use the resources for finding employers below.

The British Nutrition Foundation have advertised food and nutrition education internships in schools.

The Careers Service runs flexible term-time and summer internships with local employers and on campus. NCL internships are aimed at all students, from any stage.

Search for these under Vacancies on MyCareer. Type in ‘NCL internship’ into the text search box.

You can find these advertised throughout the academic year. Full-time summer opportunities are advertised from around March.

Access GoinGlobal for internships in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:

• additional vacancy websites
• CV, application and interview advice
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world

You can also use the following resources:

• Global work experience - for internships or placements abroad
• IAESTE – global work placements, ranging from 8 to 52 weeks. Opportunities include science roles. The UK is not a member country of IAESTE, but there are still opportunities to participate for students from non-member countries

If you’re looking for inspiration, try searching our NU Work Experience Directory. You can see where our students have had internships and placements in the last five years. To see all results in a search category, keep the search field blank.

For graduate schemes, apply as early as possible.

UK applications typically open early in the academic year from September or October. Some close as early as November-December. Many employers close applications as soon as their places are filled.

Graduate jobs tend to be immediate start positions which can be available all year round. You are more likely to apply for these towards the end of your studies.

Use our resources to get started:

• MyCareer - search for graduate schemes and graduate jobs in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts
• Graduate Jobs – lists graduate vacancy sites

Search the external sites below for more opportunities:

• Foodmanjobs - jobs in food manufacturing
• Quadram Institute Bioscience
• Society of Independent Brewers
• Nutrition Society: Jobs
• New Scientist Jobs
• NHS Jobs
• Civil Service Jobs – for opportunities in science within government departments and agencies
• Jobs.ac.uk - vacancies in higher education and research
• Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) - three-way partnerships involving a business, a graduate and an academic institution. Graduates work on research projects while gaining industrial experience with an employer. Projects are competitively paid, with funding for personal development. They typically last 1-3 years. View current opportunities to check for any relevant vacancies.

Professional bodies and research councils also advertise graduate positions. See our list of organisations.

For vacancies in universities and research institutions, see Research in Academia.

See International jobs for details of overseas vacancy sites.

Access GoinGlobal for job adverts in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:

• additional vacancy websites
• CV, application and interview advice
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world

Start by identifying organisations you are interested in. Our guide to finding organisations below can help. Then use the following steps to approach them speculatively about possible opportunities:

1. Identify a contact name to address your cover letter to. Call or email to find out who handles recruitment within the organisation. Or, find a key contact in the department you want to work in.
2. Send them a tailored CV and cover letter. Express your enthusiasm for the sector. Show that you have researched the company.
3. Follow up your speculative application with a phone call, or email, around a week later. This shows you are serious and motivated.
4. If your application was unsuccessful, ask for feedback or advice, and keep trying!

You can use this approach at any point in the year. We recommend that you:

• start your research as early as possible to gather relevant contacts
• contact organisations around three months before you want the opportunity to begin

• find organisations on MyCareer. Select ‘search' then 'organisations’
• use the business directories and databases on our Researching employers page
• search for companies on LinkedIn. The Find Alumni tool shows you where Newcastle graduates are currently working
• browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed

UK organisations

• targetjobs - search employers by sector
• IFST: directory of consultants
• Food and Drink Federation: list of members
• The Grocer Directory
• just-food - company A-Z
• Sport and Exercise Nutrition Register: Find a Nutritionist – useful for possible shadowing opportunities
• Association for Nutrition - search the register for qualified nutritionists
• Society of Independent Brewers: directory

Professional body websites sometimes include member directories, which are helpful for finding employers.

You can also find work experience by contacting university departments and research institutes. The Rank Prize Fund offers undergraduate vacation grants for research projects.

Worldwide organisations

Search GoinGlobal’s employer directory for company information in 196 countries. Their country guides list professional bodies around the world.