Kimberly Bartholomew

Kimberley Bartholomew became a Science Documentary Producer after studying for her BSc Meteorology and completing her PhD Atmosphere, Oceans and Climate. She has worked on a variety of projects from genetics to cosmology.

Kim, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I have worked in TV for about seven years or so now, after completing an undergrad and a PhD at Reading, and I went straight in to television after that. I really enjoy the variety in TV and I like to take that in to my personal life as well. I really like being outdoors, and I really enjoy my job and the social aspects of my job. Outside of work I am a keen climber and runner, and I really like going to the cinema as well, I love movies and that is how I like to bridge a little bit of my livelihood with having fun as well.

Why did you decide to become a mentor with THRIVE?

For two main reasons really. The first one is that I thought it was a brilliant idea, I really wish that it had been around at the time when I was either an undergraduate or as a PhD student, I would have found that really useful.

Secondly, I am not in a position financially where I comfortably can contribute to the University in any kind of monetary way but I loved University so it is a nice way to give back.

How did you start down your own career path?

I was two thirds of the way through a PhD and was intending on pursuing an academic career as a scientist. I realised that it didn't actually fit with my strengths and I was craving something more collaborative and a more varied approach to work. I very much enjoy learning about a lot of different things rather than just one particular thing. It became clear that a career in academia wouldn't come as naturally to me as perhaps it should do if it was something that I was going to do for the rest of my life.

I started to think about science communication and how that would be a much better fit. A friend of mine within the Department of Meteorology managed to find a work experience scheme at the BBC and went on it for her own experience. I thought it would be a good idea, and my PhD supervisor was generous enough to let me take four weeks out to go and do the same thing. He was very encouraging of my looking at my options, and being honest with myself about my career. I actually got my timings perfectly as they happened to be researching an episode of 'Horizon' while I was there. So, I finished my work experience stint and they asked if I would like to go back with a real job and help out with the programme so I am very lucky.

I guess I looked at the right opportunities but also I was very lucky: I'd say 50% luck and 50% finding the right opportunity. Then the rest is history, I finished my PhD at the same time that I was doing that job - that is not recommended, but I'm glad I did it now that it is over.

Looking back, what advice would you give yourself when starting out in your career?
Not to be afraid to work really hard for an end goal. Writing up the end of my thesis and embarking on a whole new career was really tough, but I just about managed to hang on and to think that it was definitely worth it. And it turned out well with a bit of perseverance and resilience. Resilience is so important and I probably would just be a voice in my head saying "don't worry don't stress, it will be worth it."

What is your style of mentoring?

This is my first round and I am still growing and developing as the year goes by. At this stage I would say that I am trying to be quite an informal mentor. I have never really had a particularly formal approach to anything. I am in my early thirties so I hope to be approachable.

One thing I felt when I was their age was 'oh these people have real jobs and they are real grown-ups' - obviously now, I understand they weren't but I used to think that they were really serious and I couldn't ask them questions in case I look stupid. One thing that I really wanted to instil to them is that they have access to a mentor, to whom you can ask these 'stupid questions' which actually aren't stupid at all. That is one thing that I think is really important in a mentor.

What skills or knowledge do you value in a student who is looking for a graduate role?

I would say responsibility - the reason is that the one thing holding younger recruits back that I have met in my line of work is a sense of responsibility. Within TV in particular, and I'm sure it is the same with film making, you can be asked to do really weird and random things, and there is often a lot of responsibility on your shoulders, as it is a high pressure environment. So I would say a sense of responsibility, dependability and reliability are really important, particularly in my industry.

What do you hope to achieve as a mentor?

I have approached this very seriously but personally I struggle with over-committing to things. I am looking at juggling my own time to be as helpful as possible to my mentee(s), whilst ensuring that we can mutually fit everything around our already busy lives. So, being able to manage my own time and be a leader at the same time is a really important outcome for me, along with being accessible to someone as well.