Hannah Watts

BA (Hons) Criminology (2018), MRes (2019)

Hannah is a principal analyst in the Civil Service. She talks about what she has been involved in since graduating, what she does now and how she got there following her time at Manchester.

My current role and how I got there

Following my MRes graduation, I got a job on the Civil Service Graduate Fast Stream as a Government Social Researcher in 2019. This was linked to the Q-Step Internship I completed in my second year of undergraduate study and without this work experience, I would not be where I am in my career now.

Since starting my job in the Civil Service, I have worked on a range of projects that have involved quantitative data analysis of large datasets, conducting focus groups and qualitative coding of interviews. I have also managed statistical publications and large scale policy evaluations. I now lead an analytical team who support on all analytical requests relating to our policy area. I am required to provide robust and clear evidence to Ministers, senior policy makers and my wider team. It’s a very fast paced environment and I rely on my social research skills daily.

Both my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees gave me the skills to conduct social research and apply theory to my work, as well as ensure policy is based on the best available evidence

My experience at Manchester

After three years studying BA Criminology I chose to stay at The University of Manchester for my MRes because the modules offered matched areas that I was interested in and I had enjoyed my undergraduate degree so much, I was not ready to leave!

The Manchester Q-step centre offers work placement opportunities to students across the School of Social Sciences and I was fortunate enough to complete an internship working for the Civil Service in London. I had an eight-week paid placement where I worked on current projects including cyber bullying. This really opened my eyes to the importance of social research and the influence this can have on policy.