Andrew Witham, 27, physicist, Symetrica

I felt slightly removed from the real world by the end of my PhD and wanted to work in an area where physics had a practical application. I’ve been with Symetrica for seven months now. We’re particularly focused on the detection of gamma-ray radiation, developing detectors including handheld devices. These can be used by coastguards and police anywhere goods can be scanned for radiation. I’m based in the office creating models, running simulations and working on types of detectors to see how effective they would be. For example, what would you need to detect a nuclear weapon hidden in a truck? Our work has the potential to make a difference in terms of security.

Tom Senior, 28, business development executive, VT Group

I work in the aerospace division, where our contracts include providing flight training for the RAF. I started on the graduate scheme so I’ve spent time in different parts of the business. In my present role there are two strings: one is day-to-day business development, responding to tenders and providing services to the MoD; the other is developing the strategic direction through longer-term projects, such as our helicopter, large aircraft and overseas strategies. I’m studying for a masters in project management and these skills I hope will put me in a position to help to shape the business for the future.

Captain Louise Greenhalgh, 27, Territorial Army

Risk management is a key element in both my jobs. In civilian life I’m a construction consultant; in the TA, a bomb disposal officer. I’ve always been interested in the military; it’s challenging and great, socially. My best moment was when I was commissioned at Sandhurst. My worst? Doing sentry duty at 2am in the wet and cold. I’d recommend the TA to anyone. It increases your teamwork and leadership skills, which is great for your civilian career. I’m about to go on my first deployment to Afghanistan. A lot of people think that what I’m doing is dangerous; many think I’m mad. Even people in the TA think that I’m crazy to be specialising in bomb disposal.

Matt Beaumont, 32, project head of future development, MBDA

The core aspect of my work is systems engineering. I am responsible for the future upgrade of certain weapon systems that are already in service. This involves looking at and understanding future, cutting-edge technologies to see how they can be applied to our products. The investment in such systems is huge; you don’t put billions of euros into something for the short term, which means I’m looking 20 to 30 years ahead. At the moment I work on multinational programmes. These involve pulling together customers from different nations to find a single solution.

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