Welcome to the Science Careers Day in Aula Magna. Photo: Margareta Ohné.

The job market day in Aula Magna started at lunchtime on February 7. Over the next four hours, several hundred biologists, chemists and geoscientists came to the auditorium to meet potential employers.

Employers are called 'exhibitors' in this context because they usually come with big screens, piles of brochures and bowls of sweets. This year, the exhibitors were spread out over two floors of the Aula Magna, so it wasn't nearly as crowded as last year. Still, there were around 450 visitors and 36 exhibitors, almost as many as last year.

This year, however, several important employers, such as the major pharmaceutical companies, were missing. This was not due to a lack of interest, they were simply booked elsewhere. But even small employers can be quite interesting, as shown below. 

“It's been busy all day”

All exhibitors contacted at the end of the day were tired but happy. They had met lots of curious students who were serious and well prepared and asked good questions. Most exhibitors also believed that they had recruited new employees or at least summer workers or interns in the long term.

Below are some examples of small and large exhibitors.

More information about this year's Career Day

Read the report from last year's event where some other exhibitors are presented

Anna Qviström, environmental consultant at Sellén & Filipovic

Anna Qviström. Photo: Margareta Ohné.

Sellén & Filipovic is a small but growing environmental consulting company. It was formed just a few years ago but now has about ten employed consultants. Their offices are located in Nyköping and in Globen. They work with contaminated areas in both soil, surface water and groundwater and offer, among other things, training, investigations and risk assessment.

It is often emphasized that it has special expertise when it comes to PFAS-contaminated environments. Sampling is certified and many types of investigations of PFAS are carried out in different environments. Among the clients, municipalities and authorities dominate. Now they want more employees and it is broadly trained natural scientists who are needed," says Anna, who is an environmental scientist herself.

Magdalena Thorin, HR consultant at the Stockholm County Administrative Board

The County Administrative Board is a government agency that works on behalf of the Government. It is also a major employer for natural scientists. The County Administrative Board of Stockholm County employs about 520 people, all of whom are academics. Most of the natural scientists are in the Environment department with a total of about 110 employees and the Rural Affairs department with a total of about 80 employees. Some examples of work areas with biological links are the protection of valuable areas (both terrestrial, marine and aquatic environments), wetlands and ponds, endangered or invasive species, algal blooms in the Baltic Sea and our national parks.

When the County Administrative Board hires new people, they want generalists, and this also applies to biologists and other natural scientists. To qualify for work at the County Administrative Board, a basic education, often a bachelor's degree in e.g. environment and health protection, biology, marine biology or hydrology, is required. You work in several different subject areas where interaction between different areas is an important part of the job.

A new employee gets a mentor and over time they become an expert in their field of work. However, anyone who is aiming for a job at the County Administrative Board is wise to first gain merit through work at a municipality and then apply to the County Administrative Board.

But why should you work at the County Administrative Board? Because the tasks are incredibly interesting, says Magdalena, and the employees have such a high level of competence ("we are all experts"). The work also has strong societal relevance and interaction is done with municipalities, regions and the business community. The County Administrative Board was voted the most attractive and sustainable employer by the members of Naturvetarna in 2023, for the second year in a row. The County Administrative Board of Stockholm has its premises on Regeringsgatan.

Smilla Huzell, Chief Operating Officer at Ebba Biotech

Smilla Huzell. Photo: Margareta Ohné.

Ebba Biotech is a small research-based biotechnology company. It is based on "optotracing technology", i.e. fluorescent molecules that can detect different carbohydrates, protein aggregates or bacteria with great specificity in, for example, tissue samples. The technology has been developed by researchers at KI, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Linköping University. The products can be tailored for different purposes and sold to universities, hospitals and industries.

The company was formed in 2016 and has only a handful of employees, but wants to grow; "We're a small company, but we do a lot," says Smilla. Here in Aula Magna, they are mainly looking for summer workers. What they want is natural scientists, preferably with a foundation in molecular biology or biochemistry. Smilla herself has a bachelor's degree in biochemistry. The company is located in Karolinska Institutet Science Park in Solna, close to many customers.

Marina Kolpakova, student marketer at the Swedish Union of Natural Scientists

Marina Kolpakova. Photo: Margareta Ohné.

The trade union Naturvetarna has almost 35,000 members, of whom about 2,000 are students. Many people probably do not know that you can become a member of the association already as a student, but think that you have to finish your education first. But it is enough that you have started the education and from this year it does not cost a penny to become a student member.

As a student member, you are offered a wide range of benefits that are either free or booked at a discount. Examples of such benefits are career counseling and interview training. As a student member, you can also get help with writing a CV or creating a LinkedIn profile.

Marina and her colleague Beata Wolgers believe that Naturvetarna gained around 30 new student members during the Labour Market Day. But those who missed the opportunity then can visit their website to see what they offer.