College students often work part-time, or take vacation jobs, to fund their studies. They also participate in internships to gain experience and get an ‘in’ to an organisation. Apart from providing much-needed money to finance your studies, you can use these experiences to identify, develop and test out your research ideas.
Here are some examples of job-led, theses and dissertations we have come across. Some, which generated, successful, start-up businesses.
Following his primary degree in creative and cultural studies, Stefan went to San Francisco on a J-1 visa. He initially worked as an assistant manager in a bar and then for a large hotel chain. In both places, Stefan noticed missed opportunities by waiting staff to upsell due to a combination of inadequate processes and poor communication. Subsequently, Stefan developed an idea for a mobile application (app) that allows restaurant managers to stay connected with their waiters and the kitchen. The app merges an easy-to-use point of sale system with a two-way communications platform. Stefan subsequently enrolled on a postgraduate programme in business and entrepreneurship to gain an understanding of what was involved in setting up a new enterprise. His consultancy research project identified a further need for the app – to deal with the level of waste in the sector. For example, between 4% to 10% of food ordered never reaches a customer’s table, so food waste in hotel restaurants runs into hundreds of thousands of euros a year. Following completion of his postgraduate studies, Stefan, along with some of his class colleagues, founded a new business. They have just secured a loan to get their idea off the ground.
In year two of her studies, Geraldine, a social studies student, accepted a part-time internship at a charity providing services to people with mental health issues. While her main role was in administration, she also helped with sports activities that took place at the care centre where she worked. This kindled Geraldine’s interest in the relationship between mental health and sport. From a practical perspective, it also afforded her access to more than 150 people with mental health issues who had participated in sport. When Geraldine finished her third-year exams, she returned to the same charity for paid work over her summer vacation. She used this time to start drafting her thesis research proposal and discuss with her manager how she could pilot-test some group interviews. When Geraldine returned to college in the autumn, she was research proposal ready, avoiding the usual thesis pitfalls, thus relieving some of the stress of final year.
Alfonso studied for a BSc in Culinary Entrepreneurship and worked part-time for an Italian take-away. Speaking with customers, he noticed that a considerable number of them used the services because they were too busy to cook at home. This happened even though they preferred to provide home-cooked meals for their family when they had the time. Alfonso spotted both a commercial opening and a research gap. For his dissertation, he produced a research statement investigating the potential target market segment for offering healthy eating products and bespoke culinary expertise. Arising from this, Alfonso generated two business ideas. He is now developing two business plans. One exploring the eating habits of busy professionals and their families, and the other examining the demand for personal chefs in the home.
After graduating with a mathematics and physics teaching diploma, Albert spent almost two years searching unsuccessfully for a teaching post. He eventually landed a temporary job in a patent office. Whilst there, Albert evaluated patent applications for a variety of devices related to transmission of electric signals and electrical-mechanical synchronisation of time. This led him to develop several research hypotheses about the nature of light and the fundamental connection between space and time, in addition to significant research projects supported by the US Government. His full name? Albert Einstein.
Whether you are an Albert, or an Alfonso, the secret is to be constantly on the look-out for thesis and dissertation possibilities. You often hear that research was inspired by customer service difficulties or because of problems with internal systems. Every organisation has its challenges and issues, and using a structured process to solve them, pays dividends for research students.
Such a systematic and structured approach to your research is particularly helpful at the beginning of your research journey. Thesis Upgrade’s Developing Your Research Proposal may aid your journey. The digital resource contains easy-to-understand information and straightforward explanations to help you develop a robust and realistic research proposal. Buy now for immediate use.