Originally from Roscommon, Lisa Fallon holds a BSc from NUI Galway and a PhD in astrophysics from the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.
Having completed her PhD in 2012, Lisa, now 30, considered emigrating to pursue a post-doctorate position. “It was virtually impossible to get a post-doc position in Ireland at that time,” she recalls. “It’s also a very demanding lifestyle . . . I knew I didn’t want that.”
She did some volunteering at the Dublin Buddhist Centre, and began looking for “ethical” work. “I wanted to do something more social and meaningful. I was looking for any kind of work I could get in Dublin really. I didn’t get anything.
“I was overqualified for a lot of stuff I was applying for.”
Instead, like many, she looked across the Irish Sea, volunteering for a month at Dhanakosa retreat centre, in the Scottish Highlands. Lisa was eventually offered a position there as fundraising and marketing manager in June 2013, living with six other Buddhists.
“I probably couldn’t have got that type of job in Ireland,” she says. Last year, she began seeking fulfilling work in the city, which proved more of a challenge. A PhD qualification on the CV was less of a drawback in the UK than in Ireland.
“It seemed easier to get work in Edinburgh than at home. People move around here a lot more, they change careers and change track more regularly.”
After applying for “about 40 positions”, she got a job with the University of Edinburgh, as project administrator at the Administrative Data Research Centre for Scotland.
“Because it’s a new centre, my job is a bit of everything,” she says. “I’m part of the communications and public engagement team. I manage the Twitter account, publicity for seminars, workshops, statistics training.”
“It’s a lifestyle choice, really. I’m working a 35-hour week, they’re totally into you having your life. That’s very important to me. ”
