Rob Campbell decided to leave a major investment bank and take up a role as a parliamentary researcher….

What did you study at university, and did you enjoy it?

I studied Modern History, concentrating as much as I could on the 20th Century, and I really enjoyed it. I got a bit bored of churning out essays and think teaching methods should vary a bit more, but in terms of subject matter, I was always interested.

You went to work for a major investment bank as your first job after uni. Was that a career move or more to earn some money while you figured out longer term plans?

I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and that was travel! I was interested in a number of career options when I came out of uni, but this came along first, and in terms of prestige and earning potential it was hard to beat. I ended up staying for longer than I'd originally planned, around two years in fact.

When and why did you decide to pursue a job as a parliamentary researcher?

I came back from some time away and had narrowed down the industries I wanted to work in. Politics was one of them, and this job allowed me to pursue a range of interests right at the heart of politics. The great thing about working in Parliament is the recognition it gets - everyone knows exactly what it is about.

Can you explain a bit more about what parliamentary researchers do? Who employs you? What do you do on a typical day?

Different parliamentary researchers do different things but most people who do it manage correspondence, write speeches, and research specialist subjects. A typical day will include responding to a large number of letters and becoming an "expert" on a subject that that morning you knew little or nothing about, in order to write a brief on it. It's quite a similar process to a week at uni, condensed into a day!

How do you find working at Parliament every day - it must be fun? People say it is very "Oxbridgey" - is that a fair statement?

Parliament is great. There's often a real buzz about the place because of all the media attention and politcal intrigue. It belies its image in that it's actually a very fast-paced environment, with lots of things changing rapidly. It does remind me a lot of Oxbridge, with its old beautiful buildings and unmodern, unbusinesslike atmosphere. It's also got a real bubble to it where the importance of everything is exaggerated and it can be difficult to get perspective on events.

What are the best and worst aspects of being a parliamentary researcher?

The best aspect is the location - you're working right at the seat of government - and the access to people - each day you're responding to requests from influential people, well the type who you see regularly on the television anyway! The worst aspect is that there is little or no formal career progression - it's not like you can be promoted to MP...

Do you have political ambitions yourself? Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years time?

I have political ambition, but I have no pretension to becoming an MP. I think they do a remarkable job with minimal job security or reward. Considering how important their job is they get paid peanuts and have to stand all over again in four-five years time. This job opens up a number of doors and in 5-10 years time I'll probably be working for a a public affairs group, think tank or NGO, though I haven't ruled out the civil service too!