Career Insight: Working for PepsiCo

Sixth Form boys at Bolton School Boys’ Division spent an instructive Form period learning from former pupil George Hill, who returned virtually to tell them about his career with food and beverage manufacturers PepsiCo. George told how he left Bolton School in 2018 with A levels in Chemistry, Biology and English Language and how he graduated from Keele University with a 2.i BSc in Neuroscience; a subject he said he had become interested in after hearing about it in his MedSoc classes and from talking to exhibitors at Careers Fairs. George also reflected on the wide range of extra-curricular activities that he involved himself with at school and beyond, including in men’s football.

George explained how he got his job at the company through building connections on LinkedIn and he advised those considering a career in fast moving consumer goods to apply early as securing a graduate position is highly competitive.

George gave an overview of the PepsiCo brand portfolio and told about his own initial role at the relatively small PepsiCo Quaker Oats site in Cupar in Scotland and how, shortly afterwards, he moved to a much larger PepsiCo site - the Walkers Snacks plant in Skelmersdale where he is currently a Performance Coordinator. He explained how PepsiCo is a large and ever-evolving multi-national company and that he did not know where his next job might take him – it could, perhaps, be somewhere in Europe or the US. He did make the point that he felt excited about his future and his journey along the management pathway.

The session wrapped up with George fielding a number of questions: How do you move from having studied a Neuroscience degree to Project Managing in the food industry? Can people follow a similar career path without a degree? What sort of salary can you expect? When did you build your LinkedIn profile? Did you develop some skills whilst at school? What would be the best advice you would give yourself as a Sixth Former?