Jan's academic research career began in something completely different - palaeo-ecology - where she investigated the viability of using non-biting midges as proxy indicators of climatic change from the end of the last ice age. By examining midges' dental patterns to identify their genera, she was able to match current knowledge of their environmental and climatic preferences to reconstruct conditions from over 12,000 years ago in the northern British Isles.

After gaining her PGCE and teaching for a while, she returned to research at Connexions Cheshire and Warrington and delivered many externally commissioned projects for organisations like Relate, Teenage Pregnancy Unit, Cheshire Police’s Safer Road Partnership, Youth Offending Team, Local Authorities and the Children’s Fund. Jan was later seconded as on online development consultant to lead on county-wide government initiatives for 14-19 year olds.

In 2010 Jan took up a Knowledge Transfer role at the University of Chester with a remit for Public Services before moving on to lecture for the Faculty of Education and working on a Bespoke Training project bringing Sport, Business and Media together to help support sport infrastructure, particularly in India.

Jan returned to the University of Chester to teach at the Warrington School of Management having completed a period of secondment for Europe's largest FE provider at the New Economy 'think-tank' in Manchester. The research conducted there supports economic regeneration across the sub-region. Jan is now the Programme Leader for the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship and a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Science, Business and Enterprise.

In her spare time Jan has supported many youth groups, particularly as a volunteer welfare/safe-guarding officer and fund-raiser and has also been a member of a search and rescue team.