Career Transitions - Graduate Student & Postoctoral

Graduate Student & Postdoctoral Career Transitions The NovoCareer Institute TM modern people. modern tools. modern careers.

Contents
Myths
Alternative Paths
Perceptions about Industry
Transferable Ph.D. Skills
Closing Remarks

You must publish papers to get a job.
You won’t be able to publish after you leave academia.
You can’t lead your own research group outside of academia.
Academic Myths

You must lead your own academic group to be a success.
You’re most likely not good enough if you left academia.
Your skills are not transferable to fields other than your research topic.
Doctoral Myths

Alternative Paths to Meaningful Work

Alternative Paths from Academia (not to scale) WYHNDY – What You Have Not Discovered Yet.

Perceptions about Industry

Advisors may not encourage other careers, especially the unfamiliar ones.
Your name most often will not be recognized for the work.
You might have the impression that industry is not flexible.
Why Avoid Industry?

Industry can be Attractive
Industry typically provides a larger paycheck than academia.
It’s not necessary to re-apply for grants or write proposals for funding.
More resources are typically available.
The number of published papers does not define success.

Being Realistic About Industry
Company cultures vary significantly, as do supervisors.
Established companies may offer:
work-life balance
career development opportunities
Less stable environments such as startups require long hours in exchange for the chance of a large payoff (some day).

Transferable Ph.D. Skills

PhD Skills
Your skills as a PhD are transferable and may be applied to nearly any field.
Leadership Sales & Marketing Project Managemt. Technical/ Analytical Finance Writing Public Speaking

Analytical Skills
Forming and testing hypotheses is both creative and systematic .
Analytical and systematic problem solving abilities are mandatory in any successful company.
You had to plan your research, analyze results, and create conclusions.

You had to sell your research results to critics even before your thesis defense.
You advertised your results/capabilities in your publications and other communications.
You had to market yourself to get to where you are right now.
Sales and Marketing

You wrote and/or edited papers, reviews or abstracts.
You prepared presentations for meetings or conferences.
Technical and Creative Writing

You have been heavily involved in teamwork and collaboration.
You may have managed projects and (in many cases) equipment.
Project Management

Finance
You may have written a grant or proposal for funding , which included budgeting.
You may have managed a budget for your research, or for your research equipment.

Leadership
You may have trained and/or mentored junior PhD students.
You may have taught a class.
You may have organized a meeting or conference.
You may have mediated discussions.

Public Speaking
You presented your research and results to diverse audiences.

Closing Remarks

Know what you want;
at least identify what you don’t want
remember that someone will set your goals for you if you don’t have your own
Set goals then define your objectives.
Set Goals

Find a mentor or coach besides your current advisor; to help you
discover options
make your experience more efficient
avoid repeating common mistakes
Always search for role models.
Alternate Mentors

Talking to people outside your field is liberating and can be an eye opener.
Experiment by volunteering or freelancing in an area of interest to you.
Networking

The NovoCareer Institute Visit: www.novocareer.com

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Career Transitions - Graduate Student & Postoctoral

by NovoCareer Institute on Apr 26, 2009

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Career Transitions - Graduate Student & Postoctoral — Presentation Transcript