Career Tips
Most people think that your path will look like this: Ph.D. → postdoc →assistant professor →assotiuate professor →professor. However, less than 1% of PhDs complete this path. Many PhDs do a postdoc because they are not sure what else is available to them.
You should be asking your self the following questions:
- What sector do you want to work in?Broadly speaking, the world of work can be broken down into 4 sectors. Each of these sectors has a different mission and as a result, their values will be different:
- Academic (knowledge, freedom, focus/expertise, independence)
- Industry (influence, ambition, fast pace, team work)
- Non Profit (positive impact, variety, initiative, team work)
- Government (planning, balance, security, structure)
- What role (job) do you want to have?
- Research & Development: these are the people who create the stuff.
- Testing & compliance: these are the people who test it and make sure it is legal
- Professional & Support Services: these are the people who build it and deliver it
- Communications Sales & Marketing: these are the people who tell people about it
- Policy: these are the people who think about and plan it
- Administration: these are the people who run the place
Useful career guides
Versatile PhD https://versatilephd.com/register/
This site provides excellent examples of the career paths taken by people with a Ph.D. in a wide variety of disciplines.
Beyond Academe www.beyondacademe.com
Written by a History PhD, this site is an excellent source of information on non-academic options, with a focus on arts and humanities
myidp http://myidp.sciencecareers.org/
Once you have registered this site will try to match you to science related career options based on your answers to a series of questions on your interests and skills. For each suggested career option there are linked resources where you can learn more about that career path.
Cheeky scientist https://cheekyscientist.com/
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