“Thinking through Your Career Path” Dr. Hester Coan Assistant Director
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"Thinking through Your Career Path" Dr. Hester Coan Assistant Director of Student Services for Career Services and Alumni Relations [email protected] 848-932-8702 1
You already know the beginning 2
Career Paths for PhD: Getting started Why are you striving for a PhD? – – – – – – Motivations Expectations Skill sets Timelines Research interests and styles Networks It is critical to analyze your own goals, values, skills, experiences – Knowing what makes you unique is part of the process of a PhD and beyond – Stretching beyond your current comfort zone is also part of the process 3
Career Paths for PhD: Now that you are in the program Connect with your faculty to find the right mentor – Read their work and their mentor’s work – Be prepared to discuss their research agenda Read widely, listen, and see where you fit in the broader academic conversation – This takes time and effort, attend talks all around RU and at conferences Determine your research agenda – Where can you contribute to an academic/professional conversation? Write, Write, Write (to find your rhythm, develop style) Take Teaching Seriously – Presentation skills are the foundation of all future job talks and conference presentations – Sign up for workshops and observations, review evaluations to improve your presentations – Presentation/Interactional skills are invaluable in future job interviews 4
Career Paths for PhD: While in the program Build a local support group: Writing and Research require regular, constructive feedback – GSNB blog for grad students http://rugradstudentblog.net/ – DSA http://wp.comminfo.rutgers.edu/dsa/pocket-guide/ Now is the time to begin to Network, Network, Network – Move beyond the local, go global, seek out colleagues – Refine your social media brand at all times Seek funding support. See http://gradfund.rutgers.edu/ – “We assist Rutgers graduate students with identifying and applying for merit-based research grants and fellowships to support graduate study and research.” – “Our database contains over 3800 awards from nearly 1900 funders.” – Subscribe to their Gradfund Newsletter 5
Career Paths for PhD: While in the program Prepare continuously throughout the program, don’t wait! – Understand academic practice by participating in workshops, seminars and courses Center for Teaching Advancement and Assessment Research – http://gsnb.rutgers.edu/EventCalendar Teaching Assistance Project – http://tap.rutgers.edu/ Professional Development & Future Faculty Training – http://gsnb.rutgers.edu/ProfDev Project AGER: Advancing Graduate Education at Rutgers – http://gsnb.rutgers.edu/ProjectAGER – PreDoctoral Leadership: Each year, the PreDoctoral Leadership Development Institute (PLDI) welcomes a select group of Rutgers doctoral students from a broad array of disciplines to its two-year program. http://www.odl.rutgers.edu/pldi/index.html Dr. Brent D. Ruben, Executive Director, SC&I Faculty 6
Career Paths for PhD: While in the program Refine your questions continuously, be prepared to change Combine your interests in new ways, do constant trend analysis Define your vocabulary to indicate your theoretical ground Align with organizations and institutes - NETWORK! Remind yourself often of your ultimate goals Unwind: step away and refresh, this is a life long project 7
Career Paths for PhD: While in the program Five things successful PhD students refuse to do High achievers work out how to stand their ground and make the most of every opportunity. What were they doing differently? the high-achieving postgrads all had one thing in common: refusal. Here are five things they simply refused to do: 1. Feel like a failure 2. Feel out of control 3. See themselves as employees 4. Stress about getting published 5. Turn their back on business opportunities http ://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/may/02/five-things-successful-phd-students-refuse-todo 8
Career Paths for PhD: Step into YOUR new world Join your academic/professional associations and locate subcommittees of interest – Think local, national, global, and virtual – Look for opportunities to serve your associations and broaden your knowledge/network – Read your area academic/professional journals (where you will publish) to see the latest trends in research. Notice writing styles and examine your fit, learn to shift writing styles Seek out and meet the editors and leading contributors at conferences What other reading should you be doing to get ready for your career path? – – – – Chronical of Higher Education “Manage Your Career” column Inside Higher Ed Career Advice column Books: The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide To Turning Your Ph.D. Into a Job by Karen Kelsky (2015) Read your PhD listserv notices and DSA notices CV or Resume? Create a master file to draw from for both tools 9
Career Paths for PhD: Step into YOUR world Demystifying Academia: Preparing for the Academic Job Market Wednesday, September 30, 2015, 10:30am - 12:45pm Learn the about the academic job market from a panel drawn from the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. We especially welcome first and second year graduate students who want to gain early knowledge of professionalizing mandates. Topics covered will include CVs, cover letters, research statements, teaching portfolios, managing the stress of multi-year searches, transitioning from post-doc to faculty positions, and interview tips. Location RDJC Conference Room, 162 Ryders Lane, Douglass Campus BREAKFAST WILL BE PROVIDED **PLEASE REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT** Panelists Stina Sodlerling Gwendolyn Beetham Zaire Dinzey Flores Deborah Silver This workshop is sponsored by the Institute for Research on Women, the Department of Women's and Gender Studies, and the Office for the Promotion of Women in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics. Sarah Tobias Ph.D. Associate Director Institute for Research on Women Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey 160 Ryders Lane New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Phone: (848) 932-9072 Fax: (732) 932-0861 [email protected] 10
Career Paths for PhD: Postdoctoral Opportunities How to find Postdoctoral and Fellowship Opportunities – See http://gradfund.rutgers.edu/, subscribe to newsletter – Postdoctoral Appointments and Research Positions http://www.postdocjobs.com/ – The Council on Library and Information Resources CLIR Postdoctoral Fellows CLIR Postdoctoral Fellowships in Academic Libraries http://www.clir.org/fellowships/postdoc/info/academic-libraries CLIR/DLF Postdoctoral Fellowships in Data Curation for the Sciences and Social Sciences http://www.clir.org/fellowships/postdoc/info/dc-science CLIR/DLF Postdoctoral Fellowships in Data Curation for Visual Studies http://www.clir.org/fellowships/postdoc/info/dc-visual 11
Career Paths for PhD: Postdoctoral Opportunities More Postdoctoral and Fellowship Opportunities – American Council of Learned Societies http://www.acls.org/programs/publicfellows/ – Open Society Fellowships https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/about/programs/open-society-fellowship – National Academies, National Research Council Fellowships http://sites.nationalacademies.org/pga/fellowships/ – Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/FordFellowships/PGA 047960 – Social Science Research Council http://www.ssrc.org/fellowships/ – Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program http://orau.org/icpostdoc/default.html 12
Career Paths for PhD: Beyond Academia Websites of interest (just a few minutes on Google) – Beyond Academia http://www.beyondacademia.org/ – Beyond the professoriate http://beyondprof.com/ – D-lab: Intelligent research design for data intensive social science http://dlab.berkeley.edu/ – Jobs on Toast (How to market yourself for a career outside academia Chris Humphrey, PhD) http://jobsontoast.com/ – LinkedIn Group Beyond Academia: Non-academic careers for PhDs – New York Academy of Science http://www.nyas.org/default.aspx – The Versatile PhD https://versatilephd.com/ 13
Career Paths for PhD: Beyond Academia More websites of interest – http://whatareallthephds.tumblr.com/ – http://phdsatwork.com/ – http://www.phdcareerguide.com/ – http://www.universityaffairs.ca/career-advice/careers-cafe/ – https://www.oystir.com – In the UK – http://www.findaphd.com/advice/doing/phd-non-academic-careers.aspx http://beyondthephd.co.uk/ 14
Career Paths for PhD: Traditional or Alternative Paths Academic: You can continue your career within the Higher Education sector, applying for posts as a assistant professor or to do research in your area of subject knowledge Alternative academic: You can continue to work within the Higher Education sector, but you can start to specialize in a subject area or body of knowledge that differs from your core academic discipline. For instance you can apply for posts in university administration or research centers. If you were to manage a research center in your area of academic subject expertise, this would put you on the borderline between 1 and 2. Research, Publishing and Consultancy: You can continue to work within the same area of subject knowledge as your PhD, but do so in a job outside of Higher Education, applying for posts such as a researcher working in a lab for a private company, or in a government department. Professional: You can apply for posts in another sector where you won’t be using the specific academic subject knowledge that you gained from your PhD discipline either. For example, I (Chris Humphrey, PhD – JobsonToast.com) now work as a project manager for an ethical bank. I don’t manage projects relating to History or Literature (my academic training) – but I do manage technology projects and I help the bank to launch new financial products and services. JobsonToast.com 15
Career Paths for PhD: Alternative Paths 16
Career Paths for PhD: Job Searching Your Professional/Academic Associations are your primary resource – Networking – Job Searching At annual conferences and local meetings these associations: – Generally host an employment area where you can discuss openings – Generally host social events Meet faculty, administration and other graduate students Experience organizational cultures Do not ignore the Trade Representation at these events – Often an opportunity to meet scholars at book presentations in this area – You might decide to move into a non-academic track: vendors represent potential career paths 17
Career Paths for PhD: Some Job Search Engines Academic 360 http://www.academic360.com/ Academic Careers Online http://www.academiccareers.com/ Academic Employment Network (AEN) (Primary and secondary higher education for faculty, staff, and administrators.) http://www.academploy.com/ Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) http://aect-jobs.careerwebsite.com/jobseeker/search/results/ Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication http://www.aejmc.com/jobads/ ALISE http://www.alise.org/alise-job-placement-index Listing of faculty openings in LIS programs. Placement at annual conference. The Broadcast Education Association http://www.beaweb.org/JB/ 18
Career Paths for PhD: Job Search Engines The Chronicle of Higher Education https://chroniclevitae.com/job search/new Major publication of the higher education community, thousands of faculty and other postings. The Council on Library and Information Resources CLIR Postdoctoral Fellows CLIR Postdoctoral Fellowships in Academic Libraries CLIR/DLF Postdoctoral Fellowships in Data Curation for the Sciences and Social Sciences CLIR/DLF Postdoctoral Fellowships in Data Curation for Visual Studies Edu1World http://www.edu1world.org/HigherEdHotJobs/ Higher Ed jobs within educational organizations and beyond Higher Ed Jobs http://www.HigherEdJobs.com Faculty and staff positions listed for hundreds of higher education institutions. 19
Career Paths for PhD: Reminders Graduate School New Brunswick University Career Services SC&I PhD Director SC&I Faculty SC&I Student Services You are building a unique network of support with your cohort Get and Stay Connected! 20
What are your questions? Issues for further discussion? Please get in touch. 21
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