Career & Tools
If you're interested in pursuing jobs outside of academia after graduation, or even just exploring the option, check out information from a recent article from Inside Higher Ed, where Jennifer Polk and Maren Wood suggest thinking carefully about questions like "What Energizes Me About the Work I’m Doing Now?" "What Are My Skills and Competencies?" and "What Will Employers Pay Me to Do?"
If you're interested in pursuing jobs outside of academia after graduation, or even just exploring the option, check out âthis recent article from Inside Higher Ed, a digital media company created to serve individuals in higher education.
In the Inside Higher Ed âarticle, "What Can I Do With a Ph.D. in My Discipline Outside Academe?", authors Jennifer Polk and Maren Wood write that there is not a specific list of job titles or companies that would be best to seek out of you have a Ph.D. The authors argue that you have to find your own opportunity, and it could be in any number of different areas. They write that Ph.D. graduates tend to possess a strong skill set, including strong writing, research and analytical skills, but that having a Ph.D. in and of itself rarely matters when it comes to finding and securing these positions.
When seeking out these positions, Polk and Maren suggest that you carefully think through the following two questions:
What Energizes Me About the Work I'm Doing Now?
What Are My Skills and Competencies, and What Will Employers Pay Me to Do?
The answers to these questions can help you figure out who you are as a professional and then build a list of jobs, organizations and industries that match your skills and interests so you can show how you, and not your degree, can be of interest to employers.