This webinar, hosted by Chronicle Vitae, shares the latest research findings on career outcomes for doctoral degree holders. The presenters then explain the process PhDs go through to find work outside of the academy, and finally discuss some of the strategies employed by PhDs who have successfully transitioned to new careers.
Category: Student Resources
Rackham Professional Development Workshops
Rackham’s Professional Development area supports graduate students in developing strategies, plans, and networks to be successful in their professional development during their Michigan experience, and as they transition into their careers. They focus on three key areas: Core Skill Development, Career Exploration, and Job Search Skill Development.
Non-Academic Career Options for PhDs in the Humanities and Social Sciences
This resource from Columbia University’s Center for Career Education provides a comprehensive list of careers and industries in which the transferable skills of PhDs in the humanities and social sciences are highly valued. It also includes additional resources and information for career development in various industries.
Preparing for Life Outside the Academy: A Primer and Resource Guide
This article, by MLA Connected Academics Proseminar Fellow Sarah Goldberg, provides suggestions for gaining professional experience and developing a diverse skill set during the early phases of your doctoral studies. It offers useful ideas about how you can approach the standard activities that doctoral students engage in with special attention to cultivating additional skills.
Humanist and Entrepreneur: Reflections and Resources
This piece discusses paths to career satisfaction, considering what it means to call oneself a “humanist.” Academics often limit their perceptions of what they can accomplish by focusing too narrowly on their research. Tips are provided for thinking about entrepreneurship and seizing opportunities to pursue the things that motivate you.
AHA Report: Careers for Students of History
This resource, compiled in 2013, surveys the professional outcomes of history PhDs in various workplaces. It shows the remarkable number–more than 25%– of professional historians working outside of academia, and gives a sense of the range of employment opportunities they successfully pursue.
The Grad Student Way – Tips on Networking
This post discusses the importance of networking while you are still in graduate school. Though written by a PhD in the sciences, the advice on networking is relevant for humanities PhDs as well. It’s a good resource to read in the early stages of your graduate program when networking should begin.
University of Chicago Career Exploration and Self-Assessment Worksheet
The Career Center at the University of Chicago features of a number of resources for career exploration. This downloadable PDF is helpful for working out the skills you have or hope to learn as well as the types of work you most enjoy.
Finding Life After Academia — and Not Feeling Bad About It
This New York Times article from 2013 features PhDs who have found rewarding careers outside of academia. It gives a sense of the steady sea change in how academic hiring functions and how PhDs are creatively adapting their professional goals in response.
A Manifesto for the Humanities, The Chronicle of Higher Education
This 2004 article from The Chronicle of Higher Education makes a strong argument for the value of the humanities in a rapidly changing world. It discusses in broad terms the ways in which the critical thinking skills that humanists master can be applied to a variety of human problems.