PhD Career Series: Finding and Developing Your Inner Leader

We often don’t think about leadership in grad school and what it means to be a true leader. Often, you are a lone ranger in the lab, and are rarely exposed to a cross-functional team environment in academia- which is typically seen in highly matrix-driven organizations when you enter industry (this of course, will depend […]

Top 11 Alternative Entry Level PhD Science Careers To Skip the PostDoc

Many postdocs realize that they are working a contract position that will eventually expire. The thought of ‘what comes next’ can be extremely daunting; especially considering the reality that most will not end up in academia. It can be intimidating and overwhelming to explore the endless possibilities of what you can do next. More often than not, the biggest hurdles […]

PhD Myth Busters: Making the Transition From Academia to Industry

Nothing about the PhD process educates you on how to find a non-academic job, apply your skills, or sell yourself to employers. The PhD process involves a long, intense, and often fraught, mentorship with your advisor. At the end, the advisor places you in your first job (or abandons you entirely), his or her opinion […]

How A Rock Band Helped Save My PhD

When I look back on graduate school the one thing that I am forever grateful for is the fact I played in a rock band. It was a way to escape all the frustration. When an experiment failed or when I felt like a failure in lab, I was up on stage having fun. And […]

Dealing With PhD Stress The Right Way: Advice From 3 PhD Graduates

When I think back to the PhD, I think about the physical and emotional stress that I had to go through, especially the final months leading up to the defense. PhD stress is not something that should be ignored. Do you know who gets the PhD? The person who perseveres. And dealing with the stress […]

PhD Career Series: Product Management

Is Product Management the Right Fit For You? Product management can be a very rewarding and exciting career for many. Not only do you get to use your scientific background and knowledge, you also get to learn many things spanning sales to finance to law. It can be challenging, but at the same time you […]

5 Ways to Gain Valuable Skills Outside of Your Academic Training

The PhD Industry Career Gap I eventually realized that, like many Ph.D.’s in many other fields, I had fallen into the Ph.D.-industry gap—i.e., the gap between highly specialized Ph.D. training and corporate-world expectations of hiring candidates who are industry friendly. Even in “lucrative” fields like computer science, job postings that say things like “Ph.D. or dropped […]

10 Ways To Successfully Defend Your PhD

Well, I’m back. After 3 months of intense thesis writing, revisions, and successfully defending (all while working a part-time job in industry), I want to share with you Part 1 of 3 of this series. Part 2 will be how to finish your thesis in a timely manner (and write a good quality thesis). Part […]

Considering Grad School? Important Things You Should Know Before, During, and After Applying

It’s That Time   Being in your senior year is exciting as you near the end, but can also be overwhelming at the same time. You can’t wait to move on and consider the thought of graduate school, but you still have to evaluate all your options before you can proceed. Additionally, you could be a working professional […]