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 […]

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 […]

Welcome To The ‘Academic Fight Club’

Welcome to the ‘Academic Fight Club’.  Here are the rules: 1st RULE: You do not talk about Academic Fight Club. 2nd RULE: You DO NOT talk about Academic Fight Club. 3rd RULE: If someone goes emotionally limp towards academic bench science and taps out, their existence is over. 4th RULE: There are only two ways […]

Grad Student Advice Series: Approaching Your Advisor About Alternative PhD Careers

Doctoral students in many disciplines realize the odds are against them. But students are often afraid to approach their advisers about other nonfaculty career choices, for fear of disapproval. And the professors themselves may not know how to advise students about any other careers than the research life, although given the dismal job-market statistics in […]

Life After Grad School: What Matters and What Doesn’t

Pure research is a wonderful thing; the ivory-tower isolation, the focus, and the unhurried pace may be the only way that some problems can be attacked. In taking a job, you’ll trade that life for a steady paycheck and a universe of opportunities to work with other people on fantastic projects. Putting it in Perspective […]

Fixing The Disconnect Between Academia And Industry: 6 Practical Solutions

Background Today, employers are no longer looking for a great brain and a world of potential. They’re looking for that one CV that lists the skills they need right now — not after 6 months of training. ~Dave Jensen There’s a disconnect between academic research and industry research. The two don’t fit together well. Lack […]

One Step At A Time: Bridging the Gap Between Academia and Industry

Industry-Academia Interactions: Bridging the Gap By Ryan Raver **This is a very complex and deep topic, hence the reason for the long, informative blog post** With Stagnant NIH funding for the past decade or so, and dim job prospects, PhDs in the life sciences are now seeking alternatives. ‘Non-traditional’ careers are seemingly becoming traditional. There […]