Welcome to the 2009-2010 academic year! During this year I’ll be blogging on topics related to non-academic careers and job searching for Ph.D. students. Why blog on this topic?
• Because I’ve got things to say. Having been in this business of providing career services to Michigan Ph.D.s for many years, I’d like to think I have some wisdom to share.
• Because you’ve got things on your mind. I know that considering and pursuing careers outside the traditional tenure track can lead to many things: questions, fears, excitement, anxiety, and more. I hope my blog can provide some frameworks to help you manage your process as you move forward in your career development.
• Because a blog is a great tool for building community. Despite the image of a megaphone, I don’t envision this blog as one-way communication, of my shouting at you. I hope you’ll join the conversation and share your wisdom along the way.
I hope this blog will be a chance to talk about issues large and small that you are facing. And I also hope it will be a chance to reflect on the things that are shaping your career planning and job searching in the moment.
What would I encourage you to do?
1. Read the blog. I’ll do my best to keep posts succinct and on topic. And if you like what you read, share it with a friend.
2. Comment on the posts. Blogging for me is a way to contribute to community, and you are a community of students and career explorers. The discussion will be much richer with multiple voices contributing.
3. Let me know what you think. Send me ideas for topics, guest bloggers, etc. The blog will be effective if it meets your needs.
Thanks for reading, and I look forward to blogging with you this year.
Tom Lehker
Sr. Assistant Director, Graduate Student Services
Photo courtesy of Roland on Flickr
This sounds great! I’m looking forward to your posts. A topic suggestion: two-body job searches.
I’m really looking forward to this blog! As a first-year PhD student (but one that already knows he doesn’t want to go the regular tenure/academic track), I see this blog as a wonderful primer for what I can do next!
Great idea, I’m planning to graduate this academic year and will probably take a non-academic path. I look forward to hearing what you have to say.
This is great…I’m going to be graduating this semester and taking a non-academic job as a research director. Could you write a little about salary negotiations and differences between academic and industry for social science researchers?
This is a great idea. I recently completed my Ph.D. and have been struggling a great deal with my decision to leave academia and the anxieties of developing a post-academic career.
I suggest also checking out the blog Leaving Academia (http://www.leavingacademia.com/).
Elizabeth, I appreciate your comments and the resource (of course, I appreciate ALL of the comments that people have made so far!). My next post, coming soon, will be on the topic of career transitions. It may provide some insight related to the difficulties often associated with leaving the academy.
Great to see! I look forward to hearing what you have to say.
I look forward to reading your blog. I am a postdoc but intend to switch from academics. So it will be really helpful
I am excited about this blog and the various job opportunities available to PhD Students.
Great idea–I am considering which way to go right now and leaning towards non-academic position–would love to know other ways to apply my degree where I can make a difference and not have to deal with the pressure to publish and move up the tenure-track ladder!
Thank you for sharing this great post!Hope to read more from you and continue inspiring more readers.
Hi, I found your blog on msn. I’m pretty glad to have found your website because I think it is amazing! I will definitely come back! Great resource for my students. Youproblog
You have such an informative and well written blog. And I love your tips! Important stuff! Jorden
Extremely helpful along with Elizabeth’s resource on interviews. Really good stuff. I’ll be checking back soon.
Thank you,
Michael Younger
I guess it’s to soon. I was checking to see if there were and new posts. I’ll check again soon.
Thank you so much for this resource for Ph.D students. Finding careers in non academic pursuits usually isn’t addressed as often as it should. I agree that a blog is a great way to build a community.
Thanks for this great resource. I especially appreciate your post a about Carving Out Your Niche as a Young Professional. Although your important aspects can be applied even to older professionals competing for a more important role or even against young pros!
Applying your principals: Owning your expertise, mentors and creating results will fast track success!
-Bob
Great blog…Its really informative post to finding career in non academic …I totally agree with you and tim that blog is a great way to build a community …Thnx for sharing this post…I’ve bookmarked your blog will come back for a re-read again. Keep up the excellent work…