PhD Career Exploration 101

Are you considering a job beyond the professoriate? This four-part series is designed for you. It will help you make confident decisions about your professional future, giving you hands-on experience connecting your values, interests, and strengths to a specific career. We’ll also discuss the valuable experiences you’ve gained as a doctoral or postdoctoral trainee and how they will translate to work after your training. By the end of the series, you will have identified at least two specific career pathways that speak to your interests and potential contacts in those fields and developed a framework to reach your career goals.

You are encouraged to bring your laptop or tablet to each session. This workshop is designed to be participatory and conversational, and attendance at all sessions is strongly encouraged.

Series Details

• Dates: Sep 30th, Oct 2nd, 7th and 14th, 12:00-1:30 PM
• Duration: 4 sessions (Attendance at all sessions is required)
• Course Capacity: Limited to 20 participants
• Who: STEM PhD students and postdocs. This series is particularly beneficial for those who are a few years into their academic journey.

Schedule

• September 30: Session 1_Values, skills, interests
• October 2: Session 2_Analyzing Job Ads, Making Connections
• October 7: Session 3_Goal Setting
• October 14: Session 4_IDP Presentation

Instructors

Amy Hark, PhD,
Director, STEM Graduate and Postdoctoral Career Development, UChicagoGRAD
Dr. Hark is a dedicated career advisor for STEM PhD students and postdocs, and oversees the myCHOICE program. She received her Ph.D. from Northwestern University in Neuroscience where she studied sex differences in learning and memory. Prior to joining the UChicagoGRAD team, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher investigating decision-making.

Elahe Ganji, PhD,
Associate Director, myCHOICE at UChicagoGRAD
Dr. Ganji earned her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Delaware. Before joining myCHOICE, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Beckman Institute, University of Illinois, where she worked at the intersection of mechanical engineering and biomedicine. Her academic background informs the design and implementation of career development programs for trainees across all STEM fields.

Framework

• 4 sessions, once a week, each 2 hours
• Homework for each session, and prior to session 1
• End with goal-setting, creation of individual development plan (IDP)

Overall Goals

• Identify values, skills, and interests using self-assessment tools
• Understand how your skills translate and connect to careers in industry, government, and non-profit
• Learn how to build and maintain professional connections
• Improve your ability to communicate skills and interests to employers and your network