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"Put Your Science To Work: Practical Career Strategies for Scientists and Engineers," Dr. Peter Fiske, April 8, 2008. This seminar for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers presents a practical and thorough overview to the process of career planning and job hunting in today’s market, including specific steps that young scientists and engineers can take to broaden their horizons, strengthen their skills, and present their best face to potential employers by building networks, developing compelling CVs, resumes, cover letters, interviewing skills, and more. Q&A follows seminar.

  • Video of the Seminar
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"The Expanded Job Market for Advanced Degrees: Alumni Panel for the Humanities and Social Sciences," April 10, 2008. Graduate School master’s and Ph.D. alumni successfully engaged in careers beyond academe discuss how they got where they are today and offer job-hunting tips and advice to current U.Va. graduate students.  Q&A follows panel discussion.

"The Expanded Job Market for Advanced Degrees: Alumni Panel for the Biomedical, Life, Physical, and Math Sciences," April 14, 2008. Graduate School master’s and Ph.D. alumni and former U.Va. postdocs successfully engaged in careers beyond academe discuss how they got where they are today and offer job-hunting tips and advice to current U.Va. graduate students.  Q&A follows panel discussion.

Useful Links

Recommended Reading

Electronic

Chronicle of Higher Education
Advice on careers pursuits beyond academe.  Below is a sampling of articles:

“Breaking in as a Temp,” Susan Basalla (2003)

“’But I Have No Skills’,” Rebecca A. Bryant (2005)

"Coffee in 2002, a Job Offer in 2004," Susan Basalla May and Risa Nystrom McDonell (2005)

"Every Ph.D. Needs a Plan B," Alexandra Lord (2009)

“A Hot Market for Social Scientists in Market Research,” Robin Wagner (2001)

"How Internships Can Open Doors to New Careers," Robin Wagner (2000)

"How to Do an Informational Interview," Julie Miller Vick and Jennifer S. Furlong (2009)

"Industrial Postdocs: The Road Less Traveled," Laura Bonetta, Science Careers (2008)
Note: Provides links to great opportunities at the end of the article.

"Informational Interviewing 101," Robin Wagner (2001)

“Leaving the Bench for a Corporate Perch,” Mary Dillon Johnson (2002)

“Putting Research Skills to Work for the Public Good,” Hadass Sheffer (2002)

"A Sample Plan," Robin Wagner (2001)

“Speak Up, Shake Hands, and Smile,”Kim Thompson and Terren Ilana Wein (2005)

“Tips for Leaving the Academy,” Gabriela Montell (1999)

“The University as a Nonacademic Employer,” Mary D. Johnson (2003)

"Where to Find Information about Nonacademic Careers,” Gabriela Montell (2001)

Other electronic resources

PDF document icon "Career Trends: Careers Away From the Bench: Advice and Options for Scientists," (.pdf, 18.5MB) American Association for the Advancement of Science (2009)

PDF document icon "Congress 101: Teaching Scientists the Language of Policymakers," (.pdf) by Temina Madon, Berkeley Science Review (2006)

PDF document icon "How to Get a Research Job in Academia and Industry," (.pdf, 157KB)American Society for Cell Biology (1996)

PDF document icon “Independent School Teaching,” (.pdf, 13KB) by John Holloran (PhD History, University of Virginia, 2000) Chair, Department of History, Oregon Episcopal School, Portland, Oregon, January 2007

"Leaving Academia: 11 Things to Know," by Sabine Hikel, Inside Higher Ed (2009)

 “Making the Move into Science Policy,” Virginia Gewin, Nature (2003)

“Science Policy: Establishing Guidelines, Setting Priorities,” Laure Haak, Science Careers (2003)

"Transferable Skills and Portable Careers," Christie Aschwanden, Science Careers (2007)

Science’s Next Wave series on careers for scientists beyond academe

Sloan Career Cornerstone Center
Career planning resources in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, computing, and healthcare.

Print

Alternative Careers in Science: Leaving the Ivory Tower, Cynthia Robbins-Roth, ed. (Academic Press, 1998). 

Anthropology in Practice: Building a Career Outside the Academy, Riall W. Nolan (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2003). 

BRAG! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It, Peggy Klaus (Warner Business Books, 2003)

Career Renewal: Tools for Scientists and Technical Professionals, Stephen Rosen and Celia Paul (Academic Press, 1998).

Career Opportunities in Computers and Cyberspace, Harry Henderson (Checkmark Books, 1999).

Guide to Nontraditional Careers in Science, Karen Young Kreeger (Hemisphere, 1999).

High-Tech Careers for Low-Tech People, William A. Schaffer (IDG Books Worldwide, 1999).

How to Get the Teaching Job You Want, Robert Feirsen and Seth Weitzman (Stylus Publishing, 2001).

Jump Start Your Career in Bioscience, Chandra B. Louise (Peer Productions, 1998).

Outside the Ivory Tower: A Guide for Academics Considering Alternative Careers, Margaret Newhouse (Harvard University Press, 1993).

A Ph.D. is Not Enough!: A Guide to Survival in Science,Peter J. Feibelman (Addison-Wesley, 1994)

Put Your Science to Work: The Take-Charge Career Guide for Scientists, Peter Fiske (American Geophysical Union, 2000). 

The Scientist as Consultant, Carl J. Sindermann and Thomas K. Sawyer (Perseus Press, 1997).

So What Are You Going to Do With That?: A Guide for M.A.'s and Ph.D.'s Seeking Careers Outside the Academy, Maggie Debelius and Susan Elizabeth Basalla (Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2001).