Acquiring a doctoral degree is undoubtedly a momentous occasion worthy of celebrations—students can relax, unwind, and let go of the many stresses associated with the past few years of hard work. However, questions about the steps necessary to advance professionally after receiving a PhD soon follow these celebrations. In this post, I hope to guide you toward finding an answer to the question “What comes after a PhD?”
So what does life after a PhD look like? It is inevitable that your PhD will leave you with an array of skills that are transferable across different sectors. These could be technical skills that are domain-specific and, more importantly, broad skills such as project management, data analysis, and effective communication. Often, it takes a while after a PhD for students to acknowledge that they are indeed equipped with these skills. Hence, it is a good idea to create a portfolio, mapping different skills to the projects and tasks that were undertaken during and after your PhD.
Choosing the next step in your career and life after PhD would then trickle down to your personal preferences and leveraging your skills tactfully. If you’ve felt stuck with the question of what to do after a PhD, here are some career options to consider:
- Postdoctoral fellowship. After a PhD, if you are keen to continue doing research, you can pursue a postdoctoral fellowship in an academic institution and then work toward securing a tenure-track professorship. And while this path surely has its perks, especially if you want to set up your own research lab, it may be helpful to know that this is not the only worthwhile career path in life after a PhD.
- Industry research. If you are not keen on research in academia after a PhD, you can opt to join the industry directly or after a few years of academic or industrial postdoctoral fellowship. If you choose this life after a PhD, you may need to invest additional time and energy in understanding the differences in work ethic and culture between industry and academia. However, orientation to these aspects is usually part of the training that you might receive as a new employee. Upon entering the industry, you can expand your portfolio by exploring sales and marketing, product development, and business development options.
- Publication support. If you envision your life after PhD to be closely associated with research, but not directly involved in it, you can opt for careers in publication support, and work with publishers/journals or organizations specializing in scholarly communications.
- Science journalism and social outreach. If after a PhD, you are keen to explore your communication skills and contribute to filling the gap between science and society, you can opt for a career in science journalism/communication and can look for organizations that are involved in science outreach and social engagement.
If you have wondered about your career after a PhD, by now it may be clear that what comes after PhD is not a question you should stress about as there is no dearth of career options. However, here are a few additional points to consider helping you shape your life after PhD and to ensure that your career choice aligns well with your personal preferences.
- Financial aspirations. Financial perks vary drastically across the above-mentioned career options, and it is important to understand your personal financial goals before deciding what to do after PhD. Choosing an option that will help you grow both professionally and financially will keep you happier in the long run.
- Working in a team vs. working solo. As a PhD student, you may be used to working on your own and taking complete ownership of your projects and ideas. You may not always have this option in your life after PhD. It is important to acknowledge your preference regarding the change that might occur in an organization where you are expected to engage in teamwork and share credit for your ideas.
- Fixed work hours vs. flexible work hours. The doctoral journey is filled with unpredictability and you might have started getting used to the flexible work hours. However, after a PhD if you are planning to work in an organization where fixed work hours are a norm, then you might want to relook at your preferences and reconsider what to do after a PhD.
- Hierarchical vs. non-hierarchical work environment. This can be an important point to consider when assessing where you can thrive the most in your life after a PhD. A structured work environment, like an established company with a defined hierarchy may provide you security, stability, and opportunities for a steady rise up the career ladder. On the other hand, working in a non-hierarchical or non-structured environment like a start-up may require you to perform a variety of roles simultaneously, give you the flexibility and chance to explore new domains and acquire new skills regularly, and could be rewarding in its own way after a PhD.
5 Things That Keep PhDs From Getting Jobs
Starting a new career can be a confusing process, especially if you’re transferring into a new industry. The path is especially difficult for PhDs trying to transition into a career in business. This is because the worlds of academia and business are very different. It’s also because most Universities offer little or no career training for graduate students. As a result, newly minted PhDs who opt out of academia are tossed into the business world with no clue how to navigate it. They’re given a few networking tips and told to send out resumes over and over again. But nothing happens. In fact, the number of PhDs who will have a business job at or soon after graduation is below 40%. And the number of Life Sciences PhDs who will have a business job at graduation is below 20%. The truth is most PhDs will never get a job in business even though they’re doing all the right things. The problem is they’re doing the wrong things too. The key to starting a great career in business learning what not to do. Here are 5 things to avoid:
1. Networking with your competitors only.
I went to just about every PhD jobs networking event on the planet. I went to Biologists In Business, PhD Entrepreneurs, PhDs In Industry, and so on. In terms of career advancement, I never got more than a handful of business cards out of these events. I made some connections and even made a friend or two, but this kind of networking never led to a job interview. In fact, I never even heard about a promising job opportunity at one of these events. I just heard about the jobs that other people wanted.
It wasn’t until I went to a meet-up for small business owners and artists with a friend that I heard about a job opportunity, which led to an interview. I remember thinking that this event was going to be a waste of time because it was an unusual combination of interests and because it was way outside the field I was interested in. Art—I thought—no thanks. But going turned out to be one of the best things I ever did.
Most PhDs network exclusively with other PhDs. That’s like dressing up as a needle and jumping into the middle of a haystack. You’re never going to be noticed at these events. You’ll never stand out. Everyone is just like you. Not only that, the people at these events want the exact same jobs as you. You’re not going to hear about any job opportunities because the other PhDs are going to keep those job opportunities to themselves. Now, consider going to a networking event outside of your direct field of interest. Let’s say you go to a meet-up for architects, lawyers, business executives, painters, real estate agents, etc. First, the people you meet are going to be impressed that you have a PhD. “Wow, a PhD, I haven’t met another doctor here before.” When’s the last time you heard that? You’ll never hear it in a crowd full of PhDs.
Second, because you’re different, you’ll be memorable. If someone at that event hears of a PhD-specific opportunity or knows of one already, they’re going to tell you. They have no reason not to tell you because their interests are different than your own. When networking, go to events where you’ll stand out and where you won’t be seen as a threat. As a side note, this is also one of the biggest reasons you should learn how to network in graduate school. When you’re student, no one sees you as a threat. But as soon as you enter the job market, you get a target put on your forehead. Now, no one wants to share information with you. Now, information comes at a price.
2. Inflating your title and your attitude.
After I got my PhD, I started taking on projects I thought would add to my resume. I did things like join a volunteer group, created a website, and started my first business. The business didn’t take off but I was really excited about it. I was nervous too—nervous that other people wouldn’t take me seriously. So, I made sure to tell everyone I met, at networking events or otherwise, that I was the CEO of my own company. Of course, this was absurd. You can’t be the CEO of a one-person-company. One person can’t even be considered a company. Still, I thought acting bigger than I was would help me stand out.
A lot of PhDs think playing up certain things on their resume or CV will help them connect with people at networking events and get a job. But it won’t. It just turns people off. Besides, if you have a PhD, it’s not a lack of hard skills or credibility that will keep you from getting a job in business. It’s a lack of communication skills and a limited network that will keep you from getting a job. Instead of inflating your title or acting defensive about what you’ve accomplished, be real. Talk about the real people and companies you’ve worked with or the real learning experiences you’ve had. Then talk about what you really want and what you’re willing to do to get it.
3. Waiting for other people to contact you.
I remember the first time an employer actually responded to me after I sent out my resume. I was shocked. I didn’t know what to do so I replied with a thank you and waiting patiently for them to message me back about an interview. I waited three weeks for their email. Yes—three weeks. I finally emailed them back to ask about the next step in the hiring process. The position has been filled. That’s what they wrote me. I was really confused. I was just as confused when a midlevel manager I met at a networking event never emailed me after saying he would. He told me he had an opportunity for me and would send me a message. I even gave him my business card. What happened?
No one is going to chase you down to get a job. This might happen later on in your career but not when you’re in graduate school or doing a postdoc. The ball is always in your court. It’s up to you and you alone to drive the hiring process forward. No one will do it for you. Especially if you’re trying to transition from academia to business. The fact that you’re changing industries adds a new, extra-heavy layer of inertia to the process. This means you’ll have to follow up with people you meet at networking events, follow up with hiring managers before interviews, follow up with them afterwards, follow up, follow up, follow up. Following up is the only activity that people in business respect. And it’s the only activity that will remove the many barriers standing between you and the job you want.
4. Be an interviewee and not an interviewer.
It took me about five interviews after graduate school to realize I was the one who was supposed to do the interviewing. Most PhDs prepare for interviews like they’re preparing for a test. They study up on potential questions they might get asked or they practice a short chalk talk, obsessing over formal inquiries they think they’ll get from the audience. The problem is that employers of top companies don’t care how you handle their questions as much as they care about how you handle yourself. No one is going to sit across from you with a big red buzzer waiting for you to give a wrong answer to some technical question. Employers don’t want to know if you can recite information, they want to know if you can you find problems, find solutions, and communicate them both effectively.
Getting an interview is an invitation to interview a company, not an invitation for you to be interviewed. The best way to show you can find the problems and solutions is to turn the tables on the interviewer. Don’t let them interview you. Interview them. Investigate them. Ask them about their company and the position you’re up for like you’re digging for gold. Seek out everything there is to know and really determine whether or not this job is right for you—not the other way around.
5. Undervaluing yourself.
While it’s true that you shouldn’t inflate yourself, you also shouldn’t tone yourself down. One of the postdocs I knew in graduate school told me over and over again how he wanted a job in industry because he was tired of getting paid next to nothing in academia. He talked about it for years. Then, suddenly, he was being interviewed for the head of R&D at a pharmaceutical company. He was really excited the day before the interview and then slightly depressed the day after the interview. “What happened?” I asked. It turned out that the company wanted him for the job but, when they saw how desperate he was to change careers, they gave him a very low salary offer. He took the salary offer without negotiating because he felt like this was the only job that wanted him.
If you don’t see yourself as valuable, why should anyone else see you as valuable? A lot of graduate students and postdocs go into interviews ready to accept anything that’s offered to them. This is a mistake. Employers can always tell if you’re desperate. They’re going to assume you’re desperate by default because you’ve been working for almost nothing in academia for years. It’s up to you to prove to them, and yourself, that you’re not desperate. You have to know your own value. Remember, you’re highly trained. You’re in the top 2% of the world in terms of education and academic training. The key is being confident in yourself and your worth without acting defensive or like you’re entitled to anything. This can be hard. Especially if you’ve been mistreated by your academic advisor or beat down by the academic system in anyway.
Put some time into understanding you’re worth and showing it in the right way. Start thinking and acting differently than most of the other PhDs who are trying to get a job in business. Go to networking events outside your field, follow up with people consistently, prepare for interviews as the interviewer—not the interviewee—and, most importantly, be yourself.
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