Whether you want to pursue a career in academia, or you’re thinking of a move away (we know that not every PhD wants to be an academic), there are resources, support and opportunities available to help you shape your plans and think about the skills you have, and build those you might need.
Resources
The Careers Service has dedicated PhD resources, as well as more general ones that might still be useful. Throughout the last academic year, the Careers Service hosted online sessions, some specific to PGRs, some more wide ranging, and the good news is you can catch up with them all on the careers website and YouTube channel.
Opportunities to build your skills
1) Could you teach students from outside your discipline?
University College for Interdisciplinary Learning is recruiting for tutors for next year’s courses, and most courses will accept PhDs from any discipline. This is your chance to show you can use innovative teaching and assessment methods with a wide range of students – good for both your academic and non-academic CV. Apply for these paid GTA posts by 26th July.
Full details and how to apply on the UCIL website
2) Learn a new skill for the workplace
Want to explore project management as a career and be better prepared to lead projects in the future, beyond your PhD? The Open University and the Association for Project Management have made their online course, “Project Management: Beyond the Basics” available for free and available here.
Or how about an introduction to visualising business data? PwC have just launched their PowerBI case study on the Forage site for virtual experiences. Take a look
3) Opportunity for PhD careers broadcasters
The Careers Service is planning a series of events recording PhD alumni and employers views about their careers. If you’d like to try your hand at being an interviewer – or can lend your expertise in devising suitable questions (social scientists particularly welcome), connect with Elizabeth Wilkinson, Careers Consultant (Postgraduates) on LinkedIn and leave a message!
Advice
Don’t forget the Careers Service is open over summer, you can make an appointment with a careers consultant, ask questions via the online chat, get feedback on your CV or interview advice . See the Careers Service website for details on all services.
And finally, if you’re looking for a bit of reassurance, that even in today’s climate it is possible to find a job after your PhD, take a look at recent PhD graduate, Dr Hannah Thurgur’s blog on her successful job search.