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•       Resources       What to do After Grad School: All Your Questions Answered

What to do After Grad School: All Your Questions Answered

Finishing graduate school and moving toward a professional career can be complex for some new grads. Many aspects of our lives change during these transitions and, for many, it’s challenging to keep a positive attitude, stay focused on our goals, and face the competitive job market. From job hunting and professional development to managing student debt and networking strategies, the following guide offers some tips and resources for new graduates getting ready to tackle life beyond grad school.

Adjusting to Life After Grad School

The five tips listed below offer links to helpful resources and methods of preparing for the stresses of the job search, life after school, and how to cope with inevitable emotional and professional challenges.

Make time for yourself: According to a Harvard study, by the time students enter their final years of graduate school, up to 25 percent experience moderate or severe symptoms of depression. Upon graduation, these symptoms don't necessarily disappear. In her article “ The Grief of Graduation ,” Anne Guarnera discusses graduate students' feelings of loss upon finishing their programs. For the most part, she considers these feelings to be a loss of student identity and all the social and spatial connections that one develops while spending three to six years in a town, city or campus environment. When we graduate, many of us move elsewhere. We leave the area in search of a new job, to find a fresh landscape to begin the next chapter or even move in with family or friends to save money. Whatever the scenario, Guarnera suggests that we all need to practice emotional self-care as a means of dealing with these transitions. To do so, she urges us to schedule time to organize our thoughts and process the changes in our lives.

Prepare early: While you’re still in school, take advantage of career-focused resources available through your program. These resources include career planning and coaching, interview workshops, job fairs and networking opportunities. If your department or school doesn’t have free services readily available, you can reach out to professors for help in this area. Many of them will be glad to offer advice on how to prepare for the job market and help you avoid any mistakes they may have made.

Change your perspective on graduate school: Many students, especially first-generation graduate degree seekers, approach graduate school as an extension of their undergraduate program. Nathaniel Lambert argues that students should treat their post-baccalaureate training as more of an apprenticeship instead of “school” as they’ve traditionally conceptualized it. This concept comes from the middle ages when craftspeople would study with masters of a trade and learn by imitating their techniques and processes. Lambert suggests that graduate learning should be no different and, whenever possible, we should learn by doing, “not simply by reading about it and talking about it in classes.” As a result, we may be better prepared for the transition into our careers upon graduation.

Remember: Your thesis or dissertation doesn’t guarantee you a job: While creating a well-formulated, written document based on original research that contributes in some way to your field is important, it’s best to keep that work in perspective. Whether you pursue a career in academia, at a Fortune 500 company or in a research laboratory, there’s little chance that anyone wants to hear about your thesis or dissertation in detail. That said, it’s still essential that you create a thorough and meaningful project. Bear in mind, however, most employers want to know how your knowledge and expertise makes you a good fit for a position. At this point in your career, they want to know what makes you a good problem-solver, teacher, researcher, etc. You need to tell them how you can meet and exceed these expectations and not simply show them what you’ve written in the past.

Cultivate a support system and friendship: Our expert, Rebecca Newman, urges professionals after graduate school to find trusted individuals outside of work with whom they can share their personal, academic or professional frustrations. “Have a strong support network when entering a new field after graduate school. This can take the form of family, friends, a partner or a mentor. They can offer you support that will keep your ’dirty laundry’ out of your workplace,” Newman says. “You might think you’re venting to a friend in the form of a colleague, but it can be more professionally advantageous to look at work as being ’on stage.’ If you have a valid concern, you should absolutely bring it up at work in a thoughtful, constructive manner.”

Landing a Job after Grad School

Now that you’ve completed your degree and you’re on the job market, where do you start? There are an overwhelming number of job search engines and, depending on your area, just as many jobs to consider. While all of these jobs may not be a good fit, you still end up spending time reading job descriptions, researching companies, locating salary information in certain geographical areas and more. It’s time consuming, no doubt. Here’s some tips to help you streamline your search and save some time. We’ll offer more advice on this topic throughout the guide as well.

Where and how should I look?

TheCollegeInvestor.com suggests that job seekers leverage both their personal network and online search engines or job aggregators. In addition to asking colleagues, professors, friends and family for leads on open positions, job aggregators such as LinkedIn, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter, Indeed and HigherEdJobs can alert you to positions as soon as they’re posted. Additionally, most of these websites allow job seekers to post their resumes or CVs. This feature allows employers to search for candidates using keywords. Dora Farkas of FinishYourThesis.com , argues that it’s a common and fatal mistake to avoid using LinkedIn and related sites as part of your front-facing, public image, as many of your prospective employers use these sites to find out more about job candidates.

Should I only look for dream jobs?

Truth be told, many graduate students don’t land their dream job immediately after graduation. For Ph.D.’s interested in teaching at the college level, most don’t secure a tenure-track position until after they’ve acquired solo teaching experience in community colleges, adjunct positions or visiting professorships. (That’s not to say that one teaching job is necessarily “better” than another. Many scholars dream of the tenure-track position, however, because of the job security and various freedoms that come with it.) Whatever your field, you may need to find some stepping stones before landing the perfect position.

“To land your dream job, take every responsibility at every job seriously, and prioritize your relationships,” Newman says. “When I was once grumbling about an unrelated task we were doing as interns, the senior intern said to me, ’Sometimes, social work is doing the hustling that no one else wants to do.’ That stuck with me, and I tried to be thoughtful about what I expressed on the job while venting my frustrations elsewhere when I needed that support. Based on having a strong ethic at a past job that was very challenging, my former director cold-called me to ask if I wanted to come back to the organization in a different capacity, in what is now my dream job.”

Should I apply for jobs I’m overqualified for?

While it depends on whom you ask, most professionals will tell you to avoid applying for jobs for which are you overqualified. Some employers might be interested in having someone like you on staff because you may already know the ropes or can act as a leader. More often than not, however, they will see you as someone who will probably get bored and move on to another job before too long. They may also see you as a threat or internal competitor who could take their place later on. On the other hand, if you are unemployed, you are probably in need of a job immediately or in the very near future. In that case, cast a wide net and apply for jobs even if you appear overqualified.

Once You’ve Got the Job, Ask Yourself These Questions

After all of your hard work, applications, and interviews, you finally land a job you’re excited about. As with most positions, you won’t get a full picture of the position, your tasks, the work environment and other details until you’ve had a chance to settle in and take on some responsibilities. Scott Webb, an academic adviser at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, suggests that we ask ourselves a series of questions after several weeks on the job, then after several months and finally at the end of a year. Newman echos Webb’s techniques for checking in with ourselves, making the most of a job and planning ahead.

What are the pros and cons of this job? How do I make it work?

Both Newman and Webb suggest that in the first several weeks of a job we identify those aspects of the position that are the most fulfilling and the most challenging. Acknowledging these positives and negatives helps us get a clearer picture of what we need out of a job and helps us identify our strengths. As Webb points out, during these early stages it’s important to keep an open mind and be willing to embrace unexpected challenges and difficult tasks. These challenges can help us grow as individuals, allow us to do well and advance in our current role, and teach us something about ourselves that may have otherwise gone unrealized.

Is this job a good fit for now, or could I see myself here for longer, perhaps in a different capacity? If/when I leave this job, what are things I would want to be different in my next role?

Newman advises us to plan ahead and think about our next career move, if that’s something we anticipate. This certainly depends on the individual and career path. Professionals with a Ph.D. or master’s degree working in academia, for example, may be content with their current teaching position. If they’re on the lookout for a tenure-track job, then they need to consider if their current role helps make them a stronger competitor when the opportunity presents itself.

What do I like about this job: the camaraderie, content of work or both? Which of those is more important to me?

Of course, we all want to be happy with our work responsibilities, work environment and our coworkers. In a perfect world, we would be satisfied with all three. In addition to planning ahead, Newman suggests that we weigh the quality of the work environment and camaraderie versus how much we enjoy the actual tasks of the job. Which aspect is more important to you?

Licensing and Credentials

Licensure and certifications are required by law for many professions across the U.S. License-based credentials ensure that professionals meet a high standard of practice and are up-to-date on relevant research or advancements in their field. Certifications are usually voluntary credentials, which professionals earn through a professional society or educational institute. The terminology and requirements vary per field.

Licensure requirements vary by state. In psychology, some professionals with a master’s degree can obtain licensure to be professional counselors. More often than not, most states require a Ph.D. All states require supervised training, a written examination and/or oral examination for practicing psychologists. Similarly, those graduate students in criminal justice who wish to become lawyers must complete law school and pass the bar exam. Other roles in the criminal justice system, such as holding a position as a judge, require extra credentials. They also must pass a written exam administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management .

While most certifications are voluntary, they help you secure higher-level positions in various professions. Advanced positions in public administration, for example, sometimes require professionals to obtain a Certified Public Manager credential. Prospective recipients must have a bachelor’s degree or higher and complete the required 300 hours of study through a program accredited by the National Certified Public Manager Consortium . Comparatively, the National Board of Public Health Examiners offers the Certified Public Health exam. Professionals who wish to obtain some of the higher-paying jobs in public health must meet the certification standards of their state, along with obtaining a graduate degree.

Professional Development and Continuing Education

Professional development and continuing education are opportunities for students and professionals to enhance their current skill set, learn new techniques and methods in their field, and keep up with the latest advancements and research. In general, we can organize these opportunities into categories: teaching, mentorship, research, networking, workshops, professional conferences, certificates and volunteer work. While some of these categories apply more to some professions than others, they help us locate possibilities for bolstering our resumes, improving our skills and, in some cases, keeping us eligible to work in our fields.

If teaching is part of your profession, you’re required by most states to participate in continuing education classes to keep your teaching license. It’s easiest to think about these opportunities by separating them into categories. Consider looking into professional development courses in behavioral, classroom technology, Common Core, English and reading, mathematics, science and special needs, as well as taking online courses for credit.

This is a great chance for experienced professionals to share their knowledge with the future leaders of their fields. Mentors motivate and empower individuals, businesses and communities to achieve their goals. Mentees must be willing to take advice, change their habits and further develop a body of knowledge that supports their efforts with short- and long-term plans. Both mentors and mentees benefit from these encounters, and you should experience both roles.

Research opportunities for master’s and doctoral degree holders come in many shapes and sizes. For the most part, keep an eye out for post-doctorate positions, fellowships and research assistantships. All of these opportunities depend on your field. For example, in the area of the humanities, it’s rare to seek out post-doctorate positions. Researchers in the hard sciences, however, often spend a lot of time and energy trying locate those research opportunities. These research positions look good on your resume or CV, and many of them offer job security for a couple years at a time with a steady paycheck.

You may not be a "people person" or enjoy getting to know new faces. Unfortunately, the tired and old-fashioned saying, “It’s not what you know, but who you know,” rings true to some degree. Making the most out of every networking opportunity is essential to your success after graduate school. From informal gatherings to organized meetings at professional conferences, you need to cast a wide net and actively expand your professional and personal networks.

Practical and theoretical training workshops benefit professionals in virtually any specialty area. These hands-on meetings are often taught by leading academics or highly experienced practitioners. Workshops are available both online and in-person. They can be as short as one day or last the duration of a summer semester.

Professional conferences

You may not be a "people person" or enjoy getting to know new faces. Unfortunately, the tired and old-fashioned saying, "It’s not what you know, but who you know," rings true to some degree. Making the most out of every networking opportunity is essential to your success after graduate school. From informal gatherings to organized meetings at professional conferences, you need to cast a wide net and actively expand your professional and personal networks.

Certificates

Certificates are typically voluntary in most fields and offer additional training to boost your marketability in a competitive job market. They can also help you climb the ladder at your current job. You can easily access on-demand courses in widely useful topics through popular sites such as LinkedIn’s certification and continuing education programs page.

Volunteer work

Improving your skill set and bolstering your resume can also come in the form of volunteer work. In some professions, substantial volunteer work in one area can count as documented work experience. At the same time, many volunteer opportunities allow you to help those in need. You can also gain exposure to new ideas, organizations and connect with a new network of people through this type of work.

Managing Grad School Student Debt

Some colleges and universities offer graduate students some type of funding, maybe even a full tuition waiver plus a stipend, to defray the cost of their education. In other cases, MA and Ph.D. students may receive no funding at all. Unless they are fortunate enough to receive a tuition waiver and a stipend, many graduate students still take out student loans to cover tuition and living expenses. In fact, about 40 percent of the $1.5 trillion in student loan debt comes from graduate students and professional degree seekers. GoGrad offers 10 helpful strategies for paying off student loan debt.

From the Expert

Advice from a psychiatric social worker.

Rebecca Newman is a psychiatric social worker at the Thomas Jefferson University Physicians Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, where she provides individual psychotherapy in Philadelphia. She specializes in working with eating disorders, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, grief and loss, LGBTQIA+ topics, trauma and adjustment to life changes.

What’s one tip for current graduate students or new graduates to manage student debt?

Don’t avoid dealing with your loans or repayment out of anxiety. Your student loan servicer can and wants to help you make your payments. You can work with them on an income-based repayment plan, which can then inform your budget about other expenses. Do your best to develop a budget and stick to it when you’re adjusting to making loan payments.

What are some benefits of participating in professional development or continuing education programs and workshops?

Continuing education programs are a great opportunity to meet other professionals who are a few years ahead of you in your career and can perhaps support you moving forward in your trajectory. Additionally, staying current in your field is important. Think about whether you had a professor or instructor in graduate school who felt out-of-touch. They might not be engaging with continuing education in a thoughtful way, or staying in a lane that is comfortable for them. Professional development requires a certain degree of humility to acknowledge that you don’t know everything, and placing yourself back in the position of a learner can ultimately make you more effective in a role or on a team.

What was your licensing process/timeline to become a licensed social worker?

In my field, licensing is an essential and somewhat lengthy process. Upon graduation (or in your last semester of graduate school, if you’re in good standing), social workers are eligible to take an exam to become a licensed social worker. For this exam, some preparation is necessary -- it is a combination of theoretical knowledge that is a direct reflection of the program curriculum and clinical vignettes. Following passing this exam, in order to move forward, you must accrue 3,000 hours of supervised work experience over no less than two years. With a full-time job this is manageable, as long as your responsibilities at work are relevant to the profession. In conjunction with those hours, you must accumulate 150 hours of clinical supervision, half of which must be individual and with another licensed professional in the field with years of experience. The other half can be in a group, with another mental health professional or a combination of the two. Once you have accumulated 150 hours of supervision, worked 3,000 hours in your job and two years have elapsed, you can apply to take the clinical licensure exam. Upon passing, you are a licensed clinical social worker and can function independently as a clinician and become credentialed with private insurance carriers.

Additional Resources

For those who might feel overwhelmed by the results of a follow-up query into criminal justice or for the experts who want a refresher, here’s a list of industry-leading agencies, institutes, universities and opportunities.

• AcademicLadder.com's "Depression in Grad School and Beyond" : Symptoms of depression among graduate students, how to make sense of it and practice self-care.
• Chemical and Engineering News' "How to Prepare for Life After Graduate School" : Helpful column with career advice for graduate students in the hard sciences.
• Dorsa Amir's "Modest Advice for New Graduate Students" : An excellent list of wise and calming advice for all graduate students.
• Finding Brave's Podcast: "How to Land a Dream Job at the Salary You Deserve" : Advice from Austin Belcak on confidence, networking and going the extra mile.
• Finish Your Thesis Blog : A collection of articles that help graduates handle the stresses of writing a thesis or dissertation as well as job hunting advice.
• Kathy Caprino's "Preparing for Life After Graduation: How to Land a Great Job Your First Time Out" : Interview with Austin Belcak, founder of Cultivated Culture, that offers unconventional strategies to obtain employment after graduate school.
• Northeastern University's "How To Be a Successful Graduate Student" : The large Boston institution's take on getting ahead and making the most of your resources in graduate school.
• Peterson's "A Guide for Potential Grad Students: Should You Go To Graduate School?" : A numbered list, broken into convenient sections, with dozens of salient points to consider before taking the plunge into graduate school.
• StudyBreaks.com's "Tips for Life After College Graduation" : Practical advice and pep talks for graduates from all walks of life.

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How to set long-term career plans after a phd: 13 actionable tips  .

If you’ve just gotten your PhD, or even if you’re still working on it, now is a great time to think about your long-term career plans after a PhD. How will gaining a PhD fit within your career plan?

If you have long-term career goals in research, a PhD will obviously help prepare you for your future career since you will be participating in research as you pursue your PhD.

Table of Contents

Long-Term Career Plans After a PhD

When making long-term career plans, you should try to project at least the next five years. You may even want to go out ten years if you have big career goals. As Antoine de Sanit-Exupery once said, “ A goal without a plan is just a wish .”

Even if you don’t need a PhD for your desired career, you may find that your after-PhD salary will be high enough to justify the additional education. 

The Conversation  used data from a  national survey  to determine that those students who planned to get more education than necessary for their careers ended up earning 7% more than those who planned to get just the right amount of education for the job.

Tips for Long-Term Career Plans After a PhD

According to Alan Lakein, “ Failing to plan is planning to fail .” So, to be successful, you must plan. Here are some actionable tips to help you plan your long-term career.

1. Plan to change jobs quickly

You’ll likely start your career at the bottom of the ladder–in an entry-level position. The sooner you can move on from that entry-level position, the faster your salary will increase.

Try not to stay longer than a year or two in your first job and two to three years in successive jobs in order to maximize your after-PhD salary.

2. Plan to network your way to a better job

Build a strong LinkedIn profile and update it regularly. Engage with your contacts, especially those who work in companies you’d like to work for.

Having a contact on the inside can give you a huge boost when you’re looking for a new job.

3. Set a big career goal

Remember that “No one has ever achieved greatness without dreams ( Roy Bennett ).” Set a big goal and visualize yourself achieving it. Make this goal the culmination of your 5- or 10-year plan.

4. Consider industry jobs after your PhD

When making your long-term career plans after a PhD, think about the industry you want to be in at the end and try to start out in that industry.

You will be gaining industry experience as well as job experience, which will increase your chances of landing your dream job in the end.

5. Find an advisor or mentor

Check with your school to see if they offer academic advising or mentorship. Find an advisor or mentor who works well with you and ask them for help in planning your career.

6. Evaluate your network

Every year, evaluate your network to see where it is strong and where it is weak. Are there certain companies you want to work for where you have no contacts? If so, try to make contact with influential people within those companies.

7. Set up informational interviews

Informational interviews are interviews with an employee of a company you think you’d like to work for. These interviews give you a chance to learn more about the culture of the organization and determine whether you might be a good fit.

8. Join professional organizations

Often, you can use these memberships as networking tools to help you find and meet contacts within the industry. You may even be able to find local peers you can meet up with and form real-life friendships.

9. Attend conferences

Attending conferences for your industry or profession is a good way to meet new people and expand your network. Be sure to take plenty of business cards and exchange cards with everyone you meet.

Make an effort to follow up afterward by sending an email or DM to tell them you’re glad you had a chance to meet them at the event. If they include social media URLs on their cards, be sure to follow them there.

10. Attend networking events

You may find these through your university or through a professional organization.

Everyone who attends a networking event seeks to make new connections, so you’re in the right place for trying to find peers who work in your industry in a similar position, or even those who may be in a position to make hiring decisions.

11. Create a resume

Make sure to include any relevant experiences you’ve had, even if you haven’t worked at a job before.

Try to craft your resume so that it is targeted toward a specific position. As you gain work experience through the years, update your resume to add your most recent work experience.

12. Get a part-time job during school

If possible, get a job during school so that you’ll have some work experience to put on your resume when you’re ready to look for an entry-level job in your field.

Even working at McDonald’s part-time shows future employers that you have a goo d work ethic .

13. Avoid unpaid work

Unless it’s all you can find, avoid unpaid internships. Accepting these positions shows employers that you are willing to work for free, so they can get away with a lowball salary offer. If you feel that you must work for free to gain experience, volunteer for an organization you care deeply about.

PhD Career Plan Example

Here is an example career plan to give you an idea of what your long-term career plan after a PhD should look like.

Year One: Work an entry-level job for one year. Toward the end of the year, start looking for a position that is at least one step up from your current position:

Years Two and Three: Work in one job for two years. Toward the end of the second year at this new job, start looking for another job that is a step or two up the career ladder.

Years Four and Five: Work this new job for two years. Near the end of the second year, start looking for your next job. Try to get one step away from your ten-year career goal if possible.

Years Six, Seven, and Eight: Work in a job that is one step away from your ten-year career goal. Toward the end of year eight, start applying for the job you’ve been working toward.

Year Nine: Start working your dream job.

The above plan gives you nine years to reach your ten-year goal, but it may take a little longer than planned to find each new job. In that case, you’ll still be right on track to reach your 10-year goal in 10 years.

• How Can I Find a Career Path When No Career Interests Me?
• Life Of A Leader: What A Leader Does Everyday To Be Successful
• 10 Best Books On Critical Thinking And Problem Solving (Top Picks!)
• Importance Of Career Planning And Development

Jenny Palmer

Founder of Eggcellentwork.com. With over 20 years of experience in HR and various roles in corporate world, Jenny shares tips and advice to help professionals advance in their careers. Her blog is a go-to resource for anyone looking to improve their skills, land their dream job, or make a career change.

Further Reading...

How To Ask For More Work As An Intern Email Sample

Feeling Insecure After Career Switch? Here’s How to Deal With It

5 Most Common Types of Human Error at Workplace

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Is Engineering a Bad Career? 4 Reasons Why People Are Leaving the Field

Career failure at 40: how to pick yourself up and start again.

What to Do After PhD? – Pros and Cons of Pursuing Postdoc

“Received my PhD. Where do I go from here? What to do after PhD?”—is one of the most common challenges for students who have recently graduated. So if you’re stuck at this point of deciding whether to go ahead with academia or switch to a non-academic career, you’re not alone! How do you plan on taking what you have learned in your PhD and capitalize on it? How do you start your new career or use your PhD to take the next step in your existing one?

What to Do After PhD?

After having spent endless hours conducting your research and passing up enjoyable opportunities to complete your dissertation, you have finally attained the coveted doctorate degree. It’s a remarkable feat! But one struggle that holds on to you is—what do you do now that you’ve finished your PhD?

Be it from your seniors at the university or just having heard it from scholars in your field, one thing you may have realized is that tenure-track positions in academia are hard to come by.  Despite the “default” propensity of PhD graduates pursuing academic research positions, they’re now moving beyond it. Additionally, an uncertain future in academia is a factor of concern amongst all. Here we shall discuss what to do after PhD?—and focus on the pros and cons of pursuing postdoc to make a calculated decision.

Should I Pursue Postdoc?

Navigating through the career waters after PhD can be quite treacherous. Moreover, with the job market in academia being intensely competitive, even students with excellent academic caliber aren’t assured of getting a position.

While the competition is persistent, doing a postdoc is becoming a prerequisite for a successful career. However, your zeal and confidence of wanting to stay in academia can take you a long way. The preliminary postdoc benefits to consider while applying for postdoc are:

• Additional time to expand your research through funding.
• Publish more research work to support or expand your research conducted during Phd.
• More opportunities for networking and collaboration.

Pros of Pursuing Postdoc

While the answer to “What to do after postdoc?” can vary for every researcher depending on their interests, the undeniable benefits of a postdoc position can’t be overseen.

1. Career Development Prospects:

Pursuing career as a postdoc fellow allows you an extended period to work on your research after your PhD. Furthermore, it offers you more flexible opportunities to leverage laboratory facilities than you could during your PhD. It allows you to travel freely for conferences, which lead to meeting scholars from your field and making newer professional connections. Additionally, a postdoc fellow gets opportunity to upskill themselves in their research field and allied domains.

2. Advanced Research Opportunities:

Given the immense value that a postdoc position poses, it opens doors to newer research opportunities. This is not just restricted to independent research but also to collaborative research. Consequently, due to lesser teaching and administrative responsibilities, it will provide you with time to publish more research work. Additionally, it allows you to revise your project cycle, begin a new project, and gain expertise in a given subject. Furthermore, it lets you collaborate with international researchers to work on similar projects. More importantly, as a postdoc your chances of receiving grants increases based on your success as a researcher during PhD.

 3. Technique Development Opportunities :

As a postdoc fellow, you have more time to acquire new technology and research skills. In addition, it lets you gain experience in allied fields that you work in with your colleagues. This leads to an excellent opportunity to perfect your distinctive set of skills and learn advanced techniques in growing times.

4. Intellectual Development:

A postdoc fellowship is a distinguished phase in your career to focus exclusively on your intellectual development. Moreover, it is an important and most influential part of your research training. Therefore, choosing a postdoc can bolster your ability to pursue an advanced and successful research career.

Cons of Pursuing Postdoc

Despite the impressive benefits, considering the flip side of pursuing a postdoc position is imperative before taking the big decision.

1. No Tenure-track Guarantee

The uncertain career prospects in academia does not guarantee a tenure-track position even after completing your postdoc. According to a survey, only 30% of postdocs in the United States, and 20% postdocs in the United Kingdom succeed in acquiring a long term academic position. Moreover, some even have to climb through a series of postdoc positions before reaching a stable academic position. This predicament often leads many postdocs to quit academia and move to an industrial career.

2. Lack of Support

As postdocs are expected to work as an independent researcher, they often receive little to no professional advice or training from experienced researchers at the university. On the contrary, some institutions take advantages of the postdoc fellow as a teaching or researching captive. Furthermore, you may also experience poor working conditions as a result of being neglected by your department and surviving postdoc position becomes difficult.

3. Monetary Challenges

One of the major disadvantages of pursuing a postdoc position is meager salaries. The financial situation of postdoc fellows is so critical that an assistant professor is paid more than them, although fractionally, but yes!

4. Over-qualification

After struggling to acquire a stable academic position, postdocs often try to switch to industrial jobs. In this process, it is found that postdocs are over-qualified for industrial jobs and have to begin from scratch in the new field.

It’s undoubtedly a great feat to have successfully defended your PhD dissertation. How do you decide? What to do after PhD? What do you choose? Let these pros and cons help you in taking a well thought out decision. Tell us how this article helped you in the comments section below! You can also visit our Q&A forum for frequently asked questions related to different aspects of research writing and publishing answered by our team that comprises subject-matter experts, eminent researchers, and publication experts.

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What to do after getting your phd: 5 next steps, published by steve tippins on february 11, 2019 february 11, 2019.

Last Updated on: 2nd February 2024, 05:47 am

What to do after finishing your PhD is a surprisingly common challenge for students who have recently graduated. So if you’re asking this question, you’re not alone.

After years of hard work and passing on enjoyable opportunities to get your writing done, you have finished your dissertation. This is quite an accomplishment. But what do you do now that you’ve finished?

This is something that few doctoral programs prepare you for. How do you take what you have learned and capitalize on it? How do you start your new career or use your PhD to take the next step in your existing one?

What to Do After Getting Your PhD

Based on my own experience and my experience coaching countless recent graduates, I’ve come up with an answer. Here is what to do after PhD is officially part of your title.

Step 1: Take a Breath

It may be tempting to rush right into the next thing. You finally have your PhD, now you get to use it! Apply for a thousand jobs, become a postdoctoral fellow, take a research trip to Indonesia with your favorite professor, launch a consulting firm, and publish a Nobel-Prize-worthy paper in an academic journal. All before breakfast.

Or not. In fact, my advice is to slow down. Not for too long–of course you have to take the next steps in your career. But once you start your career, it’s that much more difficult to take a break. Relax for a moment, and then take a good long deep breath. You are at the summit of one of the largest (proverbial) mountains you’ve ever climbed. Take a moment to appreciate the view. Then, get back to work.

Step 2: Set your Goals

After taking a break, the first thing you need to do is figure out what your goals are . You employed a great deal of discipline to get to this point. Use that skill to determine how you want to move forward. Your doctoral degree is an asset, so try to maximize the return that you get. Getting clear on your goals will determine your next steps and provide a map of what to do after completing your PhD.

When setting your career goals, it’s important to remember your life goals. Remember why you started this journey in the first place. How have you changed? How have your goals changed? What is most important in your life, and how will your next steps support this? Considering how your career fits into your life as a whole will help you make decisions about how to move forward.

Here are some of your options:

Do you want to publish? Think hard about this. You are now an expert on your topic, it would be great if you shared that expertise with the world. Think about your goal in publishing. Is your goal to see your name in print so that your mother can brag about her child being a published author? Do you want to spread the findings of your dissertation across the world to help humanity? Different goals will lead you in different publishing directions.

What a noble profession. Many people want to use their degree to help shape the future by teaching. If this is a path for you, think about the following questions: Do you want to teach full time or part time? Would you prefer to teach online or in a traditional classroom setting? Are you bound to one geographic location or are you willing to go anywhere? Do you want to prioritize teaching over research or vice-versa? Each choice offers various, but different, opportunities.

Outside of Academia

Are there non-academic alternatives available to you? Are you looking for a promotion at your current job? Do you want to speak at conferences? How about a new job? Maybe consulting is the path that you want to take. Your degree puts you in a very small group outside of academia; use it as best you can, remembering that you will be seen as the expert in most settings.

There are many things that you might want to do with your degree. Stop and take the time to determine your goals and then you can see how all of the hard work that you put in to get your degree can get you there. If you find yourself stuck, or want support realizing your full potential, career coaching can help.

Step 3: Prepare your Material

No matter what you choose to do after getting your PhD, you will have to put together a package of material that represents you. This is true whether you want to apply for academic jobs, work outside academia, or start your own business as a consultant. This is the first thing that most employers or potential clients will see of you, so make sure it represents the best of who you are.

You will need a resume and to be ready to answer all kinds of questions. It’s important to update your resume after finishing your PhD, adding relevant accomplishments and experience besides your new degree.

Prepare to answer common questions (for example, “Why did you get a PhD?” “Can you tell me about a situation where you worked well with others?” and “Can you tell me about a situation where you were able to work with someone who was difficult to work with?”).

Also, remember to highlight the unique strengths and skills that you have as a newly minted PhD. Having spent the past few years in the company of other people who either already have PhDs or are trying to get them, it’s easy to lose sight of your uniqueness. Remember the grit and persistence you’ve shown, the critical thinking skills you’ve had to cultivate, and the balanced ability to simultaneously take direction from committee members and forge your own unique research path.

Remember that you are a member of a small group of people with an exceptionally useful skill set, and a degree to prove it. You have proven your capacity to innovate, learn, and work with others. Take a look at Catherine Sorbara’s excellent article on this subject.

Inside of Academia

Work on creating a CV (curriculum vitae) that fits the standards of your discipline. You will probably need to submit documents that cover your teaching philosophy, a list of references, a research agenda, and copies of teaching evaluations, if available.

If you get a campus visit interview, you will need to prepare a presentation about your research and may be asked to teach a class or give a seminar to interested students. Do not take these two steps lightly, as the search committee will get feedback from everyone who participates in these sessions about your suitability for the position.

Find research interest connections at prospective universities. Look within the department you are applying for professors who share your research interests, but also look more widely — to the college and to other colleges within the university — for others doing related studies that may dovetail with your work. The potential for collaborative research and interdisciplinary studies will catch the attention of university administrators and may well give you an edge.

Seek advice. Make sure you are prepared for all of this and get well-acquainted with norms. Your professors and advisors are an excellent resource to help you prepare for this, as are my career coaching services .

Step 4: Search for a Job

When people ask what to do after PhD completion, they’re usually trying to skip ahead to this step–but it’s vital to take the time to set your goals and prepare your material before looking for a job . Now that you’ve done that, you can set your sights on your new (or improved) career. Many people use their PhD as a springboard to an exciting new career path. Here are some insights to help you do that.

The Chronicle of Higher Education is a great place to start. The Chronicle posts jobs daily online for most disciplines. You can also look at HigherEdJobs which tends to have jobs that may not make it to the chronicle.

Conferences within your discipline are a very good place to find out about jobs. Also, the professors within your program may be a good source of contacts who may know about jobs. Remember, most academic jobs start in August/September and postings may come out as much as 11 months before a job starts.

Some professions specifically recruit PhDs. If you are in the sciences this may be the case. Consultancy firms also seek PhDs. Outside of these areas the job search may include networking, sending out resumes, and using the services of recruiters. Your committee chair may be able to connect you with former students in your field who would be willing to make introductions. Most universities have career centers that offer assistance with networking and other job-seeking skills.

Step 5: Stay on Track

Periodically reevaluate your goals–both whether you’re meeting them and whether the goals themselves need to change. Perhaps you started out wanting to pursue research but have fallen in love with teaching. Or maybe you started off teaching but found that consulting is much more enjoyable. Whatever your goals are, they’re subject to change as you learn and grow.

However, if your goal was to teach but you find yourself getting bogged down in research projects due to the pressure to publish, take some time to reflect on how you can better achieve the goals that are most fulfilling to you. Would you prefer an instructor’s position? Or perhaps looking at universities that emphasize teaching over research would be your solution.

What to Do After PhD Completion: A Summary

Getting your PhD is a huge accomplishment. However, if you’re wondering what to do after your PhD is complete, you’re not alone. Once you finish your PhD, take a breath and allow some space in your life. Next, determine your goals and create a plan for how to proceed. Once you are clear on your goals, prepare your materials and apply for jobs. Finally, periodically re-evaluate your goals to see whether you’re meeting them and whether they’re still relevant.

Many recent graduates use a career coach to help them in this process. If you are interested in this kind of coaching, feel free to take a look at my services page or get in touch.

Steve Tippins

Steve Tippins, PhD, has thrived in academia for over thirty years. He continues to love teaching in addition to coaching recent PhD graduates as well as students writing their dissertations. Learn more about his dissertation coaching and career coaching services. Book a Free Consultation with Steve Tippins

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PhD Student Career Planning Timeline

No matter where you are in your doctoral degree, you can start preparing to find a career or job after graduation. See our guided timeline below for some ideas about how to prepare. You can also use our checklists to help you prepare for your job search.

Explore Our PhD Timeline:

• Years One-Two
• Years Three-Four + 

Years One-Two:  

Build Your Network

• Create a LinkedIn Profile and update it regularly.
• If you don’t already have an advisor, find an advisor who fits your academic interests and personal mentoring style. Ask them to connect you with other faculty or staff members who might be of interest to you.
• Evaluate your network using our Building and Evaluating Your Personal Network worksheet or on your own. Identify where your network is strong and make a plan to strengthen your network where it is weak.
• Conduct informational interviews with relevant companies and/or positions.
• If applicable, join professional organizations to expand your network.
• If applicable, attend professional conferences to learn more about your field and to network.
• Introduce yourself and get to know other graduate students and faculty in your department and around campus.
• Attend networking events on campus and throughout your own personal network (such as your undergraduate alma mater, conferences, industry events, professional associations,etc).

Plan for Success

• Create a long-term timeline that spans the entirety of your projected PhD degree (approximately 5-7 years depending on your department and personal schedule) that outlines your goals and deadlines for completing your degree. 
• Familiarize yourself with your department’s cycle of regular deadlines, research & travel grants, and fellowships and grants.
• Explore the Career Center website to learn about informational interviews, networking, and other pertinent information for job seekers.
• Draft a Master List of your past experiences for fodder to make your Resume.
• If you have a CV, convert it into a resume . Explore making several resumes for several types of positions.
• Do some self-reflection and research to determine possible companies or organizations of interest or desirable career paths or positions. Ask yourself what kind of lifestyle, locations, and career you’d like to have. Determine what steps you can take now to work towards these goals.

Gain Experience and Transferable Skills

• Research and apply for summer internships, jobs, and/or volunteer work to explore and hone your transferable skills.
• Visit the Career Center to identify transferable skills and help with your application materials for summer opportunities.
• Consider taking on a leadership role on campus through the Graduate Student Association , the Graduate Student Commons , or in a low-impact departmental or campus committee .
• Consider participating in the Graduate Division’s Graduate Student Leadership Certificate Program .
• If possible, do an internship, volunteer work, or hold a part-time job while you earn your degree to expand your network and skills.

Years Three-Four + :

• Update your LinkedIn Profile regularly.
• Continue to conduct informational interviews if necessary.
• Continue to attend networking events on campus and throughout your own personal network (such as your undergraduate alma mater, conferences, industry events, professional associations,etc).
• Adjust and update your long-term PhD completion timeline with appropriate goals and deadlines.
• Make drafts of cover letters and resumes for job applications.
• Ask trusted colleagues or mentors to critique your materials.
• Submit your documents to this form for a critique of your application materials.
• Monitor your desired job field to anticipate any developments and stay involved in contemporary conversations.
• Look at the current job market for the industries or positions you’re interested in and assess what skills you possess and where you could improve your skills to make your future applications stronger.
• When necessary, contact potential letter recommenders and/or references to meet with them, update them on your goals, and provide an updated resume.
• Continue to self-reflect on the progress you’ve made and your future goals and desired lifestyle. Ask yourself there are any adjustments you want to make and how you can make those adjustments.
• Visit the Career Center to identify transferable skills, get help writing your application materials for jobs and/or summer opportunities.

Final Year:

• Update your LinkedIn profile regularly.
• Continue to attend networking events on campus and throughout your own personal network (such as your undergraduate alma mater, conferences, industry events, professional associations, etc).
• If applicable, attend job fairs and networking events geared towards job seekers meeting recruiters.
• Create business cards to bring with you to job fairs or to give out when requested.
• Alert your network to let them know you are on the job market.
• Create a calendar with job application deadlines.
• Apply to jobs.
• Adjust and update your long-term PhD completion timeline with goals and deadlines.
• Balance your time between job seeking activities and finishing your dissertation.
• Visit the Career Center to practice interviewing.
• Visit the Career Center to have a Career Coach critique your application materials.
• Learn about negotiating a job offer .
• Learn about job salaries in your field.
• Bring your resume , business cards, research employers in advance, and attend job fairs on campus or elsewhere.
• Contact recommendation letter writers and/or references to keep them appraised of your progress.
• Research and apply for summer internships, jobs, and/or volunteer work to explore and hone your transferable skills if you haven’t secured a job or if your job doesn’t start until the fall.

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Your PhD, what next?

Those who've completed a Doctorate are finding more opportunities to work outside of academia than ever before - discover the types of PhD jobs available and what other PhD graduates go on to do

What jobs can I do with a PhD?

The most common roles for PhD graduates are:

• teaching professionals
• natural and social science professionals
• research and development (R&D) and other research professionals
• therapy professionals
• business, research and administrative professionals.

Although getting an academic job is a natural step for many PhD graduates, a greater number of opportunities exist outside of teaching and education .

For instance, a significant amount of PhD graduates work in healthcare (14.9%), and construction , engineering and research and development (11.1%). This has perhaps been helped by private sector companies becoming more research-orientated in recent years.

As well as the medical profession, research scientists can also specialise in life sciences , maths and physical sciences .

If you've aspirations to become a clinical or educational psychologist , you'll need to have studied a specific taught Doctorate in either clinical (DClinPsy or ClinPsyD) or educational (DEdPsy) psychology.

How do I get started in academia?

Those graduating with a PhD often struggle to secure a permanent academic job immediately. To give yourself the best chance, contact as many other academics as possible in your specialist field.

You may then be presented with the opportunity to become a teaching or research fellow, though this is likely to be on a short-term contract with a view to permanent employment.

You may find opportunities on individual university websites or at Jobs.ac.uk . You can also read about getting an academic job for more information and advice.

Can I get a non-academic job?

There are many ways to boost your chances of landing non-academic PhD jobs. You should:

• build a network of contacts to help you unearth 'hidden' job vacancies
• gain relevant work experience in your chosen field
• search for graduate jobs
• use social media to join in discussions with like-minded academics and share your research and opinions.

It's also worth regularly checking sector-specific websites and publications for job adverts, such as:

• Nature Careers
• New Scientist Jobs
• Science Careers
• Technojobs - PhD jobs
• The Economist
• The Psychologist (The British Psychological Society)

How do I sell my PhD to employers?

When applying for non-academic PhD jobs, you must demonstrate how your knowledge and expertise will benefit the employer. Focus on the transferable skills that the PhD has helped to enhance, such as:

• communication skills - you'll have given many presentations , lectures or seminars
• creative thinking - PhD students are often asked to think outside the box
• management ability - as well as managing your own time and workload, you may have managed a small team of research assistants or mentored undergraduate students
• problem-solving skills - during your PhD, you'll have tackled and solved numerous research problems.

For more guidance, see applying for jobs .

What do other PhD graduates do?

Of the PhD graduates in employment 15 months after graduation in 2020/21, just over a fifth (21.3%) found work in education - as higher and secondary education teaching professionals. The majority therefore chose to pursue non-academic careers.

PhD destinations data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

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Six Steps to Finding a Job after the PhD

Even though you think that the rest of your life will consist of the lab and your computer, there will be a day when you “come out.”  The day when you finally get your PhD, and then take your next step in life .

You might cringe when I mention “the next step in your life.” You might start giving me an entire list of excuses why you really don’t have the time and energy to start thinking of life after the PhD while you are still engrossed in your PhD. But unless you have a tree that grows money in your garden, you will need to find something that pays the bills once you finish your research and your scholarship runs out. A job.

Today’s article will not tell you to start sending your resume to 300 companies while you try to finish up your dissertation. The final months of the PhD can be incredibly messy with looking for a job, moving to a different place, often a different country, and then trying to finish the dissertation and defense. I’m in the very middle of all that myself  and can tell you that the final months of a PhD don’t allow much time for a big job hunt.

Before you actually reach those final months, there are many actions you can undertake to grow your network, so that your job search becomes easier once you are reaching the final months of grad life. I’ve outlined a simple plan with six steps that you can take from the very start of your PhD to transition into a job right after graduation.

1. Reflect on what you want

A PhD doesn’t automatically mean that you will stay in academia for the rest of your life. In fact, many graduate students wouldn’t  be happy staying in academia for the rest of their lives, and are anxious to roll up their sleeves and get a more hands-on job in industry.

Reflection is key. Spend some time  analyzing your strengths  and imagining what your ideal job would be like. Then, use your research as a leverage to work towards your ideal position. Your PhD research can be an incredible tool to grow your skills. You can learn new coding languages, delve into more theoretical work, or prepare to transition to industry.

Regardless of where you imagine yourself in three to five years from now, just realize that your PhD research gives you many more skills than “just” becoming an independent researcher. All these skills, along with your communication skills and the strong work ethic of graduate school, are additional elements you can later show to a prospective employer as benefits that come with hiring a (maybe overqualified) PhD.

2. Present at conferences

Get your face out there, show your work, and meet people. Conferences are a very important way to grow your network,  and the majority of jobs are still found through using your network, rather than simply reacting to a job opening at company X or university Y.

Similarly, use conferences to get an overview of what is possible after your PhD. Try to find conferences that combine research from academia with cases from industry and that come with a large exhibition hall. At the exhibition hall, you can learn about companies that might be interested in hiring new employees, even though their primary goal might be to sell their product or services.

3. Attend industry events

Again, get active, talk to people, and get your face out there. The benefit of attending industry events and becoming involved is broader than making sure people start to know you. It also helps you to explore what is out there in industry. You can get to know the different companies and get a feeling for their company culture. Would you “fit in” at that company? Do their projects look attractive to you to work on? Use your involvement in these events to get a taste of the world out there – sniff around and see what could be suitable for you.

4. Personal branding: offline and online

Personal branding is a fashionable term, and you might think that it is only for designers and the flashy men and women from the advertisement industry. In academia, we can rethink branding as having a clear statement on who we are and what we are good at. It’s about having a consistent image of ourselves—online and offline—and carrying that out into the world. It’s not about pretending you’re someone else, it’s not about compromising on authenticity , and it’s not about vanity or praising yourself either. It’s simply about your very professional essence and being okay with sharing that image with the world.

Once you have completed Step 1, and reflected on what your strengths are, and how you envision yourself in the future, you can use this information to show the world how you can help in situation Y because you are very good at doing Z. You can get active (Steps 2 and 3) in international organizations by volunteering to do something you are good at. You can build a digital footprint by using a blog or social networks to share what you’ve learned in your research, connect to like-minded people, and make your professional image and statements Google-able.

5. Cherish your network

Don’t build a network just for the sake of having contacts with certain people for whenever you need a job. Cherishing your network is about getting back in touch with people every now and then, about keeping good ties to your former classmates and rekindling the connection with professors from previous institutions because you are grateful for the people who helped you learn and grow over the years. And from these contacts, people who you truly enjoy being around, fruitful collaborations can grow. You can imagine that it can be very rewarding to be able to work later on with people with whom you have a very good relationship.

6. Let people know you will be available

Once you are nearing your final semesters, or your thesis starts to grow steadily towards it first draft version, don’t get too secretive about it. It can be hard to really tell people that you think you will be finished six months from now, if all goes well, as that might add pressure, but trust yourself. Something can always go wrong, but there’s no need to live life assuming all possible doom scenarios. Share the message that you are wrapping up your work. Write to people in your network to let them know when you will be defending, invite them for the day itself or send them a copy of your dissertation. Share  how your progress is going on your online networks. Share on LinkedIn that you have a few more weeks to finish your first dissertation draft. Share your updates on Twitter – get the word out that you are coming out soon! You might get some reactions completely out of the blue from people asking you if you’re interested in  learning about possibilities at their firm .

Have you started thinking about life after the PhD? Have you incorporated some of these ideas into your daily research life? Please share your thoughts with us!

[Image by Flickr user michael.heiss under Creative Commons license]

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Ask the Expert: What should I do after getting a PhD?

One thing you may have realized — or learned from Charles Craik’s keynote lecture, if you attended the U.S. Symposium — is that tenure-track positions in academia are hard to come by.  Although academic research positions have historically been thought of the “default” career path for a PhD in science, they’re now considered anything but.

Instead, as Craik explained, there are a lot of exciting career options available to PhDs and a great need for PhDs across multiple fields, including law, communication, education, and business.

What do you choose? Or, at the very least, how can you learn more about your options? We posed these questions to Natalie Lundsteen, PhD, director of Graduate Career Development at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences . She specializes in working with graduate students undertaking PhDs, on a range of activities from career planning to negotiating job offers. Here are her (edited) responses.

Do graduate students come to your office interested in securing a postdoc?

NL: What I’m seeing now is students coming in, saying, ‘I’d prefer to go the academic track, but I know that option might not be open to me even if I choose that.’

The job market right now in academia is intensely competitive. Even students who want postdocs and academic careers aren’t assured of getting a position. There’s a logjam of postdocs for the past three years who are still trying to get tenure-track positions. So currently, graduating students are competing against postdocs for postdoc positions and academic positions.

When should someone start planning for the next steps beyond graduate school?

NL: As soon as possible. I’ve had students in this summer who are very active in looking ahead. They’re asking, ‘What can I do during my time here to be most competitive for an academic career as well as any other options I might choose?’

What do you tell them?

NL: The first thing is to identify and make use of all the resources at the university.

• The first place is in the department — looking to their adviser, other faculty, or postdocs as potential [career] mentors. Departments usually have an administrator or academic officer of some kind. That person is a good resource for career options too. They run the department announcements or listserv.
• Then there’s the career center. Usually, one person there works specifically with graduate students and PhDs.
• Most universities also have a teaching and learning center, which helps grad students get a teaching certificate. Or in some cases, they are a good resource for writing a teaching statement required for an academic application.
• Offices of technology transfer or research/community outreach might help graduates find places in industry that can use their expertise. Some of these offices even offer internships for PhD students.
• Reaching out to all these resources helps students create a network from the get-go, but it’s also important to just be aware of what’s available.
• Something that also goes along with the academic department is joining professional societies or organizations. That happens during the course of the PhD but it’s important to get involved early.

These are all things that a person can do right away?

NL: Absolutely. You don’t necessarily need to or want to because you have a lot going on. But it’s good to be thinking about it. After that first semester, you’re settling in, learning how to become an academic researcher. It’s kind of hard to think about the end game, but you should.

What steps can PhD students take to broaden their career options, before they’ve decided exactly what to do?

NL: Grab any opportunities you can. Teach. Universities always offer training for new teaching assistants. But if there’s any kind of certification you can get, it’s important to do that.

Along the way, too, if you’re considering a career in industry, be open to opportunities like internships or externships that will expose you to industry, even if it’s just attending panels with alumni who come back and talk about their jobs or going to any professional or trade industry events in your region to listen and learn.

Whether or not you’re going for the academic route, serve on committees. Manage activities and projects — even small ones. For example, you might be a peer mentor who helps younger students learn the ropes. Take those opportunities if you can because they can demonstrate a lot to employers both academic and other.

What about students who are toward the end of their PhDs? Does planning make all the difference?

NL: It’ll really depend on the individual, but just be aware of what your options are. Even students who have been planning throughout their doctorates to go into academia may not be successful, and this might happen at the very end of their PhD. They could be in the same position as someone who has done no planning whatsoever. But, emphasizing the activities I mentioned, like serving on committees, getting involved with extracurriculars, getting a teaching certificate, perhaps doing a mini externship or mini-project of some kind — those can still serve them well in applying to a non-academic job.

How can students research the career options available to them?

NL: The number one thing, no matter where you are, is to look at those who have gone before you. Think of it as a research question. Where have the PhD students with your same degree and at your same institutions ended up? Every university — not just in the US but I know we had it at Oxford where I worked before — has databases where you can look at what alumni have done. Your network of Amgen Scholar alumni is another option.

That’s “stage one” of the research — figuring out where the people are and how many of them are in academia or other industries. Stage two is contacting those people and having a chat with them, to learn what it means to be a principal manager, analyst, a consultant, or whatever the title might be. You will learn so much more valuable information about what a career is all about from the people who are doing those jobs.

Talking to people about what they do (and if they like it or not) is no different than gathering data about anything else. And this research helps calm a lot of people because, for example, they can see that there are hundreds or thousands of people who have gone out into the world and have jobs.

Recommended links:

My IDP (individual development plan).

Myidp.sciencecareers.org    

Helps scientists-in-training explore different career trajectories in science and set specific professional goals. Free for all users.

The Versatile PhD

Versatilephd.com

A community and resource for graduate students who are exploring or preparing for non-academic careers. Access to the community is free. Users must pay a subscription fee to access premium content. (See whether you belong to a subscribing university here.)

Bio Careers

Biocareers.com

Online career resources and job postings, aimed at expanding professional options for life science PhDs and MDs. You’ll need to pay to access this resource, but you might attend a member institution, which pays for access on behalf of its degree candidates, postdocs, and alumni. Caltech, Columbia, UCLA, Stanford and WUSTL are all members.

Amgen Scholars is an international program funded by the Amgen Foundation with direction and technical assistance provided by Harvard University .

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• Master’s vs PhD | A Complete Guide to the Differences

Master's vs PhD | A Complete Guide to the Differences

Published on November 27, 2020 by Lauren Thomas . Revised on June 1, 2023.

The two most common types of graduate degrees are master’s and doctoral degrees:

• A master’s is a 1–2 year degree that can prepare you for a multitude of careers.
• A PhD, or doctoral degree, takes 3–7 years to complete (depending on the country) and prepares you for a career in academic research.

A master’s is also the necessary first step to a PhD. In the US, the master’s is built into PhD programs, while in most other countries, a separate master’s degree is required before applying for PhDs.

Master’s are far more common than PhDs. In the US, 24 million people have master’s or professional degrees, whereas only 4.5 million have doctorates.

Table of contents

Master’s vs phd at a glance, which is right for you, length of time required, career prospects, costs and salaries, application process, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about master's and phd degrees.

The table below shows the key differences between the two.

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A PhD is right for you if:

• Your goal is to become a professor at a university or some other type of professional researcher.
• You love research and are passionate about discovering the answer to a particular question.
• You are willing to spend years pursuing your research even if you have to put up with a lot of dead ends and roadblocks.

A master’s degree is the better choice if any of the following apply:

• You want to continue studies in your field, but you’re not committed to a career as a professional researcher.
• You want to develop professional skills for a specific career.
• You are willing to pay a higher upfront cost if it means finishing with your degree (and thus being able to work) much faster.
• You want the option to study part-time while working.

The length of time required to complete a PhD or master’s degree varies. Unsurprisingly, PhDs take much longer, usually between 3–7 years. Master’s degrees are usually only 1–2 years.

Length of a master’s

Master’s degrees are usually 2 years, although 1-year master’s degrees also exist, mainly in the UK.

Most of the degree consists of classes and coursework, although many master’s programs include an intensive, semester-long master’s thesis or capstone project in which students bring together all they’ve learned to produce an original piece of work.

Length of a PhD

In the US, a PhD usually takes between 5 and 7 years to complete. The first 2 years are spent on coursework. Students, even those who choose to leave without finishing the program, usually receive a master’s degree at this point.

The next 3–5 years are spent preparing a dissertation —a lengthy piece of writing based on independent research, which aims to make a significant original contribution to one’s field.

Master’s degrees tend to prepare you for a career outside of academia, while PhDs are designed to lead to a career in research.

Careers for master’s graduates

There are two types of master’s degrees: terminal and research-intensive. The career prospects are different for each.

Terminal master’s degrees are intended to prepare students for careers outside of academia. Some degrees, known as professional degrees, specifically prepare students for particular professions; these include the Master of Public Policy (MPP), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), Master of Fine Arts (MFA), and Master of Public Health (MPH) degrees.

Other master’s degrees, usually Master of Arts (MA) or Master of Sciences (MS or MSc) degrees, do not necessarily lead to a specific career, but are intended to be a final degree. Examples include an MS in Communications or MS in Data Analytics.

In research-intensive master’s programs, students take coursework intended to prepare them for writing an original piece of research known as the master’s thesis . Such programs are usually intended to prepare for further study in a doctoral program.

Careers for PhD graduates

As research degrees, PhDs are usually intended to lead to an academic career. A PhD can be thought of like an apprenticeship, where students learn from professional researchers (academics) how to produce their own research.

Most students aspire to become a university professor upon the completion of their degree. However, careers in academia are highly competitive, and the skills learned in a doctoral program often lend themselves well to other types of careers.

Some graduates who find they prefer teaching to producing research go on to be teachers at liberal arts colleges or even secondary schools. Others work in research-intensive careers in the government, private sector, or at think tanks.

Below are a few examples of specific fields and non-academic careers that are common destinations of graduates of those fields.

• Computer Science
• Lab Sciences

Many government jobs, including economists at a country’s central bank, are research-intensive and require a PhD. Think tanks also hire economists to carry out independent research.

In the private sector, economic consulting and technology firms frequently hire PhDs to solve real-world problems that require complex mathematical modeling.

Graduate students from the humanities are sometimes hired by museums, who can make use of their research and writing skills to curate exhibits and run public outreach.

Humanities PhDs are often well-suited to research and grant-writing roles at nonprofits. Since so much of research is funded by grants, PhD students often gain a lot of experience applying for them, which is a useful skill in the nonprofit sector.

There are a wide range of non-academic research jobs for lab scientists with doctorates in subjects like chemistry, biology, ecology and physics.

Many PhD graduates are hired by pharmaceutical companies that need to perform research to create and test their products. Government agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), also hire lab scientists to work on research projects.

Job prospects after graduation vary widely based on the field. In fields like management, computer science, statistics, and economics, there’s little underemployment—even graduates from less well-known programs can easily find jobs that pay well and use the skills they’ve gained from the PhD.

However, in other fields, particularly in the humanities, many PhD graduates have difficulty in the job market. Unfortunately, there are far more PhD graduates than assistant professor roles, so many instead take on part-time and low-paid roles as adjunct instructors. Even non-academic careers can sometimes be difficult for PhDs to move into, as they may be seen as “overqualified”  or as lacking in relevant professional experience.

Because career options post-PhD vary so much, you should take the time to figure out what the career prospects are in your field. Doctoral programs often have detailed “placement” records online in which they list the career outcomes of their graduates immediately upon leaving the program. If you can’t find these records, contact the program and ask for them—placement information should play an important role in your choice of PhD program.

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Although PhDs take far longer to complete, students often receive a living stipend in exchange for being a teaching or research assistant. Master’s degrees are shorter but less likely to be funded.

Both master’s degrees and PhDs lead to increased salaries upon graduation. While PhDs usually earn a bit more than those with a master’s degree, in some fields, the wages are identical, meaning that no financial benefit is gained from going on to a PhD.

Cost of a master’s

The upfront cost of a master’s degree is usually higher than a doctoral degree due to the lower amount of financial aid available. However, increased salaries also arrive faster than with a doctoral degree, because people graduate much earlier from a master’s program.

Some master’s students do receive stipends for their degrees, usually as compensation for being a teaching or research assistant. In addition, many people complete master’s degrees part time while working full-time, which allows them to fund their living costs as well as tuition.

The cost varies significantly by school and program. Public schools are usually cheaper than private ones. Some master’s degrees, such as MBAs, are notoriously expensive, but also result in much higher wages afterwards that make up for the high cost.

The master’s wage premium , or the extra amount that someone with a master’s degree makes than someone with just a high school diploma, is 23% on average. Many universities provide detailed statistics on the career and salary outcomes of their students. If they do not have this online, you should feel free to contact an administrator of the program and ask.

Cost of a PhD

PhDs, particularly outside the humanities, are usually (though not always) funded, meaning that tuition fees are fully waived and students receive a small living stipend. During the last 3–5 years of a PhD, after finishing their coursework (and sometimes before), students are usually expected to work as graduate instructors or research assistants in exchange for the stipend.

Sometimes students can apply for a fellowship (such as the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Program in the United States) that relieves them of any obligations to be a teaching or research assistant. Doctoral programs in the US tend to be better funded than in the rest of the world.

Sometimes, PhD degrees can be completed part-time, but this is rare. Students are usually expected to devote at least 40 hours a week to their research and work as teaching or research assistants.

The main cost of doctoral programs comes in the form of opportunity cost—all the years that students could be working a regular, full-time job, which usually pays much better than a graduate school stipend.

The average wage premium for PhDs is 26%, which is not much higher than the master’s degree premium.

In the US, the application process is similar for master’s and PhD programs. Both will generally ask for:

• At least one application essay, often called a personal statement or statement of purpose .
• Letters of recommendation .
• A resume or CV .
• Transcripts.
• Writing samples.

Applications for both types of programs also often require a standardized test. PhDs usually require the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), which tries to measure verbal reasoning, quantitative, critical thinking , and analytical writing skills. Many master’s programs require this test as well.

Applying for a master’s

Master’s degrees programs will often ask you to respond to specific essay prompts that may ask you to reflect upon not just your academic background, but also your personal character and future career ambitions.

Northwestern University’s Kellogg Business School requires Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) applicants write two essays, one about a recent time they demonstrated leadership and the second about their personal values.

Who you should ask for your letters of recommendation varies by program. If you are applying to a research-intensive master’s program, then you should choose former professors or research supervisors. For other programs, particularly business school, current work supervisors may be a better choice.

Some professional master’s programs require a specific test. For example, to apply to law school, you must take the Law School Admissions Test, or LSAT. For business school, you must take either the GRE or the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT).

Applying for a PhD

When applying for a PhD, your resume should focus more on your research background—you should especially emphasize any publications you’ve authored or presentations that you’ve given.

Similarly, your statement of purpose should discuss research that you’ve participated in, whether as an assistant or the lead author. You should detail what exactly you did in projects you’ve contributed to, whether that’s conducting a literature review, coding regressions, or writing an entire article.

Your letters of recommendations should be from former professors or supervisors who can speak to your abilities and potential as a researcher. A good rule of thumb is to avoid asking for recommendations from anyone who does not themselves have a PhD.

If you want to know more about college essays , academic writing , and AI tools , make sure to check out some of our other language articles with explanations, examples, and quizzes.

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A master’s is a 1- or 2-year graduate degree that can prepare you for a variety of careers.

All master’s involve graduate-level coursework. Some are research-intensive and intend to prepare students for further study in a PhD; these usually require their students to write a master’s thesis . Others focus on professional training for a specific career.

A PhD, which is short for philosophiae doctor (doctor of philosophy in Latin), is the highest university degree that can be obtained. In a PhD, students spend 3–5 years writing a dissertation , which aims to make a significant, original contribution to current knowledge.

A PhD is intended to prepare students for a career as a researcher, whether that be in academia, the public sector, or the private sector.

This depends on the country. In the United States, you can generally go directly to a PhD  with only a bachelor’s degree, as a master’s program is included as part of the doctoral program.

Elsewhere, you generally need to graduate from a research-intensive master’s degree before continuing to the PhD.

This varies by country. In the United States, PhDs usually take between 5–7 years: 2 years of coursework followed by 3–5 years of independent research work to produce a dissertation.

In the rest of the world, students normally have a master’s degree before beginning the PhD, so they proceed directly to the research stage and complete a PhD in 3–5 years.

A master’s degree usually has a higher upfront cost, but it also allows you to start earning a higher salary more quickly. The exact cost depends on the country and the school: private universities usually cost more than public ones, and European degrees usually cost less than North American ones. There are limited possibilities for financial aid.

PhDs often waive tuition fees and offer a living stipend in exchange for a teaching or research assistantship. However, they take many years to complete, during which time you earn very little.

In the US, the graduate school application process is similar whether you’re applying for a master’s or a PhD . Both require letters of recommendation , a statement of purpose or personal statement , a resume or CV , and transcripts. Programs in the US and Canada usually also require a certain type of standardized test—often the GRE.

Outside the US, PhD programs usually also require applicants to write a research proposal , because students are expected to begin dissertation research in the first year of their PhD.

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Tress Academic

#43: Life after the PhD: It’s waiting for you!

March 3, 2020 by Tress Academic

Have you forgotten that there will be an end to the PhD? Have you ever thought about how you will feel after your graduation? Awesome! Your life will be all the better, so why not trying to end the hardship and complete your PhD? Let us help you to get there quicker and more easily. 

We know that PhD students often – in the midst of hard work – forget to see the end! You have so many struggles, so much on your plate, that you don’t realise anymore that one day this will all be over! There is a day in the future when you will be a PhD holder and your life will be significantly different! Yes, you’ll have your PhD degree and all the hardship will be an experience of the past! 

Realising this and reminding yourself of the bigger picture can have a great effect: It can make you realise that life after the PhD is something fabulous and worthwhile striving for. Keeping this in mind is motivating and can help you to endure the momentary struggles! But it can also make you want to get there sooner! So why not pushing on with your PhD a bit faster, or at least trying to finish on your planned completion date instead of going for an extension. 

In this post, we want to assist you in reaching your goal more easily. To do so, we

• remind you why it is so important to have the end in mind
• give you nice inspirations for your life after the PhD
• let you develop a vision for yourself so you get a taster of how life-after will feel, and
• give you hints, what you can do to get to the end quicker and more easily! 

1. Regain a sense of purpose

At the beginning of your PhD, it was very clear why you started all this – you wanted a PhD, and you wanted to do a research project. Some time into the PhD, this initial motivation fades, and sheer hard work is taking over. In the middle phase, PhD students often experience the most severe problems and the daily rut of work seems never ending. This is the hardest phase in the PhD because you cannot yet see the end, and you can’t be sure yet that you will succeed. 

In this period it can be very helpful if you from time to time look beyond what you do right now, leave the problems aside and imagine how it will feel when you have achieved what you are striving for. Just pausing a moment and thinking about how you will feel after the PhD is completed! 

Allowing this to sink into your brain, will bring instant relief of your struggle. It has two great effects. First, it is highly motivating and second, it can help you to re-gain this much needed sense of purpose. In the middle of seemingly pointless and tedious work, this will remind you of the bigger picture of why you are doing it and how this PhD will improve your life! 

So, allow yourself to develop a clearer idea of how you will feel after graduation (imagine the evening of graduation day or a few days after! Imagine how your life will be and create a vivid visualisation of this. And then, whenever you feel stuck with your PhD, one problem is piling up after the other, or you have a seemingly endless and tedious task ahead of you, do come back to this visualisation. Recall that situation and evoke that mental image of yourself after PhD completion! If you lack any idea of how much having the PhD degree can influence your life, below we give you some inspiration to start with! But then, we let you develop your own vision! 

Want to develop it right away: Get our free worksheet “My life after the PhD”

2. Imagine yourself after PhD graduation

Let us give you a few ideas about your life after graduation. We look at the professional and also on the private part of your life.

Career in science:

Professionally, if you enjoy research and stay in the academic world, you’ll likely work as a postdoc or junior researcher after graduation, and that opens a whole array of new and exciting opportunities. You can decide whether to work in the same field as for your PhD, or deliberately chose something else (new, more exciting!). You can seek your own funding and set up intriguing new projects. You can expand your professional contacts and join international initiatives or research programmes. You can sharpen and develop your own researcher identity, and you can have your own MSc/MA or PhD students, which allows you to have a higher throughput and work more independently. Over the years, I have seen many PhD graduates moving from a first postdoc to becoming an assistant professor or PI in just a few years time. It’s possible, it’s within your reach!

Non-academic career: 

If work in academia is not your first choice or you took the PhD with the aim to improve your career chances outside, there are a billion of great options waiting for you. If you have not made up your mind yet which career path exactly you want to pursue, you’ll probably spend some time researching your options and see what is be the best fit for you! This depends on your skills, your personality and preferences, e.g. what would make you truly happy in the long run. 

You can work in the private, public or voluntary sector. You can choose a career in a big global corporation or work for a regional charity, be one of several thousand employees, or contribute to a team of just ten! Either way, you’ll work in exciting new environments, and you can finally apply the knowledge and skills that you accumulated all those years at university, and you can make a real impact to the world!

Just a side note, because we know there are always a few among you who are afraid of being unemployed. You can calm your nerves because the chances are slim. Unemployment rates among PhD graduates continue to be lower than those of graduates of lower-level educations. In many countries across the globe, unemployment rates continue to be very low with 2% on average (varying between <1% and up to 4%), depending on the country or region where you work (see, OECD 2013, and ESF/Boman 2017).  

Your private life after PhD graduation:

The biggest immediate change for many PhD graduates comes from the fact that they finally get a decent payday. This is certainly true for all those, who were on a scholarship during their PhD, which often is barely enough to make a living. But even those with PhD positions will get a remarkably higher pay after graduation. You’ll be able to afford the things that make life a little bit easier and more enjoyable, and without any valuation, I guess everyone can find something they are longing for here. Whether you finally want to move out of your tiny overpriced apartment, make a travel you always dreamed of, spend more on your kids or their education, or donate to a charity, you’ll simply have more freedom to live the lifestyle that suits you. 

Does this sound good? Well, it is! It is totally worth striving for! Now, imagine a few things that will come true for you after PhD graduation. 

3. Create a vision

There are many ways in which you can create a stimulating and compelling vision of your life past PhD graduation. To help you along the way, we have compiled a free worksheet “My life after the PhD” with some great exercises to get you started. 

Have you ever tried to imagine how you will feel a few days after your graduation? How relieved and happy you will be! How proud and confident you will be! Or, jot down a few things that you dread now and which would change after the PhD, and would be over once and forever. Or, picture yourself in a great professional environment, working for a great company, exploring new applications or leading a team, or meeting clients or patients, who rely on your expertise. Yes, all of this is within reach once you have completed your PhD. Feels good just thinking about it, right?

4. How and when will this come true?

Did you enjoy envisioning your life after PhD graduation and the good things that will come along with it? It’ll be awesome, right?

So why don’t you ask yourself the following:

• What can I do to get there as soon as possible?
• What can I do to get there more easily?

We suggest that instead of moving on with your PhD in slow motion and leave your graduation day in the distant future, you plan for timely completion. Instead of begging for an extension of your PhD time, see what you can do to complete as initially planned. Instead of having nightmares about running out of funding ask yourself what you can do to get the PhD in a more straight-forward and direct route. 

So ask yourself: What is your most direct path between now and PhD completion? What are the current obstacles that have to be overcome? What decisions have to be taken? What changes do you need to make to move ahead? Think about the following:

• Do you need a mindset shift? Do you need to move from “I do everything everyone asks me to do” to “I focus strictly on what is necessary now to complete”? Or from: “I do this later” to “I tackle this right now and move on”?
• Do you need to re-organise your workload? So you can finally spend more time analysing your data and publish those papers or write chapters in your dissertation?
• Do you need to recalibrate your PhD goal? Maybe you had it some months ago, but now you deviated from that idea and you have lost traction? So it is about regaining clarity and defining exactly what will constitute your thesis in the end?
• Do you need a better overview? Have you lost track of what you have completed and what is still missing? In need to define the most crucial steps until completion? Is it about planning the remaining months in your PhD in a way that you CAN finish on time?

5. We help PhDs who want to complete

Have you silently nodded to one, two or all of the above? Do you agree that something significant has to change in order to move the needle? Well, then let us help you, because teaching PhD students how to move ahead and complete is exactly what we do! 

As a member of our community , you have access to a lot of great material to get you started right now: highly recommended free resources are the SMART ACADEMICS blog post no# 2: So you want to finish your PhD on time and our Expert guide: 5 reasons why PhD students delay and how to avoid .

We are offering a free PhD Webinar to help you complete your PhD project – if you’re interested , sign up here.  

Related resources:

• Worksheet “My life after the PhD”
• Smart Academics Blog #2: So you want to finish your PhD on time
• Smart Academics Blog #46: What makes PhD students succeed?
• Smart Academics Blog #60: Are you delayed with your PhD ?
• Smart Academics Blog #73: What’s needed to finish your PhD?
• Smart Academics Blog #77: When should I start searching for my next job?
• Smart Academics Blog #100: PhD success stories that motivate!
• TRESS ACADEMIC Free Expert Guide: 5 reasons why PhD students delay and how to avoid.  
• Free PhD Webinar
• EuropeanScienceFoundation/Boman, J. 2017. Career Tracking Survey of Doctorate Holders. Project Report.  
• OECD/Auriol, L., Misu, M., Freeman, R.A. 2013. Careers of Doctorate Holders. Market and Mobility Indicators.

More information: 

Do you want to complete your PhD successfully? If so, please sign up to receive our free guides.  

© 2020 Tress Academic

#PhD, #Doctorate, #PhDGraduation, #Career, #PhDStudy, #PhDCompletion

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While some students know what they want to do after graduation, many do not.  This page can help economics-interested students think about some possibilities.  Here, we narrow 'after graduation' options to (1) work and (2) school.  (But, if you want to travel the world, take time off, or anything else, we'd love to chat with you about that too!)

As you browse this page, remember that (1) your concentration does not determine your career and (2) where you land after graduation does not determine your career.  And, as always, if you want to chat, come see an ec concentration advisor.

The world is your oyster after graduation!  But, there are some jobs that economics concentrators might find particularly interesting (many are places where ec alums have worked).  On careers in Economics, here is a recent panel discussion hosted by the Harvard University Inclusion in Economics , recorded on April 29th, 2022.  Additionally, here are just a few possibilities, in five broad categories: 

Private Sector/For-Profit

• Finance .  Many Harvard undergraduates join the financial sector after graduation, both at large organizations like Goldman Sachs, small firms targeting a niche market, and everything in between.  There is on-campus recruiting and a lot of information from the Office of Career Services' finance page . 
• Consulting .  Many Harvard undergraduates pursue consulting positions after graduation, at a huge variety of consulting firms.  There are large strategy consulting firms like Bain and Company and large economics consulting firms like Analysis Group and NERA, as well as other firms focused in specific areas such as the environment, health care, public policy, and development (eg, Oxford Policy Management ).  There is on-campus recruiting and a lot of information from the Office of Career Services' consulting page .
• Market Research .  Many companies have an interest in market research to better understand their current and potential clients, changing tastes and preferences, etc.  Your insight into decision-making combined with econometrics skills make you well-prepared for jobs like this.
• Risk analysis .  Many companies are interested in analyzing risk; your econometrics skills will really come in handy!  For example, Moody's Analytics , credit card companies, car insurance companies...
• Health industry .  Pharmaceutical companies (for humans as well as animals), health care insurance providers, health care exchanges, and many other places will all have jobs where the economics tool kit you've built over four years will be very valuable.
• Analytics and Strategy .  Many companies specialize in analyzing big data for companies, sports, elections, and so much more.  Check out groups like Civis Analytics , Clarity Campaign Labs , BlueLabs , Opta , and Avero . Professional sports teams also hire data analysts.  Moneyball is real!
• Social Enterprise .  Companies focused on social enterprises can be either for-profit or non-profit.  Some examples of interesting SE companies are Polymath Ventures ,  Reboot , and Central Square Foundation .
• A truly huge array of interesting jobs.  Past concentrators have gone to Tootsie Roll, Pinterest, Las Vegas casinos, Microsoft, the fashion industry, and more.  The possibilities are endless.  

Government and government-related jobs

• General website for US government jobs . USDA, DOT, HUD, EPA, BLS, Census… so many possibilities!
• Congressional Budget Office
• Federal Trade Commission  
• The Federal Reserve .  The  individual Fed Reserve Banks have their own websites and conduct their own job searches.
• LIS , the Luxembourg Data Center  

International Organizations

• International Monetary Fund  
• United Nations
• World Economic Forum
• DevJ , a site focused on jobs in international development  

Research and Think Tanks

• National Bureau of Economic Research
• Brookings Institution
• Abt Associates
• J-PAL , the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at MIT
• IFPRI , the International Food Policy Research Institute.  One of 15 centers that forms the  CGIAR Consortium.
• Mathematica Policy Research , nonpartisan research organization
• Council on Foreign Relations
• RAND Corporation
• Urban Institute
• WRI , the World Resources Institute
• A list of econ-focused think tanks , from RePEc
• Compilation of job opportunities for those interested in  research-based careers  

Non-Profit sector

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• Princeton in Africa Program, one-year fellowship to work in the field of development on the African continent
• Teach for America
• Mercy Corps
• Environmental Defense Fund
• 3ie , International Initiative for Impact Evaluation
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At some point in post-graduation life, many concentrators pursue an advanced degree.  Here we discuss (1) graduate study in a variety of areas common among our concentrators and (2) economics Ph.D. programs. 

Graduate Study: a variety of options

Economics concentrators pursue graduate programs in a variety of fields: Business School, Law School, Medical School, non-economics Ph.D. programs, and more.  In terms of Masters programs, the possibilities are huge: public policy programs, international relations, elementary and secondary education, statistics, mathematical finance, just to name a few.  Some concentrators also consider Masters programs in Europe; in particular, several universities in the United Kingdom have strong one-year Masters programs (as well as two-year programs). 

Masters programs in Economics and economics-related fields are plentiful.  While most top-tier US research universities do not offer Masters programs in their economics departments per se, you can find 'related' Masters programs.  At Harvard, for example, the Economics Department does not offer a Masters degree, but the Kennedy School offers economics-related Masters level studies.  

There is a lot of information online about all of these programs, and more.  And, of course, you can always chat with your concentration advisor.

Economics Ph.D. Programs

Graduate study in economics (at the Ph.D. level) is very different from undergraduate coursework.  It is not only a continuance and deepening of the undergraduate curriculum; it is also about research. In this sense, the honors thesis provides a closer look at the enterprise of graduate study. Although some doctoral students choose careers in nonacademic sectors such as government service or finance, most are accepted and trained with the objective of producing academic professionals whose research will advance the discipline. Most admissions committees gauge the potential applicants in three ways: preparation, aptitude, and creativity. A scholar with all three could make important contributions to our understanding of economics. Aptitude is assessed largely through one's undergraduate record and professor recommendations. To a smaller extent, scores such as the GRE (Graduate Record Exam) are also considered. Creativity is demonstrated primarily through work on the honors thesis and other research, the quality of which is relayed through professor recommendations. Preparation is particularly important and is demonstrated through coursework in mathematics, statistics and econometrics, and economic theory. First, candidates with a well-developed mathematical foundation will not struggle with the high level of abstraction of graduate work. Students interested in graduate school should take coursework in multivariable calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, and real analysis. Each area deserves a semester of study, though a year of real analysis is especially impressive.  Second, the greater a student’s training in statistics and econometrics, the greater the scope and depth of empirical research they can understand and complete. Students should consider statistics and econometrics courses using stochastic calculus, such as the graduate sequence ECON 2110 and ECON 2120.  Graduate schools also value theoretical courses, which prepare students for the demands of graduate coursework. At the intermediate theory level, students are encouraged to take the ECON 1011AB sequence.  Beyond that, graduate schools are impressed with further coursework in microeconomics and macroeconomics, especially at the graduate level. They also look for coursework in particular areas of theory, such as game theory. Graduate school represents an important and exciting decision in the academic careers of Harvard undergraduates.  Starting to develop and demonstrate these three components will provide you with an impressive background for graduate study in economics.

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How to Apply for PhD After Bachelors?

How to Apply for PhD after Bachelor's: USA continues to maintain its stronghold as the most preferred study abroad destination as numerous students from across the world apply to various programs in its universities every year. Universities for Ph.D. in USA for Indian students or any other international students offer a wide scope for research in their subject of interest. USA attracts a large number of foreign students wishing to pursue a Ph.D. in USA, as the country invests a lot in research and development. This is why international students prefer to study in the USA , especially for a Ph.D. after their bachelor’s degree. The USA holds an edge over several countries in a way that its universities offer PhD programs to students wishing to pursue PhD in USA soon after their Bachelor's degree. What's more, many of these universities offer students a master's degree en route to a Ph.D. degree. But how to apply for PhD directly after bachelor's? Read the full article to know how to apply for PhD abroad after bachelor's in USA. TOP EXAMS: IELTS | TOEFL | GRE | G MAT Country Guide: UK | Ireland | Australi a | Canada

Can students apply for a Ph.D. after a bachelor’s in USA?

What is a combined ms and ph.d. degree.

• How to apply for Ph.D. after a bachelor's degree?

Top Reasons to Pursue PhD after Bachelors

List of countries offering phd after bachelor’s.

While it is not the norm, there are quite a few universities in USA that allow students to opt for a Ph.D. after bachelor’s. However, while knowing how to apply for PhD after bachelors, the candidates must know that some of these universities do not let students skip their master's degree altogether. In fact, in most cases, the master’s program is clubbed with the Ph.D.

While some universities in USA let students apply for a Ph.D. after a bachelor’s, it is, however, a combined master's and Ph.D. program. Therefore, a student gets a master's degree on his way to a Ph.D. degree. The master's program goes on for 2-3 years and thereafter the student can continue with his Ph.D. studies. Interestingly, some universities automatically confer a master's degree upon admission while some others may require the aspirant to take a few extra credits of coursework to lead to the master's degree. The below table also mentions the details like how many years for Ph.D. after bachelor's.

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Top universities in the US for PhD after bachelor’s degree

(Not all the programs offered by the US universities cover combined MS and PhD. Check the individual sites of the universities for more information)

In case students want to do a PhD in America after their bachelor’s degree, remember that there is no definite list of universities in USA that offer a Ph.D. after a bachelor’s degree. But the good news is many universities do not insist on a master's degree to apply for a Ph.D. program. However the admission for Ph.D. requirements in USA for international students requirements varies between universities and even departments, so they will need to check the requirements before they apply. When applying for a Ph.D. degree after a bachelor’s degree, ensure that they have a strong application because they will be competing for a place in a Ph.D. program with candidates who may have a master's degree.

Know about study in abroad countries:

How to apply for Ph.D. after a bachelor's degree?

The application process of how to apply for PhD is similar to applying for any other degree in the university. The application can be sent online through the university website but before checking about how to apply for PhD, the candidates need to check a few requirements for PhD.

Requirements to pursue PhD after Bachelors

The entry requirements for a combined MS and Ph.D. program are similar to that of a doctorate, as most applicants for the combined program would not have an advanced degree or journal publications. Admission to a combined degree can also be very competitive with most universities accepting just 3-4 candidates in a session.

1. Strong GPA - Candidates must have an excellent grade point average (GPA) to qualify for the programs. Students from other boards can find the equivalent of the GPA to assess their eligibility.

2. Standardized test scores - Candidates have to score very high points in the standardized scores. Here the student will be asked to submit test scores.

GRE: GRE is mandatory for almost all Ph.D. programs, including management studies, after a bachelor’s in the USA. In the case of doctoral programs, most students are required to present GRE subject scores of the course as well.

GMAT: GMAT is taken for admission to management studies. Business schools offering Ph.Ds in business management accept GMAT scores for admission into a wide range of Ph.D. programs in management.

TOEFL: TOEFL is an English proficiency test for students from non-native English-speaking countries. For international students, a high TOEFL score is a must for admission to Ph.D. courses.

IELTS: IELTS is also accepted for international students' admission to Ph.D. programs. Like TOEFL, it is also an English proficiency test for students from non-native English-speaking countries. The IELTS test measures a candidate’s English language command in four different parameters- Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking.

3. Letter of Recommendation (LOR) - One of the most important elements for admission to direct PhD programmes is a letter of recommendation . The letter of recommendation is an independent assessment of a candidate's potential. Most universities require at least two to three recommendation letters. It is advisable for students to have letters of recommendation written by either their professors or employees

4. Statement of Purpose (SOP) - The statement of purpose is another important element of the application package for admission to direct Ph.D. programs in the USA. It reflects the student's commitment to the Ph.D. program and goals in his life.

5. Resume - At the Ph.D. level, many universities would require the student to submit a resume along with the application. The resume should contain the candidate's basic information like date of birth, academic qualifications, achievements and details of any previous work in his area of interest.

6. Research projects - It is always helpful if the aspirant has the Ph.D. as an elective subject in the final year of their bachelor’s. Also, one can get additional points if the application is accompanied by any research or journal publications or any projects in the related field.

7. Interview - Most of the universities for PhD in the USA offering direct PhD hold a separate interview round for the aspirants. As in most cases, the Ph.D. interviews are conducted by invitation only. The questions are general as well as specific to the subject the candidate wants to pursue.

• Saves Time - Pursuing a PhD is a long time-consuming process and commitment for years. So combining a master's with PhD does not totally skip the master's duration but enables to study without a break period.
• Early chance for Teaching - While continuing this PhD, students can work as assistant professor lecturers at a young age. Candidates can enjoy the benefits of teaching and learning at the same time.
• Expertise in the Field - Rather than focusing time only on the theoretical learning of masters, the candidates get an early chance to research and get experts in their chosen field.

For students who are looking forward to pursuing PhD after bachelors, there are many abroad countries that accept admissions. The process of how to apply for PhD more or less remains the same.

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Even though these countries provide courses for PhD after bachelors, every university has its own course specifications and eligibility. The candidates have to look up each university's PhD requirements individually before applying.

Frequently Asked Question (FAQs)

The cost of a PhD program varies between universities. The average cost can be between 12,000 to 150,000 USD per year depending on the program or the university. In addition living expenses can be anywhere between 20,000 to 40,000 USD per year.

International students have access to numerous scholarship options when pursuing a PhD program in the USA. They can also apply for assistantships, financial aid and work while studying to reduce their tuition cost for a PhD program.

The average length of a PhD program is between 4 to 6 years. This includes coursework, research projects and dissertation.

Many PhD courses in top universities will be provided with fully-funded scholarships in USA. Few of the PhD programs in USA which are fully funded are: PhD in Business at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, PhD in Anthropology at the University of Chicago, PhD in Chemical Engineering at Cornell University, etc. 

To apply for a PhD, the candidates must have completed a bachelor's or master's degree, along with good GRE scores and English proficiency test scores.

Based on the course program the PhD duration after bachelors will be varying from 5 years to 7 years.

Yes, there are many universities abroad that accept PhD admissions on the bachelor's education qualification. This criterion can change depending on the university and course so it is suggested the candidate to check the admission requirements of each course they wish to apply for. However, most of these courses integrate the PhD along with a master's. Here the candidate will complete both the master's and PhD in one go.

The integrated PhD courses that can be applied after completion of a bachelor's, have a course duration of 4 to 7 years. However, these courses also include the master's for 1  to 2 years in the initial phase of their degree.

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A career as Transportation Planner requires technical application of science and technology in engineering, particularly the concepts, equipment and technologies involved in the production of products and services. In fields like land use, infrastructure review, ecological standards and street design, he or she considers issues of health, environment and performance. A Transportation Planner assigns resources for implementing and designing programmes. He or she is responsible for assessing needs, preparing plans and forecasts and compliance with regulations.

Environmental Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as an environmental engineer are construction professionals who utilise the skills and knowledge of biology, soil science, chemistry and the concept of engineering to design and develop projects that serve as solutions to various environmental problems. 

Safety Manager

A Safety Manager is a professional responsible for employee’s safety at work. He or she plans, implements and oversees the company’s employee safety. A Safety Manager ensures compliance and adherence to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) guidelines.

Conservation Architect

A Conservation Architect is a professional responsible for conserving and restoring buildings or monuments having a historic value. He or she applies techniques to document and stabilise the object’s state without any further damage. A Conservation Architect restores the monuments and heritage buildings to bring them back to their original state.

Structural Engineer

A Structural Engineer designs buildings, bridges, and other related structures. He or she analyzes the structures and makes sure the structures are strong enough to be used by the people. A career as a Structural Engineer requires working in the construction process. It comes under the civil engineering discipline. A Structure Engineer creates structural models with the help of computer-aided design software. 

Highway Engineer

Highway Engineer Job Description:  A Highway Engineer is a civil engineer who specialises in planning and building thousands of miles of roads that support connectivity and allow transportation across the country. He or she ensures that traffic management schemes are effectively planned concerning economic sustainability and successful implementation.

Field Surveyor

Are you searching for a Field Surveyor Job Description? A Field Surveyor is a professional responsible for conducting field surveys for various places or geographical conditions. He or she collects the required data and information as per the instructions given by senior officials. 

Orthotist and Prosthetist

Orthotists and Prosthetists are professionals who provide aid to patients with disabilities. They fix them to artificial limbs (prosthetics) and help them to regain stability. There are times when people lose their limbs in an accident. In some other occasions, they are born without a limb or orthopaedic impairment. Orthotists and prosthetists play a crucial role in their lives with fixing them to assistive devices and provide mobility.

Pathologist

A career in pathology in India is filled with several responsibilities as it is a medical branch and affects human lives. The demand for pathologists has been increasing over the past few years as people are getting more aware of different diseases. Not only that, but an increase in population and lifestyle changes have also contributed to the increase in a pathologist’s demand. The pathology careers provide an extremely huge number of opportunities and if you want to be a part of the medical field you can consider being a pathologist. If you want to know more about a career in pathology in India then continue reading this article.

Veterinary Doctor

Speech therapist, gynaecologist.

Gynaecology can be defined as the study of the female body. The job outlook for gynaecology is excellent since there is evergreen demand for one because of their responsibility of dealing with not only women’s health but also fertility and pregnancy issues. Although most women prefer to have a women obstetrician gynaecologist as their doctor, men also explore a career as a gynaecologist and there are ample amounts of male doctors in the field who are gynaecologists and aid women during delivery and childbirth. 

Audiologist

The audiologist career involves audiology professionals who are responsible to treat hearing loss and proactively preventing the relevant damage. Individuals who opt for a career as an audiologist use various testing strategies with the aim to determine if someone has a normal sensitivity to sounds or not. After the identification of hearing loss, a hearing doctor is required to determine which sections of the hearing are affected, to what extent they are affected, and where the wound causing the hearing loss is found. As soon as the hearing loss is identified, the patients are provided with recommendations for interventions and rehabilitation such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and appropriate medical referrals. While audiology is a branch of science that studies and researches hearing, balance, and related disorders.

An oncologist is a specialised doctor responsible for providing medical care to patients diagnosed with cancer. He or she uses several therapies to control the cancer and its effect on the human body such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and biopsy. An oncologist designs a treatment plan based on a pathology report after diagnosing the type of cancer and where it is spreading inside the body.

Are you searching for an ‘Anatomist job description’? An Anatomist is a research professional who applies the laws of biological science to determine the ability of bodies of various living organisms including animals and humans to regenerate the damaged or destroyed organs. If you want to know what does an anatomist do, then read the entire article, where we will answer all your questions.

For an individual who opts for a career as an actor, the primary responsibility is to completely speak to the character he or she is playing and to persuade the crowd that the character is genuine by connecting with them and bringing them into the story. This applies to significant roles and littler parts, as all roles join to make an effective creation. Here in this article, we will discuss how to become an actor in India, actor exams, actor salary in India, and actor jobs. 

Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats create and direct original routines for themselves, in addition to developing interpretations of existing routines. The work of circus acrobats can be seen in a variety of performance settings, including circus, reality shows, sports events like the Olympics, movies and commercials. Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats must be prepared to face rejections and intermittent periods of work. The creativity of acrobats may extend to other aspects of the performance. For example, acrobats in the circus may work with gym trainers, celebrities or collaborate with other professionals to enhance such performance elements as costume and or maybe at the teaching end of the career.

Video Game Designer

Career as a video game designer is filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. A video game designer is someone who is involved in the process of creating a game from day one. He or she is responsible for fulfilling duties like designing the character of the game, the several levels involved, plot, art and similar other elements. Individuals who opt for a career as a video game designer may also write the codes for the game using different programming languages.

Depending on the video game designer job description and experience they may also have to lead a team and do the early testing of the game in order to suggest changes and find loopholes.

Radio Jockey

Radio Jockey is an exciting, promising career and a great challenge for music lovers. If you are really interested in a career as radio jockey, then it is very important for an RJ to have an automatic, fun, and friendly personality. If you want to get a job done in this field, a strong command of the language and a good voice are always good things. Apart from this, in order to be a good radio jockey, you will also listen to good radio jockeys so that you can understand their style and later make your own by practicing.

A career as radio jockey has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. If you want to know more about a career as radio jockey, and how to become a radio jockey then continue reading the article.

Choreographer

The word “choreography" actually comes from Greek words that mean “dance writing." Individuals who opt for a career as a choreographer create and direct original dances, in addition to developing interpretations of existing dances. A Choreographer dances and utilises his or her creativity in other aspects of dance performance. For example, he or she may work with the music director to select music or collaborate with other famous choreographers to enhance such performance elements as lighting, costume and set design.

Social Media Manager

A career as social media manager involves implementing the company’s or brand’s marketing plan across all social media channels. Social media managers help in building or improving a brand’s or a company’s website traffic, build brand awareness, create and implement marketing and brand strategy. Social media managers are key to important social communication as well.

Photographer

Photography is considered both a science and an art, an artistic means of expression in which the camera replaces the pen. In a career as a photographer, an individual is hired to capture the moments of public and private events, such as press conferences or weddings, or may also work inside a studio, where people go to get their picture clicked. Photography is divided into many streams each generating numerous career opportunities in photography. With the boom in advertising, media, and the fashion industry, photography has emerged as a lucrative and thrilling career option for many Indian youths.

An individual who is pursuing a career as a producer is responsible for managing the business aspects of production. They are involved in each aspect of production from its inception to deception. Famous movie producers review the script, recommend changes and visualise the story. 

They are responsible for overseeing the finance involved in the project and distributing the film for broadcasting on various platforms. A career as a producer is quite fulfilling as well as exhaustive in terms of playing different roles in order for a production to be successful. Famous movie producers are responsible for hiring creative and technical personnel on contract basis.

Copy Writer

In a career as a copywriter, one has to consult with the client and understand the brief well. A career as a copywriter has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. Several new mediums of advertising are opening therefore making it a lucrative career choice. Students can pursue various copywriter courses such as Journalism , Advertising , Marketing Management . Here, we have discussed how to become a freelance copywriter, copywriter career path, how to become a copywriter in India, and copywriting career outlook. 

In a career as a vlogger, one generally works for himself or herself. However, once an individual has gained viewership there are several brands and companies that approach them for paid collaboration. It is one of those fields where an individual can earn well while following his or her passion. 

Ever since internet costs got reduced the viewership for these types of content has increased on a large scale. Therefore, a career as a vlogger has a lot to offer. If you want to know more about the Vlogger eligibility, roles and responsibilities then continue reading the article. 

For publishing books, newspapers, magazines and digital material, editorial and commercial strategies are set by publishers. Individuals in publishing career paths make choices about the markets their businesses will reach and the type of content that their audience will be served. Individuals in book publisher careers collaborate with editorial staff, designers, authors, and freelance contributors who develop and manage the creation of content.

Careers in journalism are filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. One cannot afford to miss out on the details. As it is the small details that provide insights into a story. Depending on those insights a journalist goes about writing a news article. A journalism career can be stressful at times but if you are someone who is passionate about it then it is the right choice for you. If you want to know more about the media field and journalist career then continue reading this article.

Individuals in the editor career path is an unsung hero of the news industry who polishes the language of the news stories provided by stringers, reporters, copywriters and content writers and also news agencies. Individuals who opt for a career as an editor make it more persuasive, concise and clear for readers. In this article, we will discuss the details of the editor's career path such as how to become an editor in India, editor salary in India and editor skills and qualities.

Individuals who opt for a career as a reporter may often be at work on national holidays and festivities. He or she pitches various story ideas and covers news stories in risky situations. Students can pursue a BMC (Bachelor of Mass Communication) , B.M.M. (Bachelor of Mass Media) , or  MAJMC (MA in Journalism and Mass Communication) to become a reporter. While we sit at home reporters travel to locations to collect information that carries a news value.  

Corporate Executive

Are you searching for a Corporate Executive job description? A Corporate Executive role comes with administrative duties. He or she provides support to the leadership of the organisation. A Corporate Executive fulfils the business purpose and ensures its financial stability. In this article, we are going to discuss how to become corporate executive.

Multimedia Specialist

A multimedia specialist is a media professional who creates, audio, videos, graphic image files, computer animations for multimedia applications. He or she is responsible for planning, producing, and maintaining websites and applications. 

Quality Controller

A quality controller plays a crucial role in an organisation. He or she is responsible for performing quality checks on manufactured products. He or she identifies the defects in a product and rejects the product. 

A quality controller records detailed information about products with defects and sends it to the supervisor or plant manager to take necessary actions to improve the production process.

Production Manager

A QA Lead is in charge of the QA Team. The role of QA Lead comes with the responsibility of assessing services and products in order to determine that he or she meets the quality standards. He or she develops, implements and manages test plans. 

Process Development Engineer

The Process Development Engineers design, implement, manufacture, mine, and other production systems using technical knowledge and expertise in the industry. They use computer modeling software to test technologies and machinery. An individual who is opting career as Process Development Engineer is responsible for developing cost-effective and efficient processes. They also monitor the production process and ensure it functions smoothly and efficiently.

AWS Solution Architect

An AWS Solution Architect is someone who specializes in developing and implementing cloud computing systems. He or she has a good understanding of the various aspects of cloud computing and can confidently deploy and manage their systems. He or she troubleshoots the issues and evaluates the risk from the third party. 

Azure Administrator

An Azure Administrator is a professional responsible for implementing, monitoring, and maintaining Azure Solutions. He or she manages cloud infrastructure service instances and various cloud servers as well as sets up public and private cloud systems. 

Computer Programmer

Careers in computer programming primarily refer to the systematic act of writing code and moreover include wider computer science areas. The word 'programmer' or 'coder' has entered into practice with the growing number of newly self-taught tech enthusiasts. Computer programming careers involve the use of designs created by software developers and engineers and transforming them into commands that can be implemented by computers. These commands result in regular usage of social media sites, word-processing applications and browsers.

Information Security Manager

Individuals in the information security manager career path involves in overseeing and controlling all aspects of computer security. The IT security manager job description includes planning and carrying out security measures to protect the business data and information from corruption, theft, unauthorised access, and deliberate attack 

ITSM Manager

Automation test engineer.

An Automation Test Engineer job involves executing automated test scripts. He or she identifies the project’s problems and troubleshoots them. The role involves documenting the defect using management tools. He or she works with the application team in order to resolve any issues arising during the testing process. 

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What got you here won’t get you there! Getting you ready for work life after graduation [hosted by the Office for Graduate Education @ Harvard Medical School]

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“This workshop is open to graduate students, but is particularly targeted at those getting ready to graduate and enter the workforce.  We strongly encourage graduating PhD and master’s students for this pilot on a new grad school-to-workforce workshop.

You have done the hard steps: finishing your degree and landing that job.

But are you ready for what’s next?

Being successful after graduate school requires more than just hard work and ambition, and the rules and expectations are often unwritten. In other words, in your next chapter…what got you here may not get you there.

In this session, we will equip you with the career management concepts and tools fundamental to successfully launching and navigating the next steps in your career.

This workshop will help you gain familiarity and approaches to managing…

• Networking: why, how, and when to build out your ecosystem
• Building your support network: understanding and identifying people who are the three legs of your success as mentors, evaluators, and sponsors
• Performance management: proactively managing your narrative
• Job, career, calling: dynamically defining what the next steps mean to you
• Career planning: building out your personal “spec sheet” plan to meet your long-term goals
• Business acumen: why you need to pay attention to business context, politics, and strategy

Light food, snacks and beverages will be provided.

Speaker Bio: Juliette Han is the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Cambrian Bio, building a portfolio of innovative drug development programs. Han was previously the Chief of Staff at Two Sigma Private Investments Group, the Private Investments division of the Two Sigma. Prior to Two Sigma, Han was a Chief Operating Officer of People – Human Resources Operations at Citadel, where she led strategic thinking behind performance and teams. Prior to Citadel, Han was Chief of Staff for McKinsey New Ventures at McKinsey & Company and a strategy consultant in the New York office’s healthcare practice. Han holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University, as well as an M.S. in Physiological Sciences and B.S. in Neuroscience and Physiological Science, both from UCLA. She serves on the alumni advisory council of Harvard Medical School, Division of Medical Sciences, and is a CNBC contributor and Forbes Leadership Strategy contributor.”

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What Should I Do After College? A Guide to Post-Grad Life

Last Updated: April 5, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jessica Villegas and by wikiHow staff writer, Aly Rusciano . Jessica Villegas is a Certified Academic Life Coach and the Founder of Hi-Lite Coaching + Consulting in Winter Garden, Florida. Jessica has over 20 years of leadership experience, and she and her team serve teens and young adults through private coaching, group coaching, workshops, and speaking engagements. She uses workbook exercises, coaching planners, and regular check-ins to support young adults in achieving their academic and personal goals. Jessica received her Bachelor’s in Organizational Communications and Leadership Studies from the University of Central Florida and her Professional Coaching certification through Coach Training EDU, an ICF Accredited Institution, as an Academic Life Coach. There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 33,125 times.

So, you’ve graduated college—congratulations! That’s a huge achievement, but what now? After graduation, you may feel lost and confused, and that’s completely normal. There’s so much pressure to know exactly what you want to do after you graduate, but there’s nothing wrong with not knowing! We’re here to help you explore your options, from jobs to activities, and kick off this new chapter in your life.

Things You Should Know

• Update your resume and look for internships and/or jobs to get a leg up in your career.
• Use the time after college to relax with leisurely activities like crafting or reading.
• Find yourself through traveling, socializing, and new opportunities once you graduate.

Take time off to relax.

• Studies show that taking time off to mentally recharge improves mental stability and cognitive function, so a little relaxation can help you be the best version of yourself. [2] X Research source

Spend some time at home to regroup.

• Reach out to old friends while you're home. It’s always nice to reconnect, and they may even be going through the same things you are.
• If home isn’t a safe place for you, consider staying with a friend or in a neighborhood you’re familiar with.

Stick to a routine for a sense of normalcy.

• Believe it or not, sticking to a routine benefits your mental and physical health. Accomplishing things on your to-do list can feel rewarding, and getting up to move your body helps you feel good inside and out. [5] X Trustworthy Source Mind U.K.-based mental health charity focused on providing advice and resources to anyone facing mental health problems. Go to source
• Make time in your schedule to hang out with friends, as socializing can help improve your mood and ease loneliness. [6] X Research source

Start a new hobby to explore new interests.

• Pick a hobby that interests you or revisit something you didn’t have time to do while in school.
• Try an outdoor hobby or activity like hiking, camping, or gardening, as interacting with nature can help reduce stress and increase focus. [7] X Trustworthy Source American Psychological Association Leading scientific and professional organization of licensed psychologists Go to source

Travel or study abroad.

• Ask your professors or advisors if there are any study abroad opportunities happening the semester after you graduate—there may even be scholarships you can apply for.
• Take friends or family with you to turn your trip into a post-grad celebration.
• Consider saving up for your trip a few months after graduation so you can worry less about finances.

Volunteer in your community.

• Keep a good rapport with who you volunteer for because you never know when you’ll need a job reference.
• Search for volunteer opportunities in the field you want to work in. For example, volunteering with a local elementary school might help you get your foot in the door when becoming a teacher.
• Sites like VolunteerMatch can help you find volunteer opportunities near you.

Send in a graduate school application.

• Graduate school isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay! Do a bit of research or talk to an advisor to see if earning a master’s degree would benefit you and/or your career path. For a degree like an MBA, it's better to wait until you have some relevant experience under your belt before you start applying.
• Check your college’s website to see if they have any graduate degree programs.
• Search online for your degree or career path with the words “graduate programs” to find programs all over the world. For example, if you want a master’s degree in publishing, you’d search “publishing graduate programs.”

Apply for an internship to kickstart your career.

• Not sure if an internship will benefit your career? Ask your college advisor, mentor, or career coach to see if they know of anyone in your desired field you can reach out to.
• Internships used to be unpaid, but many offer payment and benefits on top of the possibility of future employment. [12] X Research source
• Apprenticeships work similarly to internships but generally last years rather than months.

Take on a part-time summer job for experience.

• Dog or cat sitter
• House sitter
• Babysitter or nanny

Freelance your expertise for extra cash.

• Project management
• Graphic design and art
• Photography
• Human resources
• Web development
• Bookkeeping
• Advertise your skills on sites like Fiverr , Upwork , Toptal , and Flexjobs .

Start a small business to be your own boss.

• Consider looking into small business grants, scholarships, or partnerships to help fund your project. Grants.gov and SBA.gov are excellent resources for finding grants.

Make finding a job your full-time job.

• Sites like LinkedIn , Indeed , or Glassdoor help you find jobs, upload a resume, and keep track of your applications.
• Consider job shadowing in a desired position for on-the-job training and pre-employment experience. [16] X Research source
• Try not to get discouraged by rejections—they’re a part of the process. You put yourself out there, and that’s what matters! Each “no” brings you that much closer to a “yes.”
• Remember to be gentle with yourself. It’s important to hustle, but it’s also as equally important to rest.

How Can You Decide When It's The Right Time To Go To Graduate School?

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• ↑ https://www.ccu.edu/blogs/cags/2017/05/adult-education-10-things-to-do-after-you-graduate-from-college/
• ↑ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mental-downtime/
• ↑ https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/health/post-graduate-depression
• ↑ https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/your-stories/the-importance-of-routine/
• ↑ https://www.mercycare.org/bhs/employee-assistance-program/eapforemployers/resources/health-benefits-of-social-interaction/
• ↑ https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/04/nurtured-nature
• ↑ https://www.businessinsider.com/things-to-do-after-college-instead-of-getting-a-full-time-job-2015-5
• ↑ https://www.bryantstratton.edu/blog/2022/february/10-things-to-do-after-college
• ↑ https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/15/are-you-doing-your-job-search-right-how-to-land-your-first-job-after-graduation.html
• ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/freelancing
• ↑ https://resources.depaul.edu/career-center/services-resources/Documents/DePaulCC-18-JobShadowing.pdf

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Home » Career Guidance » 15+ Best Professional Courses After Graduation (Stream-wise)

15+ Best Professional Courses After Graduation (Stream-wise)

Table of Contents

Graduation is an important step in your career as well as life journey. However, it is not enough in today’s competitive world. To improve your chances of getting hired, you can pursue professional courses after graduation like MBA, PGDM, M.Tech, etc.

But the question arises what after graduation courses should students apply for better success in their careers?

To answer this question here is the information about the best post-graduation and professional courses that students can go with. And as upskilling is essential to grab a position in the upsurged competitive environment. Pursuing courses after graduation not only enhances your skill set but also opens you to multiple career paths.

Top Professional Courses After Graduation

Top 15 Professional Courses after Graduation

Having the required skills and knowledge can help you find better career opportunities. And by doing the best courses after graduation, your chances to better career increase. So, here is the detail about some of such great courses.

1. MBA (Master of Business Administration)

Since an MBA can be pursued by a student from any stream, many students from diverse domains apply for an MBA as a post graduation course. Did you know that 80% of MBA graduates land a job within three months.? A degree in MBA provides you with a wide range of experience in different analytical fields that uplifts your confidence and boosts your communication skills.

Top MBA Specializations to consider are Marketing, HR, International Business, Business Analytics, Finance, and Operations. It is one of the most recognized courses among the other professional courses after graduation.

Salary Source: Ambition Box

Also Read: Salary after MBA: Highest-Paying MBA Specializations 15 Short-term Courses after MBA to Boost Your Career Online MBA vs Full-time MBA: Which is Better?

2. MTech (Master of Technology)

The Master of Technology degree is one of the courses after graduation that is more inclined toward technology and engineering. This is a two-year long course that requires you to accomplish your BTech degree first. One can also apply for MTech in India after completing their MSc degree from any reputed university. MTech Degree helps you improvise your engineering skills and abilities to generate new and innovative ideas.

3. PGDM

PGDM refers to Post Graduate Diploma in Management. Many students from diverse domains tend to go for PGDM. The course structure of the PGDM program is like an MBA and is offered by various reputed universities. The curriculum of a PGDM program prioritizes the core of the management field that invokes flexible and creative thinking in the candidate. There is a huge demand for PGDM among the other professional courses after graduation.

Read about PGDM vs MBA- Which is better?

4. MA/MSc Economics

All of us hear a lot about the economy on a daily basis. A master’s degree in economics like Master of Arts Honours in Economics or Master of Science Honours in Economics is a 2-year postgraduate degree providing training in economic theory, econometrics, and applied economics.

Many Institutes like Delhi University and Ambedkar University offer a Master’s degree in economics. Most economists usually become a lecturer and devote their time to the research of innovative ideas. Although it is one of the most complex courses after graduation, a person can make a huge amount of money out of it.

Suggested Read: Scope of Economics & Top 10 Careers in Economics

5. MA/MSc Statistics/Mathematics

If you like to play with complex ideas like topology, calculus, and number line then mathematics/statistics can be appropriate courses after graduation. This is 2-year semester-based course that provides you with a postgraduate degree in Statistics or Mathematics major. With a sudden boom in technology, companies need employees to manage huge data that they encounter every day.

Many mathematics and statistics graduates prefer becoming lecturers and moving toward the research field that also pays you well. It is always a priority for Maths/statistics graduates in the list of professional courses after graduation.

Salary Source: Ambition Box, Payscale

Read about: All about BSc Statistics Career Options & Courses after BSc Mathematics

6. MCA/MSc Computer Science

In the present scenario, all of us are surrounded by gifts of technology. With so much demand in the latest software technology, firms need huge masses of computer science graduates. In India, the MSc degree is considered to be equivalent to BTech in Computer Science . One can also pursue MCA (Masters in Computer Application) in order to become a professional software engineer.

Both the courses are 2-year postgraduate courses offered in the science stream. An MSc degree is more inclined toward theoretical terms and research while an MCA degree is more about the application of the concepts. An MCA/MSc Graduate can also start a great career as it is high salary job oriented course. It can be a rewarding choice among the other best courses after graduation.

Read about: Best Career Options after MCA in India Top 20 Careers for Computer Science Engineering Freshers

7. Digital Marketing

With a sudden boom in technology, it becomes necessary to promote most of the products on the digital platform so that they reach huge masses of people. The field of Digital Marketing requires experience, practice, knowledge, and consistency. There are many institutes that offer year-long digital marketing certifications courses to make a candidate aware of recent techniques and processes. A Digital Marketing expert also has an option to work as a freelancer. This field is one of the highest-earning jobs among the other best courses after graduation.

Also read about 2023 Guide to Become a Freelance Digital Marketing Professional.

8. PGD Hotel Management

Post Graduate Diploma in Hotel Management is a full-time course of 1 to 2 years at the postgraduate level. This post graduation course exposes you to various techniques of hospitality management. You get to learn innovative skills in the hotel or hospitality industry, food and beverage preparation, operations, and resource & personnel management. Students may also gain an experience in the international business setup. This field is an exciting option among the list of professional courses after graduation.

Salary Source: Ambition Box. Payscale

9. PGP – BAT (Business Accounting and Taxation)

With an increase in the number of huge firms, Business accountants are in huge demand. Post graduation course in Business Accounting and Taxation is an integrated course with a duration of around 6 months. This course focuses on training the students on various industry-specific skills and making them job-ready. It is best among the other professional courses after graduation and is an apt choice for students belonging to the commerce background.

Tally ERP 9 is accounting software that is available for small firms and industries. It offers a comprehensive business approach. This is an apt choice for students belonging to a commerce background who are interested in dealing with accounts every day. You acquire skills to regulate the various accounting operations of a business enterprise. It is one of the most preferred professional courses after graduation for students interested in accounting and maths.

Salary Source: Ambition Box, Glasscoor

11. M.com (Master of Commerce)

MCom graduates are in huge demand due to evolution in the corporate sector. The Master of Commerce is a 2-year post graduation course. It is a specialized area of knowledge for commerce students. M.com exposes you to the various sectors of accounting, taxation, and management.

Many prestigious universities like Ambedkar University and Delhi University offer master’s degrees in commerce. If you are a commerce graduate and looking for the best courses after graduation, this might turn out to be your dream job.

12. Machine Learning

If you can handle complex ideas of computer science, the machine learning field may excite you. This is one of the courses after graduation that receives a high response from students. Machine learning consists of different algorithms of pattern recognition that a computer can learn without being programmed. Every recommendation you get on your favourite apps is the result of Machine Learning. Most of the students working in this domain belong to a computer science background.

13. Mobile App Development

Most of the essential services you utilize nowadays are available on your mobile. Due to the immense utilization of Mobile Applications, developers are in huge demand. Candidates from any domain can start learning app development. It is supposed to be comfortable for the students who are good coders.

Mobile App Development can be pursued as a 2-year post graduation course. Many institutes offer Mobile App Development diploma courses with assured placement offers. Moreover, many prestigious colleges also offer App development as a subject to make it one of the professional courses after graduation for students.

14. Finance and Accounts

Finance and accounts are a comprehensive field that will help you understand market risk and where a company or a client should invest. Students from commerce backgrounds can make it their full-time career. However, a student from a non-commerce background can also opt for this course. This field is always prioritized by finance students in the list of professional courses after graduation.

15. Mass communication

Mass communication is one of the essential domains nowadays. A person with a considerable amount of communication skills and management skills can go for this course. A candidate from any academic discipline can undertake this course and make their career in the field of Mass Communication. Many prestigious universities in India offer full-time mass communication courses with the necessary experience. It is the best among the other professional courses after graduation.

Suggested Read:  Top 10 Entrance Exams after Graduation in India Top 5 Govt Jobs after Graduation in India

Courses after Graduation: Stream-wise

The zestful environment in the educational field brings up a plethora of career options for students. All the educational streams comprise great opportunities which can land you on your desired goals. Students can find a legitimate career path based on their field of interest. A huge variety of specialization areas are open to students.

The mentioned list of various courses after graduation can assist you to make your choice. You can head towards any of these courses depending on your interests and potential. Opportunities lie everywhere, you have to discover and conquer them through your competency and efforts.

Evaluate numerous career choices to choose the right career path for yourself. Dive in to our guide on  Career Advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGPM) is a one-year course after graduation. When it comes to pursuing courses after graduation for short duration, PGPM is the ideal choice. It is a well-designed management-oriented course that primarily focuses on providing advanced knowledge to students in the field of management studies. You get an interactive learning process assisted with practical knowledge in this course. There is a wide scope in PGPM.

There is no limit to learning and you can keep expanding your knowledge. After your graduation, you can always head towards a post-graduate degree. There are a number of professional courses after graduation which you can undertake. Some of the best courses to pursue are: 1. MBA 2. M.com 3. Digital Marketing 4. Machine Learning

You can choose to proceed in any field you want after your graduation. You can make the choice depending upon your interests and specialization. All courses have a wide scope in the career field. However, it is found that a Master of Business Administration (MBA) is one of the most preferred courses after graduation. A large number of students move towards pursuing an MBA after their graduation. MBA opens up enormous opportunities in the management field.

You can definitely change your career after graduation if you want. All you need to keep in mind while transitioning is that you fulfil the requirements. You can move toward a different field based on your ultimate goals. A lot of professional courses after graduation are available for students. For instance, many students take up an MBA after pursuing BTech. It is a common choice students make, as the combination offers a bright scope.

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Trump hush money trial

Israel-Hamas war

Day 1 of Trump New York hush money trial

By Kara Scannell , Jeremy Herb , Maureen Chowdhury , Kaanita Iyer , Aditi Sangal and Elise Hammond , CNN

Fact Check: Trump falsely claims judge won't let him attend son’s high school graduation next month

From CNN’s Marshall Cohen

After leaving court on Monday, former President Donald Trump repeatedly suggested that Judge Juan Merchan would prevent him from attending his son’s high school graduation in May. 

“It looks like the judge will not let me go to the graduation of my son,” Trump said, before lamenting “that I can’t go to my son’s graduation.” 

Trump’s son Eric Trump ratcheted up the rhetoric by tweeting, “Judge Merchan is truly heartless in not letting a father attend his son’s graduation.”

Facts First:  The judge hasn’t ruled yet on Trump’s request to be excused from court so he can attend Barron Trump’s high school graduation.

Criminal defendants like Donald Trump are typically required to attend their case proceedings in person. Trump’s lawyers asked Merchan on Monday about whether their client could be excused for some events, including the graduation and the upcoming arguments in front of the US Supreme Court in one of Trump’s other criminal cases.

While Merchan didn’t let Trump attend next week's Supreme Court hearing – because Trump has to be in New York for the trial — he said it was too early to rule on the graduation.

Trump appeared to fall asleep during some moments of trial, New York Times' Maggie Haberman says

Former President Donald Trump appeared to fall asleep during the first day of the hush money trial , according to a New York Times reporter who was at the courthouse.

In one moment, his jaw kept falling onto his chest and he didn’t appear to pay attention to a note his lawyer passed him, New York Times senior political correspondent Maggie Haberman said.

“He appeared to be asleep. Repeatedly his head would fall down,” she told CNN.

The moment happened before jury selection began on Monday afternoon. According to the pool reporters inside the courtroom, Trump was leaning back in his chair with his arms folded and his eyes appeared to be closed for several minutes at a time.

Trump's team asked whether he could attend SCOTUS arguments next week. The judge said see you "here next week"

Judge Juan Merchan told Donald Trump's team he will see them next week when asked about the possibility of changing the schedule so the former president could attend Supreme Court arguments April 25.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche noted the former president "very much" wants to attend the arguments over whether  the former president may claim immunity  in special counsel Jack Smith’s election subversion case.

Prosecutor Josh Steinglass said there's no obligation that the defendant has to be present at the Supreme Court arguments, opposing the request.

"Your client is a criminal defendant," Merchan told Blanche. "He's required to be here" and not at the Supreme Court.

Merchan said he will see him "here next week."

Trump rails against hush money case after first day of trial

Former President Donald Trump railed against the criminal case against him in New York after the first day of jury selection on Monday. He called it a “scam trial” and a “political witch-hunt” in remarks outside the courtroom.

Trump was charged last year with  34 felony counts  of falsifying business records for his alleged role in a hush-money scheme  before the 2016 election . Trump has pleaded not guilty.

On Monday, Trump complained that he would not be able to attend his son's graduation from high school because of the trial.

The judge said he will not yet rule on Trump's request to skip the trial on May 17 for him to attend his son’s high school graduation. “It really depends on if we are on time and where we are in the trial,” Judge Juan Merchan said.

The post was updated with more comments from the former president.

What happened during the first day of the historic hush money trial against Donald Trump

From CNN staff

Lawyers on both sides are working to select a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates in the hush money trial against former President Donald Trump.  

On Monday, 96 prospective jurors were brought into Judge Juan Merchan’s courtroom to be vetted. More than half were excused after saying they couldn't be fair and impartial , and at least nine others were excused after raising their hand when Merchan asked whether they could not serve for any other reason.  

Before the selection process began, Merchan made several rulings on evidence that can be included in the trial. 

How the process will work:   

• Potential jurors will complete a questionnaire created by the judge with input from the attorneys for Trump and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.  
• If the potential jurors make it into the jury box, they’ll read their answers out loud. The attorneys and the judge can then ask follow-up questions to further vet them for possible conflicts or biases.  
• Eighteen potential jurors were called into the jury box Monday. Merchan questioned nine people before court ended for the day. One person was dismissed after she said she had firmly held beliefs about Trump. Merchan excused another juror who said his child was getting married on June 8.  
• The judge can dismiss prospective jurors for cause. Prosecutors and Trump’s defense team will also get 10 peremptory strikes they can use to remove a juror from the pool, no questions asked.  
• The identities of the jurors will remain anonymous but will be known to the attorneys on both sides.  

Why the jury is such an important factor in this case: Choosing a jury will be no easy task when the defendant is a former president who has been at the center of US politics for nearly 10 years now and a figure in the New York tabloids going back decades. Trump’s lawyers have already argued that he can’t get a fair jury in New York County because the jury pool is biased against him. The petition to move the trial was denied. 

Here’s what else to know:  

• Trump in court: Trump stood and turned around when he was introduced as the defendant, giving the prospective jurors a tight-lipped smirk , according to pool reports. Many prospective panelists who filed into the courtroom stretched their necks and lifted their heads to get a look at Trump once in their seats. According to the pool reporters inside the courtroom, Trump was leaning back in his chair with his arms folded and his eyes appeared to be closed for several minutes at a time.
• A hearing next week: Merchan said he will hold a hearing on April 23 on the district attorney's motion to sanction Trump for his social media posts that prosecutors allege violate the gag order against him. 
• Swatting incident: A couple of dozen emails were generated indicating that bombs had been placed in the area around the Manhattan courthouse, a law enforcement source told CNN. The threats were unfounded and ruled to be a "swatting" incident, the source said. 

Judge tells jurors not to converse among themselves — or others — about the case

Judge Juan Merchan again read the jury instructions, and told potential jurors that he will will read it numerous times throughout the process.

He told the potential jurors not to converse among themselves or others anything related to the case.

First day of court ends with 9 potential jurors questioned

Judge Juan Merchan adjourned court for the day after nine potential jurors had gone through the questionnaire.

He said he wants to start at 9:30 a.m. ET sharp tomorrow morning and encouraged everyone to be on time.

Biden shakes his head when asked whether he’s watching coverage of Trump’s criminal trial

From CNN's Donald Judd

President Joe Biden shook his head when asked Monday whether he watched any coverage of former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial. 

The question came as Biden held a bilateral meeting at the White House with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

Earlier Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment on the historic event in New York, citing the ongoing nature of the trial and Trump’s position as the presumptive GOP nominee for president. 

In contrast, Jean-Pierre said, Biden would focus instead on his responsibilities as president.

Judge scolds defense team for returning late from break

From pool reports

Before jurors were brought back into the courtroom following a short afternoon break, Judge Juan Merchan gently admonished the defense team for returning late, according to pool reports.

Merchan said court will break for the day around 4:30 p.m. ET.

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Hiring: Office of Graduate Career Development Masters-Level Graduate Assistantship 2024-2025

Master's Students

The Office of Graduate Career Development is housed in the MSU Graduate School and affiliated with the Career Services Network . Career Services aims to support graduate and professional students before, during, and after their job search process, with a focus on facilitating their exposure to expanded careers in industry, non-profits, government, entrepreneurship, academic administration, and more. Alongside the MSU Career Services Network, the office focuses on fostering connections between current graduate and professional students and alumni and employers, offering programs and resources to support professional readiness, and broadening MSU students’ awareness of the value and versatility of their graduate or professional degree in the marketplace. See the Graduate Career Services website for more information: https://grad.msu.edu/phdcareers .

Appointment

The graduate assistantship (GA) will be a half-time position (20 hours/week) for the 2023-24 academic year. Start date August 15, 2024 and conclude May 15, 2025. Level and stipend based on previous experience and determined by MSU stipend range, found here .

Job summary

The Office of Graduate Career Development is hiring a masters-level GA for the 2024-25 academic year to support career development of graduate and professional students through offering one-on-one advising appointments, leading workshops, curating online resources, helping with evaluation and needs assessments, and other duties as assigned. The GA will develop a deep understanding of graduate career paths, share that knowledge with broad audiences, and support graduate students in pursuing their career goals. In addition, the GA will manage communication for relevant events and resources via social media, newsletters, and other communication strategies. Training in career advising and presenting workshops will be provided, though relevant previous experience is valued.

Position Responsibilities

• Develop a deep understanding of the variety of career pathways available to graduate students and communicating the value of a graduate degree
• Advise graduate and professional students on job search fundamentals, including writing application materials (e.g., resumes/CVs, cover letters, diversity/teaching/research statements), networking (e.g., attending job fairs, contacting employers online), and interviewing
• Assist in planning and delivering workshops and other career-related events
• Co-manage office social media accounts, newsletters, and other communication mediums as directed
• Provide general administrative support for the office
• Work closely with other programs, Graduate School staff, and Career Services staff to collaborate, build programs, and enhance capacity for work in these areas

Required qualifications

• Demonstrated interest in graduate/professional student career and professional development
• Currently a student in good standing and enrolled in a master’s degree program at MSU
• Ability to communicate and collaborate with people from diverse backgrounds within and outside academia (in person, over email, and over the phone)
• Understanding of issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity in higher education (including at MSU)
• Strong writing skills; an ability to draft email correspondence, newsletter and social media text as needed, and other communications for audiences of graduate and/or professional students and community partners
• Public speaking and presentation skills
• Available up to 20 hours a week for advising graduate and/or professional students in one-on-one consultations (both in-person and virtual). This position will primarily be in-person, though some virtual work is involved. Candidates must have access to technology that allows them to work remotely as needed.

Preferred qualifications

• Awareness of best practices in the job search process, including application writing (e.g., creation and updating of resume/CV and cover letter), interviewing, and networking
• Familiarity with MSU Graduate School programs, resources, and priorities
• Working knowledge of issues in graduate and professional education, especially around professional and career development
• Appreciation of (and an ability to effectively navigate) interdisciplinary university environments
• Basic web skills and familiarity with Zoom, LinkedIn and Handshake platforms (or, in the case of limited experience on those platforms, an interest in learning more about them)
• Experience and willingness to contribute to the social media presence of the Office of Graduate Career Development
• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and as part of a team, strong communication skills, and creative problem-solving skills

Application Information

• Submit a cover letter and a resume/CV via Handshake no later than May 15, 2024. The job posting (8872269). Students can log into Handshake and find the job posting here: https://app.joinhandshake.com/edu/jobs/8872269
• Contact Dr. Julie Rojewski , Director of Graduate Career Development with questions if needed.
• Application deadline: May 15, 2024.
• Interview to follow with selected candidates.

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USC valedictorian’s grad speech is canceled: ‘The university has betrayed me’

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When Asna Tabassum learned that USC had disinvited her from speaking at next month’s graduation, she hadn’t yet planned what she would say in her remarks, beyond that she would convey a message of hope.

University leaders who announced the decision Monday , after pro-Israel groups criticized a link on Tabassum’s Instagram page as evidence of her being antisemitic, didn’t know the theme of her speech because she hadn’t shared it with them, the class valedictorian said an interview with The Times on Tuesday.

Tabassum, a biomedical engineering major, said that in addition to hope, she was thinking of touching on “how we must continue to use our education as a privilege to inform ourselves and ultimately make a change in the world.”

In keeping Tabassum from giving a three- to five-minute speech in front of 65,000 people during the May 10 ceremony, USC Provost Andrew T. Guzman cited the need to “maintain campus safety and security.” The university alluded to unnamed threats but has not publicly detailed them.

The move was unprecedented for a ceremony where students regularly make political and cultural statements through written message on their graduation caps and sashes, as well as through the traditional valedictory speech.

Citing safety concerns, USC cancels pro-Palestinian valedictorian’s graduation speech

USC cites safety reasons in canceling the upcoming graduation speech of pro-Palestinian valedictorian from speaking onstage at her ceremony.

April 15, 2024

The backlash against Tabassum, who was chosen as valedictorian by a university committee from nearly 100 applicants with GPAs of 3.98 or above, was unusual, even at a time of intense campus strife between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel activists, because it didn’t involve anything she said or did. The opposition appeared to stem mostly from a link on her Instagram profile to a website she did not create.

The site, Free Palestine Carrd, features a photo of a woman raising a Palestinian flag above plumes of smoke during a 2018 protest near the Israel-Gaza border. A series of links explains how to “learn about what’s happening in Palestine.”

The links include statements that Zionism is a “racist settler-colonialist ideology” and that founders of Zionism thought “Palestinians needed to be ethnically cleansed from their homes.” The website explains proposals for two-state and one-state solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“One Palestinian state would mean Palestinian liberation, and the complete abolishment of the state of Israel,” it says, adding that “both Arabs and Jews can live together.”

Speaking to The Times on Tuesday, Tabassum defended herself, saying she is not antisemitic. She said she supports the pro-Palestinian cause that has grown at college campuses since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and took about 240 hostage before Israel’s retaliatory war in the Gaza Strip. Gaza health authorities say the war has killed nearly 34,000 Palestinians. According to the United Nations, 2 million Gazans are in near-famine conditions.

“The university has betrayed me and caved in to a campaign of hatred,” Tabassum said of online attacks demanding that the university rescind its invitation for her to speak at the graduation.

She said that the university did not share any details with her about its security concerns and that it did not offer her an alternative method of participating in the commencement, such as a video appearance.

In an interview Monday, Guzman said that he did not consult Tabassum before rescinding the invitation and that he saw the decision as solely a safety — not free speech — issue.

On Tuesday, Joel Curran, USC’s senior vice president of communications, said the “final decision” on the matter rested with university President Carol Folt.

Folt was not available for an interview.

“Whenever there is a question of safety and security of the campus, the president always makes the final decision,” Curran said. “This decision was made in the best interests of campus security. There has been no change from the provost’s letter on Monday.”

Tabassum, who said she has participated in pro-Palestinian activism at USC but “not taken a public role,” said the controversy has made her more strident in her views on the Israel-Hamas war and student activism.

“It’s no longer about free speech. It’s no longer about me. It is about when the university silences me, they are silencing all these people,” she said, referring to pro-Palestinian activists at USC and outside the campus.

“When you silence us, you make us louder. You make louder the aims of imparting hope and commitment to human rights and the responsibilities of graduates to use our education ... to make the world a better place,” said Tabassum, 21.

A hijab-wearing Muslim who grew up in San Bernardino County in an Indian American family, Tabassum said she feels singled out by critics for her race and faith.

“I’m not ignorant of who I am or what I believe in and the time we are in or the place we are in,” she said. “I am not ignorant of the context or environment, at the end of the day.”

Tabassum, who minored in resistance to genocide, suggested her opponents were mistaken about her views and her studies.

The program, an official minor at USC, requires students to enroll in five courses from a list that includes several on the Holocaust as well as on the Armenian genocide and other genocides, such as targeted killings of Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994.

Tabassum said she “studied the Holocaust extensively in multiple classes” but “did not take a class exclusively on the Holocaust.”

She tied the minor to her major in biomedical engineering.

“I see my work as using health technologies that could preserve access to health for all people who have been subjugated to evil. That includes, at its most extreme, genocide,” Tabassum said.

She said she is interested in going to graduate school but, for now, is focused on her final exams the first week of May.

Tabassum, who wrote a statement about the matter, declined to say whether she will attend the graduation ceremony.

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Jaweed Kaleem is a national correspondent at the Los Angeles Times. Based in L.A. with a focus on issues outside of California, he has traveled to dozens of states to cover news and deeply reported features on the complexity of the American experience. His articles frequently explore race, religion, politics, social debates and polarized society. Kaleem was previously based in London, where he was a lead news writer on Russia’s war on Ukraine and spearheaded European coverage for the Times, including the Global California initiative. Before joining The Times in 2016, he reported on religion for HuffPost and the Miami Herald, where he was a member of a Pulitzer Prize finalist team recognized for coverage of Haiti. His reporting has also received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Society for Features Journalism, the Asian American Journalists Assn., the South Asian Journalists Assn. and the National Headliner Awards.

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A&T Cheerleaders Earn Historic National Title after “Road 2 Redemption”

By Jackie Torok / 04/18/2024 Athletics , Students

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EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (April 18, 2024) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s Cheerleading Program has brought its first championship title home from the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) and National Dance Alliance (NDA) College National Championship.

With a final score of 97.6412, the N.C. A&T team took first-place honors in the Intermediate Small Coed Division I group. The group of 14 competitors included only two other teams from a historically Black college or university (HBCU).

In last year’s competition, the Aggie cheerleaders received second-place honors – missing first place from among 21 teams by less than one point.

But they would not be denied in this year’s event, held April 11-13 in Daytona, Florida.

Their “Road 2 Redemption,” as they called it, saw them make history by becoming the first HBCU team to win this division title and the first HBCU team in North Carolina to win an NCA National Championship.

The other HBCU champion in the competition was Xavier University of Louisiana, which won in the Advanced Large Coed National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics group.

A&T’s squad earned the third-highest final score among all 372 groups in the competition.

“We practiced for it. We planned for it. We manifested it,” said team member Janiya Croxie. “And to see it actually come true is just a great feeling.”

Watch their winning routine here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB6VGQ5cvs8

“When we heard that we didn’t get second, it was like a sense of relief and all I could do was thank God,” said team co-captain Santana Baker. “Finally, the win that we’ve been working hard since last time we stepped foot into Daytona.”

The 2023 Aggie squad members were the first team from the university to compete in the national competition. They also made their mark as the first squad in at least 20 years to represent an HBCU from North Carolina in last year’s event.

“Better Than Yesterday” has been the team’s motto throughout this season.

“We knew what it felt like to be so close to something we’ve dreamed of and never received, so we made it our duty to never feel that again,” said Iycess Hooper, team co-captain for a second consecutive year. “We pushed through adversity to make a statement to the world that, yes, it is possible and, yes, we can do it, too. Hunger, grit, poise, intentionality and the power of God is what led us to this win.”

“This win was unlike any win I’ve ever experienced in my life,” said Alivia Barrow, also in her second consecutive year as team co-captain. “I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything, and I thank God and my coach for the amazing men and women who were brought together to make dreams a reality.”

Daniel Kearns-Pickett, the Aggies’ head cheerleading coach who competed in the national event as a college student, said this year’s results represent a huge step for A&T’s program and for HBCUs.

“This was more than just winning and making history,” said Kearns-Pickett. “For me, it was all about my athletes understanding who they are and truly knowing they can accomplish anything in this world.”

The A&T cheerleading squad is a highly visible group, designed to build humble, strong and competitive student athletes who are active in the community and serve as positive representatives of the university. Its athletes participate in game-day activities and events such as the Greatest Homecoming on Earth, as well as competitions throughout the year.

The 2023-24 squad members are co-captains Baker, Barrow and Iycess Hooper, Taylor Allen, Alexander Baggett, Jade Barnes, Madisyn Burnette, Katie Cantey, Sydney Cooke, Croxie, Christion Drew, Nia Fletcher, Lyric Green, Rhyan Harp, Jaedyn Harris, Isaiah Herbin, Ania Hill, Jaida Hines, Ni’Yarah Horton-Washington, Nariyah Hough, Milani Kimble, Tanasia Lemon, Madison Manley, Carter Powell, Trinity Rascoe, Rozalynn Smith, Kennedi Stevens, Myles Taylor, Sydney Thomas and Kai Ward.

Tryouts for next season’s team will take place Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20.

Media Contact Information: [email protected]

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