information for supporting graduate student career choices

supporting diverse careers for PhDs means

• Maintaining the same level of commitment to all of your advisees, regardless of their expressed career interests.
• Asking your advisees about their career goals early, and encouraging them to set milestones to achieve their goals.
• Encouraging your advisees to talk to other mentors and career advisors on campus about their career interests and goals.

 

what graduate students can do

• Have conversations with career advisors and alumni in diverse career fields.
• Create one to three-year plans with tangible milestones for achieving career goals, even if these goals only include tenure-track jobs. [Imagine PhD has a “My Plan” tool that allows you to map degree completion and career/skill development goals together. For non-academic careers, these goals might include career exploration, conducting informational interviews, or learning new skills like coding or grant writing.]      visit imagine phd
• Talk to mentors who have the "I Support Diverse Careers" placard, and speak with your advisors (and your colleagues) about diverse careers for PhDs!
• Talk about what you value in your professional life. [Consider completing Imagine PhD’s "Values Assessment", so that you can understand what is most important to you both professionally and academically.]