Life after Graduate School

5 Reasons You’ll Miss (But Really Won’t Miss) Academia

Published: 23 December 2013
Written by PhdStudent
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Categories: Life after Graduate School, Readjusting to the Real World
Tags: life in academia

There are many reasons why people love life in academia. Some reasons why people love academia are highly subjective and based on individual circumstances and therefore cannot be enumerated. Other reasons why people love academia seem transparently universal to academics and nonacademics alike. However, some reasons why people love academia may have unintentionally been misrepresented to encourage recent graduates to continue on in their academic traditions. If you know without…

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Do NOT Sell Yourself Short! Retail Is NOT the Answer

Published: 18 November 2013
Written by PhdStudent
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Categories: Finding a Job, Life after Graduate School
Tags: after grad school

While in graduate school, most students avoid questions about what they will do after grad school. Instead of planning for their professional futures after grad school, many graduate students bury themselves in their studies and put off worrying about employment until they absolutely must. A lot of graduate students naively think that they will easily find and secure tenure-track positions in academia after graduation. When they finally realize that finding…

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So You Don’t Want to Be an Academic: What Are Your Options?

Published: 4 November 2013
Written by PhdStudent
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Categories: Finding a Job, Life after Graduate School
Tags: private industry, public industry, what is private industry

You have completed your graduate program, and now it’s time for you to look for a job. You know that you don’t want to be an academic forever, but what other options are out there? After being in academia for many years, you may feel overwhelmed by all the employment options in the professional world, and finding a nonacademic job may seem daunting. However, you can simplify your job search…

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Mentorship: Learning and Teaching

Published: 21 October 2013
Written by PhdStudent
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Categories: Life after Graduate School, Professional Development
Tags: after graduate school, mentorship

When you are just starting out in your professional career, you need someone who can teach you the tricks of your trade, so early in your career you should seek out at least one mentor to help you along the way. As you become more experienced in your profession, you can return the favor of the mentorships that you have received by paying them forward and becoming a mentor to…

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Cardinal Sins of Interviewing for an Academic Job

Published: 6 September 2013
Written by PhdStudent
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Categories: Finding a Job, Life after Graduate School
Tags: academic job

There is so much to remember to do when interviewing for an academic job, but is there anything you should remember to avoid? Below are a few examples of things that you should avoid doing before, during, or after interviews for an academic job. Scheduling interviews late in the season. This is a bad idea because interviewers may have already made their hiring decisions before they even get to…

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Saying Goodbye to Academia

Published: 3 June 2013
Written by PhdStudent
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Categories: Life after Graduate School, Readjusting to the Real World
Tags: graduating from graduate school

Congratulations! You have finally achieved graduating from graduate school and are ready to tackle the next phase of your life! You may have decided to leave academia, perhaps because you just can’t bear to read another book or write another paper for the rest of your life or because at the moment, you can’t find the ideal academic job to support yourself and to pay off any student loan debt…

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Writing a Cover Letter for a CV

Published: 30 May 2013
Written by Mary Polakovic
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Categories: Life after Graduate School, Professional Development
Tags: cover letter for a cv

A cover letters for a CV should be submitted with any job application that requires resumes and CV because cover letters complement and support resumes and CV. You can use cover letters to introduce yourself to potential employers, to explain how you heard about and why you are interested in their companies, to supplement the information in your resumes and CV, and to politely request interviews. Cover letters are formatted…

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Applying For Academic Jobs: A Timeline

Published: 20 May 2013
Written by PhdStudent
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Categories: Finding a Job, Life after Graduate School
Tags: academic jobs, professor job

The following timeline was designed to help graduate students apply for academic jobs while they are still in graduate school. During Graduate School Publishing, networking, and postdoctoral training are a few important elements of finding a job in academia. First-author publications are more favorable than are co-authored publications, but either type of publication will suffice; the point is to get published before you graduate. If finding an academic job…

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Addressing Overqualification

Published: 5 October 2012
Written by PhdStudent
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Categories: Life after Graduate School, Readjusting to the Real World
Tags: overqualified for a job

Academic employers will undoubtedly perceive your advanced degree as a requirement, not as a liability. Like academic employers, some nonacademic employers may require you to have an advanced degree, but other nonacademic employers might perceive your advanced degree as evidence that you are overqualified for a job, particularly entry-level positions. Overqualification might be the most challenging thing that you will have to address in your nonacademic job search after graduation.

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Academics’ Myths About Nonacademic Jobs

Published: 5 October 2012
Written by PhdStudent
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Categories: Life after Graduate School, Readjusting to the Real World
Tags: academia or industry

After being in academia for many years, some academics may have developed distorted opinions about what it is like to work in nonacademic jobs. Unless individuals look for context to demystify these distorted opinions, current academics might perpetuate myths about the professional world to future generations of academics, making it harder for those who want to leave academia for nonacademic jobs. The following is some information to demystify the top…

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