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  • Home
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  • >PhD Students
    • Get a PhD?
    • Find an advisor
    • Finish Dissertation
  • >New Professors
    • Start Strong
    • Teach Better
    • Publish More
  • >Independent Scholars
    • Find a great job
    • Write for Impact
  • About
ACADEMICS ONLY
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Find Your Purpose

Don't just find your job.  Find your purpose. 
                                                      - Chris Cornthwaite (Toronto)

Your career is a chance to make an impact on the world. It’s a chance to serve something bigger than yourself. 
                                                       -Maren Wood (UNC)


What's my Interest Profile?


This 60-question Interest Profiler might generate some unexpected insights

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60 Question Interest Profiler (US Dept of Labor)

Have a PhD and Can’t Get a Job?
​These 4 Steps Will Launch Your Dream Career.


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Step 1 – Get Your Mindset Right
Step 2 – Find Where Your Skills Meet the Marketplace
Step 3 – Talk to 10 People in Cool Roles
Step 4 – Ask Those 10 People for Advice on Getting Hired
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Chris Cornthwaite (Toronto)

Lots of useful worksheets in this Planning Guide

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Assessments & examples (UC Irvine - 34pp)


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Academic vs. Nonacademic Jobs?


​9 Signs You Might Be About to Quit Your Academic Job

1. You need to (or simply want to) relocate
​2. You’re working too many hours
3. You have no job security
4. You’re not earning a living wage
5. Your work environment is difficult
6. Your health is deteriorating
7. You can’t grow professionally
8. You really feel it’s time for a change
9. You daydream about quitting your academic job

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L. Marin Wood (UNC)

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Andy Stapleton (Newcastle)

One view of non-academic career path options

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Melissa Anders (Toronto)


What are other job options?


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Mel Bruce (Southern Cross - Australia)

A sample of 353 ABD jobs in the US

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From LinkedIn
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Arunodoy Sur (Florida Atlantic)

How do I get that great job?

Advice and Examples


Resources and Networks


An Academic’s Guide to Getting a Non-Academic Job

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Philip Wolgin (Berkeley)

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12 Success Stories (Vrije Universiteit - Amsterdam)

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Humanities Advice APA (34pp)

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Klodjan Stafa (EPFL, Switzerland)


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Selected Highlights About PhD and ABD Job Searches

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Isaiah Hankel (Iowa)
• You’ll never hear back after submitting your resume online.
• 80% of industry jobs are not advertised. 
• The average time that it takes to find an industry job is 2-8 months.
• Most PhDs transition into R&D, Marketing, or Applications.
• The first person to follow-up will get the job

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  • Alternative PhD Careers
  • Beyond Academia: Non-Academic Careers for PhDs
  • Global PhD Network
  • PhD Career Transitions
  • The LinkedIn Alumni Tool

Some Inter-web Resources

  • Beyond the Professorate: Useful free webinars and advice from panels of successful people.
  • Versatile PhD: This is a ABD PhD support group to find a job outside academia. 
  • PhD Career Guide: Here's lots of career options to pursue that aren't in academics. 
  • Imagine PhD:  Helps Humanities and Social Science PhDs examine their  interests and skills and then plan  their next steps.
  • MyIDP - On-line assessment tool to help with STEM PhDs find the best fit. 
  • Cheeky Scientist: Helps a person explore industry opportunities and provides monthly updates.

A slide deck of additional options

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Sociology (Berkeley - Slides)

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Isaiah Hankel (Iowa)

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Great Advice on Cover Letters and Vitas (Resumes)

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Writing a non-academic vita or resume (Edinburgh)
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Writing a non-academic cover letter (Illinois)



Share Your Insights and Ideas

What have you created or found that's been useful and could be helpful for other PhD students, new professors, or independent scholars?  ​
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  • A pdf handout on teaching 
  • Tips on surviving grad school
  • Favorite career-advice articles
  • A paper submission checklist 
  • A list of inspirational quotes
  • A productivity aid you use
  • ​​​​The goal-setting system you use
  • Your most useful go-to websites
  • Helpful academic How-to articles
  • A method to keep perspective or manage stress

​Send an email to AcademicsOnly@yahoo.com if you have something you think would be useful to share with others on this website
, or if you have ideas on how to make this more useful to you or your students.
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Stay in touch

If you want to know when new tools added, blogs written, videos made, or whatever, we can send you an update that points out what might be relevant to you.
Keep me posted