PhD Workshop: Are you considering a non-academic career?

Are you a continuing (or advanced) PhD student or a postdoctoral fellow interested on how you can further develop your career inside and outside of academia? In a fast-paced world, where the challenges and opportunities of the job market can change quickly, it’s not easy to make decisions about future career paths. How can you make the best use of the amazing research skills you aquire(d) during your PhD?

The School of Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary University of London is organising a new series of four hands-on professionalisation and employability workshops open to PhD students after their first year of doctorate as well as postdoctoral fellows and other interested ECRs. This event is co-hosted by the Mile End Institute.

This is a 2.5-hour workshop that consists of a roundtable with practitioners who hold PhDs and work in different domains, including, for instance, government, think tanks, international organisations, the private sector, etc. Practitioners will share their personals stories about their experiences of the job market after the PhD, including how they chose a certain career path and they ‘translated’ their doctoral research into something of value outside of the university. The roundtable will be followed by a hands-on session that will allow you to speak with practitioner directly and to receive bespoke advice. You will be introduced to different career paths available to PhD holders, to the process of applying for jobs in different domains of practice, and to the main challenges you are likely to encounter along the way. Importantly, you will also get advice on how best to prepare (mentally and otherwise) for the job market, including on how you can make the most out of your doctoral research when you seek a non-academic job. You will also learn about useful websites that you can use for job postings, the most common formats for applications and interviews, and how you can best prepare for the application process.

One week ahead of the workshop, please email to [email protected]

a document of no more than one page including:

1. Why you are considering a practitioner career; if you’ve already thought about it, reflect also on what type of career and in which domain of activity.

2. At the end of the document, briefly reflect on what aspect(s) of the academic job market you’ll like to learn about.

Your one-page statement will inform the content of the workshop.

Registration will close on 30 October.

Host or Publisher School of Politics and International Relations