The market for PhD career services is evolving rapidly. The resources below are updated periodically to help you find support in a medium and at a cost that’s right for you.
Books
The titles below are recent publications or standard resources that I’m most familiar with. Inger Mewburn from The Thesis Whisperer constantly updates her resource list — and doesn’t endorse anything she wouldn’t use herself. Jennifer Polk of From PhD to Life also keeps a book list that includes summaries of approach and target audience.
Changing careers
- Susan Basalla & Maggie Debelius. So What Are You Going To Do With That? (Third edition, Chicago 2014). $16.00.
- Chris Caterine (me!). Leaving Academia: A Practical Guide (Princeton 2020). $19.95.
- Joe Fruscione & Kelly Baker. Succeeding Outside the Academy: Career Paths Beyond the Humanities, Social Sciences, and STEM (Kansas 2018). $18.95.
- Karen Kelsky, The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide to Turning Your PhD into a Job (Crown 2015). $18.00.
- Katina Rogers. Putting the Humanities PhD to Work: Thriving in and beyond the Classroom (Duke 2020). $24.95.
Graduate education
- Leonard Cassuto. The Graduate School Mess: What Caused It and How We Can Fix It (Harvard 2015). $29.95.
- Leonard Cassuto & Robert Weisbuch. The New PhD: How to Build a Better Graduate Education (Johns Hopkins 2021). $32.95.
Coaches and communities
- Academic Entrepreneur, Susan Nancarrow
- Anne Krook
- Beyond the Professoriate, Maren Wood
- Bioscience Careers, Sarah Blackford
- CM Coaching Services, Catherine Maybrey
- COACHD, Nicola Porter
- Carreras Científicas Alternativas, Manolo Castellano
- Cheeky Scientist, Isaiah Hankel
- Free the PhD, Vay Cao
- From PhD to Life, Jennifer Polk
- The Grad Grid, Parag Mahanti
- Imagine PhD, the Graduate Career Consortium
- IncipitCareer, Kristi Lodge
- Jobs on Toast, Chris Humphrey
- PhD Matters, John Paulas
- PhD Power, Chiat Cheong
- The Professor Is In, Karen Kelsky
- Roostervane, Chris Cornthwaite
- Smart Tribe, Kris Jack
- The Thesis Whisperer, Inger Mewburn
- Transitioning Your Life, Hillary Hutchinson
- Versatile PhD, Todd Maurer
- Welcome Solutions, Natalia Bielczyk
Professional societies and foundations
- 80,000 Hours, non-profit career think-tank
- American Historical Association, Career Diversity for Historians
- Graduate Career Consortium, an international association of graduate career advisors
- Mellon Foundation, What Can You Do with a PhD?
- Mitacs, Canadian education-industry connector
- Modern Language Association, Career Resources
- PhDOOC, Doctorat et Poursuite de Carrière
Articles
It would be impossible to track every article about alternative careers for academics. The following pieces are especially helpful or provide a useful perspective.
Essential skills
- Indeed.com. Informational Interview Guide (2020).
- Katrina Kibben. “Stand out in Your Job Search: 10 Tips that Stood the Test of Time” (Author’s Blog, 2020).
- Simon Sinek, “Start with Why” (TED Talk, based on his book of the same name, 2014).
Graduate education
- Brandon Busteed. “Hey, Higher Education: You’re on Mute” (Forbes 2021).
- George Justice. “How to Save the Humanities PhD? Kill the Doctoral Seminar” (CHE 2021).
Leaving academia
- Chris Caterine. “A Virtual Guide to Leaving Academia” (Princeton Ideas Blog, 2020).
- Manisit Das. “Medical Communications: Taking a Leap of Faith after PhD” (LinkedIn Pulse 2020).
- Lindy Ledohowski. “From Tenure Track to EssayJack” (IHE 2016).
- Kristi Lodge. “A Starter Kit for Exiting Academia: Three Articles” (The Muse).
- Liz Segran, “What Can You Do with a Humanities PhD, Anyway?” (The Atlantic 2014).
- Mike Zimm. “From Homer to High Tech” (CHE 2017).
University programs
- Duke, Professional Development and Versatile Humanities Program, Maria LaMonaca Wisdom
- Johns Hopkins, Phutures, Roshni Rao
- Harvard School of Public Health, Career Development Resources, Bénédicte Gnangnon
- MIT, Careers for PhDs
- Princeton, GradFutures, Amy Pszczolkowski
- Stanford, Graduate Professional Development; Humanists at Large, Chris Golde
- Syracuse, Professional and Career Development, Daniel Olson-Bang
- University of California at Berkeley, Graduate Student Professional Development Guide
- University College Cork, The Odyssey Programme, Mary O’Regan
- University of Illinois, Graduate Career Development, Derek Attig
- University of Southern California, Graduate and Doctoral Student Resources
- University of Virginia, PhD Plus, Sonali Majumdar
Blogs and podcasts
- Academic Life on the New Books Network by Christina Gessler
- The Bold BioMed by Gertrude Nonterah
- ChangeHireEd by Eric James Stephens
- The EdUp Experience
- Once a Scientist by Nick Edwards
- Own Your Career, Jon Tam, PhD
- PapaPhD by David Mendes da Silva
- PhD Career Stories
- PhD Coffee Time by Vera Chan
- Post-Gradual: The PhD Careers Blog, by Holly Prescott
- Self-Compassionate Professor by Danielle De La Mare
People to follow
In addition to the coaches and program directors highlighted above, the following individuals provide invaluable perspectives on changing careers:
- Latesha Byrd, Career coach and talent development specialist.
- Dr. Monica Cox, Engineering professor, authenticity coach, and DEI activist.
- Scott Frothingham, Wordwrangler, carrotdangler, storyteller.
- Adam Karpiak, Recruiter with a penchant for sarcasm and wit.
- Katrina Kibben, Speaker, writer, and recruiting consultant.
- Kwame Osei-Sarfo, PhD, Director of Columbia Engineering’s Bridge to the PhD in STEM program.
- Liz Segran, PhD, Journalist, author, and former academic.
