If you’re a humanities or social sciences Ph.D. with questions about what career paths are open to you after graduation, you’re not alone! That’s why UC Berkeley — along with institutions including Berkeley, Harvard, Michigan, Wisconsin, Duke, Brown, and many others — helped to fund the launch of ImaginePhD, a free online career exploration and planning tool for Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scholars in the humanities and social sciences and related areas. Whether you’re just starting to explore your career options, or getting ready to launch your job search, ImaginePhD is the perfect starting point. There are tons of features to explore! Here are some suggestions from GradPro about what to do once you’ve created your free account: Take a values assessment. What’s most important to you in a job: Collegiality? Work-life balance? Compensation? Impact? More than just a Buzzfeed quiz, ImaginePhD’s values assessment can help you identify the core values driving your job search. It also provides concrete examples of questions you could ask in an informational interview to determine whether a job is a good fit with those values. View sample job descriptions in a “job family” you’re not familiar with: ImaginePhD provides information about 15 different “job families” of special interest to humanities and social sciences Ph.D.s. Bonus — you can get started in these fields without additional educational training! Choose one family (from options like Advocacy, Entrepreneurship, Writing, and Higher Education Administration), click on “Explore,” and then view some sample job descriptions to get an idea of what kinds of jobs exist in this family, and what qualifications you’d need to have to apply. View the list of suggested career development goals, and add one to your calendar: ImaginePhD’s “My Plan” feature allows you to build an “Individual Development Plan” where you can map out your academic milestones (passing qualifying exams; writing a dissertation chapter) alongside skill-building and career development goals. Choose a career development goal — like doing an internship or creating a LinkedIn profile — and create a deadline for it, to make sure it stays on your radar! Visit the Career Center: After browsing ImaginePhD, you might have some questions like: What’s the difference between a résumé and a CV? How do I find an internship? What do I need to do to prepare for an interview? Make an appointment with one of the Berkeley Career Center’s dedicated Ph.D. Career Counselors — they can provide live support for your career exploration and preparation. These suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg — there’s lots more to discover on ImaginePhD, including skills and interests assessments, tips for using LinkedIn, field-specific skill-building suggestions, and lots more! Create your account and get started with ImaginePhD today.
If you’re a humanities or social sciences Ph.D. with questions about what career paths are open to you after graduation, you’re not alone! That’s why UC Berkeley — along with institutions including Berkeley, Harvard, Michigan, Wisconsin, Duke, Brown, and many others — helped to fund the launch of ImaginePhD, a free online career exploration and planning tool for Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scholars in the humanities and social sciences and related areas. Whether you’re just starting to explore your career options, or getting ready to launch your job search, ImaginePhD is the perfect starting point. There are tons of features to explore! Here are some suggestions from GradPro about what to do once you’ve created your free account: Take a values assessment. What’s most important to you in a job: Collegiality? Work-life balance? Compensation? Impact? More than just a Buzzfeed quiz, ImaginePhD’s values assessment can help you identify the core values driving your job search. It also provides concrete examples of questions you could ask in an informational interview to determine whether a job is a good fit with those values. View sample job descriptions in a “job family” you’re not familiar with: ImaginePhD provides information about 15 different “job families” of special interest to humanities and social sciences Ph.D.s. Bonus — you can get started in these fields without additional educational training! Choose one family (from options like Advocacy, Entrepreneurship, Writing, and Higher Education Administration), click on “Explore,” and then view some sample job descriptions to get an idea of what kinds of jobs exist in this family, and what qualifications you’d need to have to apply. View the list of suggested career development goals, and add one to your calendar: ImaginePhD’s “My Plan” feature allows you to build an “Individual Development Plan” where you can map out your academic milestones (passing qualifying exams; writing a dissertation chapter) alongside skill-building and career development goals. Choose a career development goal — like doing an internship or creating a LinkedIn profile — and create a deadline for it, to make sure it stays on your radar! Visit the Career Center: After browsing ImaginePhD, you might have some questions like: What’s the difference between a résumé and a CV? How do I find an internship? What do I need to do to prepare for an interview? Make an appointment with one of the Berkeley Career Center’s dedicated Ph.D. Career Counselors — they can provide live support for your career exploration and preparation. These suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg — there’s lots more to discover on ImaginePhD, including skills and interests assessments, tips for using LinkedIn, field-specific skill-building suggestions, and lots more! Create your account and get started with ImaginePhD today.