Finding Your Path Beyond Academia: Leadership and Career Exploration with Ricky Huang and Tiffany Tran

For many PhD students and postdocs, the pressure to follow a traditional academic path can feel overwhelming, especially when they have little exposure to the wide range of careers their training makes possible. Beyond Academia (BA), a UC Berkeley organization led by graduate students, works to change that by connecting graduate students and postdocs with PhDs who have forged diverse careers outside the professoriate. Founded in 2012 and launched with its first conference in 2013, BA has grown into a nationally recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit that hosts an annual flagship conference, workshops, tutorials, and panels featuring over 100 speakers across 30+ sessions each year, drawing thousands of attendees from across the country. This breadth of programming and reach has earned BA national recognition as a leading model for graduate career development. In 2025, BA received the UC Berkeley Oski Student Leadership Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Organization, recognizing its impact and excellence in graduate career development. In this interview, GradPro Professional Development Liaison Jonathan Landeros-Cisneros speaks with Ricky Huang, BA Speakers Co-Director, and Tiffany Tran, BA Media Co-Director, about how their involvement in BA has reshaped their thinking on career development, leadership, and what it means to thrive as a PhD student in today’s world.

Both Ricky and Tiffany joined Beyond Academia in the second year of their PhD programs, at a moment when questions about the future were starting to feel more urgent. For Tiffany, it was about expanding her understanding of where a PhD could lead. “My intention at the time was to learn more about the careers PhD graduates can pursue and the skills needed in those careers,” she explains. “Through the organization, I was able to connect with employers and gain an expanded perspective, and these skills are just as important in academia as they are in industry.”

Ricky’s motivation was rooted in a desire to explore. “I felt settled with my research pace and lifestyle as a PhD student, but also was beginning to consider what work beyond pursuing academic tenure might look like for me,” he says. “I wanted to know what career opportunities and trajectories were available if I didn’t plan to go into academia.”

One of the most significant shifts both Ricky and Tiffany describe is a reconsideration of what the PhD actually prepares you for and what it does not require you to do.

For Ricky, a key misconception was the weight placed on publications, at least when it comes to careers outside academia. “Sometimes a good connection or a solid network is more important than job hunting or accumulating publications,” he says. “There isn’t always an absolute correlation between publishing and career success.” For non-academic roles, where hiring decisions hinge far more on demonstrated skills, relationships, and fit than on a publication record, this reframing can be liberating for PhD students.

Tiffany had a similar realization about the relationship between academia and science itself. “I used to think that if I were to choose industry, I would be leaving science,” she recalls. “But that isn’t the case, I can still do science. And like Ricky said, networking and mentorship are far more important than I had previously understood.” She adds that her time with BA has helped her see “how flexible PhD training is, you can really tailor it to the path you want to take. Part of the process is figuring out which path that is.”

As BA Speakers Co-Director, Ricky is responsible for coordinating events from the ground up. “The first thing entails collaboration with other peers to decide which events will be scheduled each academic year,” he explains. “From there, we mobilize the team to reach out to potential panelists and speakers using an updated database, and we evaluate event effectiveness based on attendance rates and audience feedback through surveys.”

Reaching out to speakers, he notes, is more nuanced than it might seem. The challenge lies in the sheer diversity of professionals BA targets, each industry has its own norms, expectations, and communication styles, making a one-size-fits-all approach ineffective. “There isn’t a uniform approach because we reach out to speakers from completely different industries such as data science, publishing, and nonprofits. What works best is being straightforward and providing as much information as possible in the initial email.” This outreach effort is reflected in BA’s current programming, which ranges from a virtual Transferable Skills Workshop led by an industry coach to an in-person consulting panel and networking dinner with McKinsey, drawing speakers and participants from fields as varied as research, nonprofit, and global management consulting.

Tiffany’s work as BA Media Co-Director centers on how Beyond Academia communicates its mission. “My role focuses on managing how BA connects with the graduate student and postdoc community to raise awareness,” she says. In practice, this means crafting and managing email campaigns, designing promotional materials, moderating social media accounts, maintaining the organization’s website, and coordinating communications with departments across campus, the behind-the-scenes infrastructure that keeps BA visible and accessible to its audience. Getting that logistics right is central to the role. Beyond the organizational work, she describes the experience as personally rewarding. “I enjoy being able to sit in on panels and learn from the speakers as well. It’s been a privilege to be in those rooms.”

Both co-directors point to high-pressure moments as some of their most meaningful growth experiences with BA. Tiffany recalls a particularly challenging episode at a BA conference. “We had two sessions running simultaneously, and we experienced IT issues. It was pretty stressful, but I stepped in to communicate the issues and act on solutions. Through that experience, I was able to strengthen my communication and team management skills, and my ability to stay calm under pressure.”

When a panelist dropped out last-minute before an event, the team adapted. “We apologized for the gap, but luckily we still had amazing panelists,” Ricky says. “The remaining speakers could answer questions more thoroughly.” Tiffany adds that these moments reveal what a volunteer organization is made of: “Everyone on the BA team steps up. Over the last couple of years, I learned a lot about how to make decisions on the spot in a collaborative manner. This work has helped me develop my adaptability, problem-solving, and team-building skills.”

Ricky points to a different kind of milestone. “I felt a real sense of growth when BA was recognized for an award. Even though this is a volunteer-led group, it reflected our positive impact.” He’s referring to the UC Berkeley Oski Student Leadership Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Organization, which BA received in 2025.

One of the quieter but significant shifts both leaders describe is in how they communicate with people outside academia. “Communicating outside of academia is less about technical details and more about shared goals,” says Tiffany. “In both academia and industry, the underlying principle of building meaningful relationships is the same: genuine conversations and mutual support.”

Ricky emphasizes the value of mutual respect, particularly when working with speakers and panelists. “We try to maintain that respect in everything we do. Valuing people’s time is how you build long-term relationships and maintain high quality.”

The work of Beyond Academia, both co-directors agree, addresses a genuine gap in graduate education. “For graduate students, there is often a lack of exposure to the wide variety of career paths available,” says Tiffany. “Some may feel pressure to follow the traditional pipeline, not knowing what other opportunities exist. BA bridges this gap through panels, industry experts, and workshops so students can understand that their PhD skills can be utilized in whichever career path they choose. Our main goal is for graduate students to feel informed.”

The feedback they’ve received has been deeply affirming. “The most rewarding part is hearing that students who came in feeling discouraged or not competitive left feeling more hopeful, with solid ideas for how to better prepare themselves,” Tiffany reflects. “Connecting graduate students with PhDs working in sectors they’re interested in, and watching them realize how many opportunities their degree opens up, that’s what makes this work meaningful.”

Both Ricky and Tiffany are energized by what’s coming next for Beyond Academia. “Everyone is working so hard to further our mission,” says Tiffany. “We’re expanding opportunities for graduate students to explore different sectors and positions. We will be hosting more events and more networking opportunities, and we are boosting alumni engagement. All of this provides additional resources so students can feel confident about the paths they can take. And the skills and insights developed here can be passed on in the future, too. It’s sustainable.”

Beyond Academia also collaborates with partner organizations including Berkeley Career Engagement (BCE)  and GradPro, and works to serve postdocs alongside graduate students.

For students considering getting involved, Tiffany puts it simply: “As a PhD student, you have the power to direct your own path. Similarly, with BA, you truly get out what you put in.”

If you’d like to join Beyond Academia, they are actively recruiting members. You can:

• Fill out the membership interest form
• Contact BA at [email protected] with any questions
• Visit their website at beyondacademia.org to learn more about the organization

This article was written by Jonathan Landeros-Cisneros, a Professional Development Liaison and a Ph.D. candidate in the Berkeley School of Education.