Maren Wood and I are excited to announce our 6th annual online career conference for PhDs! It’s happening live, May 4-11, 2019. Many thanks to Mitacs for partnering with us again. More details below, but first let me say a few things about the what and why of this fantastic event.
Five and a half years ago Maren contacted me about an idea she had: to deliver career education to graduate students and PhDs across North America via webinar technology. She and I knew each other from when we were both Master’s students at Carleton University; now, after receiving our PhDs from the University of Toronto (me) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Maren), we discovered we were once again colleagues, each with our own small businesses helping doctoral degree holders navigate challenging career transitions.
I thought her idea was awesome, and the conference was born! Our first event was in May 2014, and we welcomed about one hundred attendees to join us for panel discussions and seminars about finding great jobs outside academia.
Last year over 600 graduate students, postdocs, and other PhDs registered for our conference. Individuals from across disciplines and over a dozen different countries attended.
This year we’re once again presenting how-to sessions delivered by career education professionals who work with graduate students and PhDs every day. That’s happening on Saturday, May 4. Then the following Saturday, May 11, we’re hosting four panel discussions, each highlighting the work doctoral degree holders do in a wide range of fields, in higher education, government, the non-profit sector, and in the business world.
We’re doing something new for our 6th annual conference: a series of career spotlights. These will cover exciting career fields including freelancing and independent consulting, biotechnology, UX (“user experience”) research, and policy. Anyone interested in learning more about jobs in these fields can add a spotlight (or two or three or four) to their registration.
May 4, 2019 : Strategies for Career Success
Demystify the non-academic job search process! Learn successful job search strategies for PhDs from career education professionals.
Opening Remarks
11:00 a.m. – 11:15 p.m. EDT
Jennifer Polk, PhD, and L. Maren Wood, PhD Beyond the Professoriate
How to Deal with the Emotional Aspects of Leaving Academia
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. EDT
Hillary Hutchinson, MA, MEd Transitioning Your Life
How to Network for Career Success
12:45 – 1:45 p.m. EDT
Joseph Barber, PhD University of Pennsylvania
How to Leverage Your Graduate Education and Experience to Research Career Options
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. EDT
Stephanie Warner, PhD University of Calgary
How to Effectively Present Your Strengths and Skills in Resumes and Cover Letters
3:15 – 4:15 p.m. EDT
Clarence Anthony, Jr., PhD Georgia Institute of Technology
May 11, 2019 : Career Panels
Hear what it’s really like to work beyond the professoriate. Panelists live and work in cities across the United States and Canada and hold PhDs in the humanities, social sciences and STEM disciplines.
Panel: Careers in Higher Education Administration
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT
Amber Bloomfield, PhD University of Maryland College Park
David McDonald, PhD Duke University Graduate Career Center
Marian Toledo Candelaria, PhD Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Panel: Careers in Non-Profits
12:15 – 1:15 p.m. EDT
Jennifer Chain, PhD Oklahoma Blood Institute
John Marks, PhD American Association for State and Local History
Dominique Riviere, PhD MaRS Discovery District
Panel: Careers in Business
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. EDT
Daniel Bubb, PhD American Water
Vincent Picciuto, PhD Morgan Stanley
Erika Y. Spear, PhD Hilton
Panel: Careers in Government
2:45 – 3:45 p.m. EDT
Ryan Cobb, PhD U.S. Small Business Administration
Clau González, PhD Candidate National Institutes of Health
Clark Richards, PhD Bedford Institute of Oceanography
May 6 – 9, 2019 : PhD Career Spotlights (Opt-In Sessions)
Learn more about select exciting career paths for PhDs. These sessions are presented by PhDs with years of professional experience in their respective career fields.
Freelancing & Independent Consulting
May 6, 2019, 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. EDT
Katie Rose Guest Pryal, JD, PhD Pryal Consulting, Inc.
Biotechnology
May 7, 2019, 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. EDT
Adam Ruben, PhD Biotechnology industry
UX Research
May 8, 2019, 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. EDT
Nichole Carelock, PhD Ad Hoc LLC
Policy
May 9, 2019, 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. EDT
Craig Roxborough, PhD College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
Want to attend? Register for the conference on our website.
