March 7, 2016, by Lisa Chin
10 Q&As on What’s Next After PhD
There are many pathways available for PhD students upon graduating and ultimately these decisions could shape the pattern of one’s life. Thus, it is vital to take time to consider all options available.
Here are 10 questions sent in by our postgraduate students when we wanted to hear from them last year. We are pleased to have Dr Acga Cheng, a postdoctoral research fellow from the School of Biosciences, who shines her light on this dreaded topic of What’s Next After PhD?.
| Q: | What business opportunities are out there for PhD students apart from teaching/academic? |
| A: | Join non-academic research organisations or private sector research companies as their partner or product specialist. |
| Q: | Post-doctoral: Why would PhDs consider it? |
| A: |
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| Q: | What are the top qualities of PhD graduates that potential industrial employers are looking for? |
| A: | Effective communication and management skills, good problem-solving abilities, self-motivated/self-directed. |
| Q: | How to present skills and talents in a more ‘commercial’ language? As our research is specialised, how do we sell our skills and talents to wider range of potential employers? How to put across our skill sets and abilities? |
| A: | Try to present yourself as an all-rounder who not only has a set of specific skills e.g. research, but also other personal/interpersonal skill sets or abilities to perform a variety of tasks. |
| Q: | Career plan: How to strategise and what to consider? |
| A: | Look at your interests and identify career paths and occupational options based on your interest and expertise. Talk to your current supervisor or people working in the related fields to learn their views and explore available opportunities. After selecting a career path to follow, work for it! |
| Q: | Career development: How to strategise and what to consider? |
| A: | Set personal goals, keep on learning and building essential skills, adopt a better attitude, learn organisation’s culture, improve work performance and soft skills. If the organisation does not meet your expectations after one year or more, you may need to adjust your expectations or consider leaving the job for a better prospect. |
| Q: | How can postgraduates start consultation business or join a consultation firm? |
| A: | Postgraduates need to make sure that they are (well) qualified to become a consultant and establish their reputation before starting their own consultation business. Joining an established firm or company as a partner or employee may be a good way to get started. |
| Q: | What are the networking strategies that can be useful for personal and professional development? |
| A: | Join any related professional organisations and societies, participate in international conferences and workshops, create an online research profile. |
| Q: | As an early career researcher, how do I increase my value and credibility in the academia? What are the opportunities available and what should be the main focus? |
| A: | Gain some teaching experience while improving research knowledge and skills through training courses and workshops. Learn how to write grant proposals and try to publish one or more research papers per year. The focus should be on enhancing research visibility and impact while developing strong written and oral communication skills. |
| Q: | What is the one piece of advice you would give to the postgraduates who are unsure of what career path to pursue? |
| A: | Figure out what you love to do (the most) and go for it. As the saying goes, choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life. |
We welcome you to write to us at graduateschool@nottingham.edu.my with any views or comments about this topic.
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