During these tough times many of us are feeling understandably anxious and unsure about what’s ahead of us. It is important to remember you are not navigating this uncertainty on your own and our professionally qualified careers consultants are available to support you through confidential, one to one discussion. They can help to support you whatever stage you may be at, whether starting to review future career plans, within or without academia, or preparing for a job search as you approach the Viva, whatever your work experience. Wherever you are on your journey they are available to discuss the options, explore possibilities, careers ideas and professional development needs as the PhD progresses.
Appointments can be booked here: https://pathfinder.surrey.ac.uk/student/login.html Or by emailing rdp@surrey.ac.uk
Meanwhile, if you want to take the opportunity to reflect in depth on your career journey and future ambitions, the Association of Graduate Careers Advisers (AGCAS) have a free Career Management course available on Futurelearn for the next 6 weeks well worth exploring. The MOOC is a collaboration between the University of Glasgow, University of Edinburgh, and the University of Sheffield. It is free and open to research students and early career research staff at any institution in the UK and beyond.
Career Management for Early Career Academic Researchers aims to support researchers to explore their career options and make career plans. The course is divided into 4 sections with the idea of doing one section a week. It is aimed at PGRs and ECRS and covers careers beyond academia as well as academic and higher education career options. It covers:
Week1 – Making Career Plans
Week 2 – Exploring Career Options
Week 3 – Careers in Higher Education
Week 4 – Job Search and Application Processes
For more information and to sign up go to:
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/career-management
Comments from previous participants:
This course has been fantastic, particularly as I am at a stage where I am finishing my PhD and was worrying about what comes next. I didn’t realise a lot of the things about academic and non-academic career paths, and have found the self reflection tasks invaluable.
My motivation to take control of finding my future career has increased exponentially from the day I started this course.
I have learned more than I ever imagined about choosing my career path. I feel much more confident and better equipped to choose the right career after my PhD.
Emma and Rana the careers consultants from the Doctoral College would be pleased to hear how you get on and offer follow up discussions introducing careers resources available here at Surrey to complement the course.
