Introduction to the Evaluate Stage
Make an informed decision about going on the academic job market
- How Your Skills and Interests Can Help Determine Your Future Career Satisfaction
- How Your Values Can Help Determine Your Future Career Satisfaction
- What is Networking and How Can You Use it to Learn About Options Open to You?
- Sample Informational Interview Requests
- Using Your Optimal Career Pathway to Make an Informed Career Decision
- Your Next Steps and Setting SMART Goals
About this lesson
PhDs want a career that is intellectually engaging and rewarding, allows for the expression of important values, and makes a meaningful contribution to the world. A faculty career can be one of these pathways, but is it the right career for YOU? The evaluation stage is an opportunity for you to reflect on who you are as a person, identify what career satisfaction means to you, and explore a range of career pathways that are open to PhDs in your academic discipline.
Why is this stage important? Going on the job market – either in academia or beyond the professoriate – is an enormous commitment in terms of time, energy, and resources. You want to make sure that you’re investing in the right career pathway. By evaluating a faculty career vs. other professional careers, you’ll be able to determine if going on the academic job market is the right decision for you.
Watch this lesson to learn about the Evaluate stage and what you can expect to learn in subsequent lessons.
Workbook Activities
This lesson covers pages 5-7 in the Evaluate Stage Workbook. You can also use the Take Notes widget to complete these activities.
- There are many factors that contribute to lifelong career satisfaction. Reflect on your skills, values, and interests. What are some of the most important things you are looking for in your future career?
- Find the names and contact information of 5 recent graduates from your program. Look for people who entered into different career fields: faculty, for-profit, government, non-profit. Reach out to them to conduct informational interviews to learn more about their careers in or beyond academia.
- Set some SMART goals to help you get started in this process of evaluating faculty careers so you can make an informed decision about your future career.
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