Beyond the 6th Annual Professorial PhD Career Online Conference – University Affairs

Maren Wood and I are delighted to announce our 6th annual online career conference for doctors! It’s happening live from May 4 to 11, 2019. Thank you very much to Mitacs to partner 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 provide professional training for graduate students and PhDs across North America through webinar technology. . She and I had known each other since we were both master’s students at Carleton University; now, after getting our doctorates from the University of Toronto (me) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Maren), we have discovered that we are colleagues again, each with our own small businesses helping doctoral graduates navigate difficult career transitions.

I thought his idea was great, and the conference was born! Our first event was in May 2014, and we had over 100 attendees who joined us for panel discussions and seminars on finding great jobs outside of academia.

Last year, over 600 graduate, post-doctoral and other doctoral students registered for our conference. People from all disciplines and over a dozen different countries participated.

This year We once again feature hands-on sessions led by career education professionals who work with graduate students and PhD holders every day. This takes place on Saturday May 4th. Then, on the following Saturday May 11, we are hosting four panel discussions, each highlighting the work of PhD graduates in a wide range of fields, in higher education, government, the nonprofit sector, and in the business world.

We’re doing something new for our 6th annual conference: a career spotlight series. These will cover exciting career areas including freelance work and consulting, biotechnology, UX (“user experience”) research and policy. Anyone interested in finding out more about jobs in these fields can add a spotlight (or two or three or four) to their registration.

May 4, 2019: Strategies for professional success

Demystify the non-academic job search process! Learn effective 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 professorship

How to deal with the emotional aspects of leaving academia
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. EDT

Hillary Hutchinson, MA, M.Ed. Make the transition of your life

How to network for a successful career
12:45 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. EDT

Joseph Barber, PhD University of Pennsylvania

How to Use Your Graduate Education and Experience to Research Career Options
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EDT

Stéphanie Warner, PhD University of Calgary

How to effectively present your strengths and skills in resumes and cover letters
3:15 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. EDT

Clarence Anthony, Jr., PhD Georgia Institute of Technology

May 11, 2019: Career Panels

Hear what it’s like to work beyond the faculty. The panelists live and work in cities across the United States and Canada and have doctorates in humanities, social sciences, and STEM disciplines.

Panel: Careers in Higher Education Administration
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT

Amber Bloomfield, Ph.D. University of Maryland College Park
David McDonald, PhD Duke University Graduate Career Center
Marian Toledo Candelaria, PhD Wilfrid Laurier University Press

Panel: Careers in Nonprofits
12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. EDT

Jennifer Chain, PhD Oklahoma Blood Institute
John Marks, PhD American Association for National and Local History
Dominique Rivière, PhD MaRS Discovery District

Panel: Careers in Business
1:30 p.m. to 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 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. EDT

Ryan Cobb, Ph.D. U.S. Small Business Administration
Clau González, doctoral student National Institutes of Health
Clark Richards, Ph.D. Bedford Institute of Oceanography

May 6 – 9 2019: Spotlight on doctoral careers (opt-in sessions)

Learn more about some exciting career paths for PhDs. These sessions are presented by doctors with years of professional experience in their respective career fields.

Independent and independent consultant
May 6, 2019, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. EDT

Katie Rose Guest Pryal, JD, PhD Pryal Consulting, Inc.

Biotechnology
May 7, 2019, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. EDT

Adam Ruben, PhD Biotechnology industry

UX research
May 8, 2019, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. EDT

Nichole Carelock, PhD Ad Hoc LLC

Politics
May 9, 2019, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. EDT

Craig Roxborough, Ph.D. College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario

Want to attend? Register for the conference on our website.