Dora Farkas received her Ph.D. from MIT in the Department of Biological Engineering and worked for several years in the pharmaceutical industry as a Senior Scientist. Dora is a thesis and career coach and the founder of the online Finish Your Thesis Program & Community, which has helped hundreds of graduate students finish their thesis.
I was a fifth year PhD student, and I had already started looking for jobs, but the thought of having “the talk” with my supervisor about graduation terrified me. I was trapped in a vicious cycle. I was hesitant about fully engaging in my job search because I didn’t know when I would finish my thesis. At the same time, the subconscious fear of, “What will I do after graduation to pay the bills?” paralyzed me when I tried to work on my thesis. But, one thing was crystal clear: I couldn’t leave my thesis up to chance. Here, you…
You don’t need 48 hours in the day to finish your thesis while also focusing on your career advancement. Just a few simple shifts in your writing strategy, time management, and communication skills will give you the confidence to take leadership of your education and career. In fact, if you can package the challenges in graduate school into learning opportunities to drive you to finish your thesis, you will become the independent, assertive, and proactive person that all employers are eager to hire. Here’s how.
The idea that focusing solely on your thesis and publications will guarantee you a job in industry is a myth. This myth has kept many graduate students from exploring careers and networking with professionals during graduate school. If you put all of your focus on your research during graduate school and neglect to explore other careers or develop skills that are valued in industry, you will leave tens of thousands of dollars on the table. By reframing your graduate school experiences and challenges into learning opportunities, you can make the most out of graduate school and set yourself up to…
I thought about quitting graduate school in the beginning of my 6th year. I was almost certain that there was no way that I could graduate that year, or ever for that matter. I started several dead-end projects, and most of my data was inconsistent and did not support any of my hypotheses. I felt stuck and trapped in my own life. The irony was that I actually created this life for myself because I thought that getting a PhD degree was the road to a better life and a career that I would be passionate about. I finally summoned…
Many PhD students struggle with getting interviews simply because they cannot articulate through their resumes and cover letters the value that they would bring to a company. If you refuse to actively explore career opportunities in graduate school, it will be very tough to market yourself well during your job search. This is because you will not have a good understanding of what companies are looking for. Given that it takes 6-12 months to find a PhD level position (even longer if you have no professional network), the time to start exploring career paths is now. The following 10 strategies…
