{"id":2274,"date":"2022-04-15T09:47:54","date_gmt":"2022-04-15T13:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/?p=2274"},"modified":"2022-04-15T09:49:03","modified_gmt":"2022-04-15T13:49:03","slug":"bu-alumni-provide-advice-for-social-science-phd-students-navigating-the-non-academic-job-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/2022\/04\/15\/bu-alumni-provide-advice-for-social-science-phd-students-navigating-the-non-academic-job-market\/","title":{"rendered":"BU Alumni Provide Advice for Social Science PhD Students Navigating the Non-Academic Job Market"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On Thursday April 14, seven recent BU PhDs shared their advice and experience at a lively and well-attended virtual workshop on \u201cNon-Academic Careers for Social Science PhDs.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/profile\/malika-jeffries-el\/\">Malika Jeffries-EL,<\/a> Associate Dean of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/faculty-staff\/administrative-directory\/the-graduate-school\/\">Graduate School of Arts &amp; Sciences (GSAS)<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/faculty-staff\/dean-of-arts-sciences\/?msclkid=9cc516a6bcbf11ec997c1f3e09470d7c\">Stan Sclaroff<\/a>, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences welcomed the guest speakers and attendees.<\/p>\n<p>The seven panelists (pictured below) represented seven different social science or related departments at BU, and shared their experiences working in far-ranging fields including health, business, tech, non-profits, public policy, and state, local, and federal government. Listen to a recording of the full event: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/calendar\/previous-events\/\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Some of the helpful tips offered include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Recognize the many skills you have.<\/strong> Teaching, writing, researching, analyzing, managing\u00a0 \u2013 these skills are invaluable to a future employer.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Network, network, network.<\/strong> Rely on your faculty mentors, peers, and BU alumni to help you learn about the content and availability of jobs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Think about the \u2018big picture\u2019 of your research.<\/strong> Employers don\u2019t care about the \u2018weeds\u2019 of your dissertation, but value your capacity to ask and answer questions, and draw action-based conclusions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Start searching and applying \u2018early and often.\u2019<\/strong> Sites like LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, and other general and industry-specific job sites are critical to your search.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sign up for notifications\u00a0 <\/strong>(e.g., Google alerts) from your \u2018dream\u2019 employer at job search sites.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hone your quantitative and analytic skills<\/strong>, but don\u2019t fret if you know only one or two programs. Knowledge of even a single program makes it easier to learn additional programs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get your foot in the door.<\/strong> Doing a summer internship, volunteering, or working part-time at your dream job site can pave the way to a full-time position.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Recognize what YOU want<\/strong>. Living close to family? Having a policy impact? Working 9 to 5? Working with people versus data? Solitary versus team-based work? Knowing your strengths and preferences is essential to a successful career search and fulfilling life.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>BU\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/pdpa\/\">Professional Development and Postdoctoral Affairs (PDPA)<\/a> office also offers extensive resources for PhD students interested in pursuing non-academic careers (see <a href=\"\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/HSS_JobSearchStrategies.pptx.pdf\">here<\/a> for slides providing helpful job search strategies). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/pdpa\/for-doctoral-students\/phd-progression\/\">PhD Progression<\/a>, their online micro-credentialing program, was designed to allow BU PhD students explore and develop skills in areas beyond the degree requirements. The <a href=\"https:\/\/bu.badgr.com\/public\/pathway\/5fe0f9b807418c0cbfafc9fb\">Level 1<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/bu.badgr.com\/public\/pathway\/61b4db30b1a5b47d25fff25e\">Level 2<\/a> Career Development Pathways may be of particular interest to social science PhDs seeking non-academic careers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Meet our alumni panelists!<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.choir.research.va.gov\/about\/Investigators\/InvestigatorsEkaterinaAnderson.asp\">Ekaterina (Katya) Anderson<img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/anderson.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1497\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td>Anthropology (PhD 2018)<\/td>\n<td>Research Health Scientist\u00a0 and Principal Investigator, Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhhumanities.org\/burt\/\">Agnes Burt<img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/Agnes_website.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"261\" height=\"163\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/Agnes_website.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/Agnes_website-496x312.jpg 496w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 261px) 100vw, 261px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td>History (PhD 2020)<\/td>\n<td>Director of Community Grants, New Hampshire Humanities<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/taylor-cain-b60547a6\">Taylor Cain<img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/cain.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"198\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/cain.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/cain-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/cain-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td>Sociology (PhD 2019)<\/td>\n<td>Senior Policy Advisor, Boston Housing Authority.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/tess-harvey\">Teresa (Tess) Harvey<img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/harvey.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"183\" height=\"183\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/harvey.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/harvey-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/harvey-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/harvey-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 183px) 100vw, 183px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td>Psychological &amp; Brain Sciences (PhD 2020)<\/td>\n<td>Rx Personalization, Experimentation &amp; Analytics Manager, CVS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/lsale\/\">Leslie Sale<img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/Sale-headshot-sm.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"203\" height=\"162\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1501\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td>Political Science (PhD 2018)<\/td>\n<td>Director of Policy, Department of Education, State of Virginia<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/sergio-villar-vallenas\/\">Sergio Villar Vallenas<img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/villar.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"211\" height=\"211\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1502\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/villar.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/villar-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/villar-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 211px) 100vw, 211px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td>Economics (PhD 2021)<\/td>\n<td>Data Scientist, ZipRecruiter<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jordanwinkler\/\">Jordan Winkler<img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/Winkler-424x636.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"168\" height=\"252\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1503\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/Winkler-424x636.jpg 424w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/Winkler-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/Winkler-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/Winkler-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/Winkler-1366x2048.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/Winkler-400x600.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/files\/2022\/03\/Winkler-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 168px) 100vw, 168px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td>Geography (PhD 2014)<\/td>\n<td>Senior Vice President Of Global Sales, PlanetWatchers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Thursday April 14, seven recent BU PhDs shared their advice and experience at a lively and well-attended virtual workshop on \u201cNon-Academic Careers for Social Science PhDs.\u201d Malika Jeffries-EL, Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Arts &amp; Sciences (GSAS) and Stan Sclaroff, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences welcomed the guest speakers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14414,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2274"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14414"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2274"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2277,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2274\/revisions\/2277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}