Career Services Office
Career Exploration
Opportunities Are Everywhere
After you have spent some time with self-assessment activities and identified key values, skills, and interests, it is time to explore potential career matches. There are a multitude of career options for graduate students in all disciplines, but research, creativity, and resourcefulness are necessary to identify them. You must be proactive and take responsibility for defining your new career.
Students completing advanced training in virtually any discipline have skills that will transfer to a multitude of careers found in a wide variety of organizations. Graduate students may leave academia and find successful careers in private corporations, not-for-profit agencies and foundations, higher and secondary education, as well as in government and public policy careers. Both federal and state governments are projected to have millions of openings in the coming years due to an increase in retirements as well as the creation of new agencies.
Common Nonacademic Options for Post-Graduate Students
Research
The research skills honed in graduate school often lead students to positions in major corporations, government, or not-for-profit agencies.
- Corporations and government agencies - science and technology researchers, market and financial research
- Museums, historical societies, and research institutes - research and curator positions
- Not-for-profit think tanks - research and analysis positions
Communications
A multitude of communications careers are available to individuals with excellent analytical, writing, editing, and public speaking skills.
- Publishing: academic and trade publishing firms offer positions such as freelance editor, copy editor, or acquisitions assistant
- Corporate communications: editing corporate newsletters, directing communications initiatives, and developing training materials
- Public broadcasting and journalism: newspapers, radio, television and print communication offers opportunities for speech writers, technical writers, critics, columnists, and reviewers
Administration and Management
Administrative positions exist everywhere: in government agencies, private corporations, and not-for-profits (see below), as well as in higher education.
- Private corporations
- Management - often graduate students with outstanding leadership and organizational skills make excellent managers, especially after entering an organization in an entry-level position (often in sales, marketing, or advertising)
- Higher education
- Administration - students with master's or doctorates may find positions such as academic adviser, assistant dean, or director of a student services office attractive
- A doctorate is often necessary for most career advancement
- Secondary schools
- Teaching positions at private day or boarding schools
- Secondary school administration
- Administration at an independent music or arts school
Human Resources and Training
Teaching experience can help advanced-degree holders land positions in human resources departments, especially in the areas of training and development. Corporations are now the largest provider of adult vocational and technical education in the United States.
- Types of positions available
- Instructional designers
- Trainers
- Curriculum specialists
- Master instructors
- Types of training
- Basic skills remediation
- Management and supervisory training
- Technical skills instruction
- Safety and procedures
- "Soft skills" such as communication, conflict resolution, and project management
While specialized graduate degree programs are available to train students for these careers, individuals with teaching experience and advanced degrees in other areas are also desirable candidates.
Not-for-Profit Organizations
Many individuals with advanced degrees pursue careers with not-for-profit organizations, particularly in development and fundraising, and education-related organizations are particularly receptive to candidates with advanced degrees. These positions require excellent interpersonal and verbal communication skills
- Administration
- A wide variety of administrative positions are available in not-for-profit organizations, depending on the kind of organization
- For example, PhDs have acquired positions as executive directors of scholarly organizations (such as the Society for American Music), researchers and directors at testing agencies like the Educational Testing Service (ETS), and as professional administrators for educational organizations like the Committee for Institutional Cooperation (CIC).
- Grantwriting, Development and Fundraising
- Grantwriting can be a rewarding career for individuals with advanced degrees, because it often requires a great deal of research and the ability to translate information for a wider audience.
- A good way to get experience in this field is to do some volunteer grantwriting or development work at a not-for-profit organization in your area.
- For more information, see www.jhfc.duke.edu/fhi/wrk4us/discussions/grantwriting.php
Consulting
Large consulting firms such as McKinsey look for motivated, hard-working individuals with skills similar to those developed in graduate school. Smaller consulting firms abound, usually in more specialized fields. Entrepreneurial students with specialized - and marketable - skills often become independent consultants.
Entrepreneurship
Many graduates establish successful businesses in numerous fields, including counseling, freelance editing, writing, consulting, engineering, and software design.
International Opportunities
Students with proficiency in multiple languages and extensive travel experience have numerous opportunities in multi-national corporations and not-for-profit agencies, particularly if they are willing to live abroad.
Sales and Marketing
Like individuals with bachelor's degrees in the humanities, graduate students in the humanities, arts, and social sciences may pursue opportunities in business, often through entry-level sales positions.
- Often an excellent entry-level position in an organization
- Humanities backgrounds can be just as useful as business backgrounds here
