Career Development Resources

Nearly all approaches to effective career planning rely on concepts of research and experimentation, something that Berkeley doctoral students and postdocs do well. Career planning entails applying your research skills with you as the subject of your experiment. It is an exciting process and one you can engage in throughout your working life.

• Self-discovery to identify/define the interests, values, skills and priorities that motivate you.
• Investigate work environments to determine which types of jobs correspond with your particular combination of skills, interests, and values, and which organizations/industries hire people into those roles (think of this as the “literature review” – background information is readily available online or from professionals in the field).
• Collect data on yourself and “the world of work” and make the connection between your priorities and job market conditions; develop hypotheses about career options that suit you, and for which you might be hired.
• Test your hypotheses about good career options…engage with the scientific community on campus, or complete externships or internships. Getting work experience in your field(s) of interest can also build skills.
• Communicate your findings to others. As with all good research, it is not enough to dig up some answers. In career planning this is where networking and job searching come in. You might even think of your CV or resume as one way you “publish” results: show your skills in relation to target career fields.
• Career planning is iterative, just like scientific research. Sometimes you turn up information that changes the nature of the problem you are trying to solve. Or, you have the chance to develop and pursue new follow-on questions. For example, “how do I succeed once I am in my next role? What is the long-term trajectory for the career path that interests me?  What future changes in the work environment might impact the job?”

Self-discovery and Career Planning

Assess your interests, skills, preferences, values and strengths prior to trying to determine if a career path is a good “fit” for you. What truly motivates you? The following resources can help you develop a personal inventory, and organize your thoughts about your attributes and priorities.

There are so many careers available to scientists with advanced training. The information below will get you started on a path of discovery.