The big book of PhD career advice

Dr. Joseph Barber

Well…, it is not so much a big book of advice, but rather a whole bunch of books full of advice helpful to PhDs in the process of exploring careers and applying for them. You can find a great overview of some of the most helpful books out there right now by taking a look at Natalie Lundsteen’s post on the Carpe Careers blog. I’ve mentioned this blog a couple of times in my posts primarily because it is an entire blog written for PhD students and postdocs by career advisors who work primarily with PhD students and postdocs from universities and academic institutions across the US. You can’t get more tailored content than that! In her post, Natalie provides a short description of some of her favorite books, including:

  1. So What Are You Going to Do With That? Finding Careers Outside Academia
  2. The Academic Job Search Handbook
  3. The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide to Turning Your Ph.D. Into a Job
  4. Give and Take
  5. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
  6. Networking for Nerds
  7. Zen and the Art of Making a Living
  8. How to Negotiate Your First Job
  9. Career Opportunities in Biotechnology and Drug Development.

Check out the comments section of Natalie’s post as well, and you’ll see a couple more suggestions for books, as well as a few of the authors popping up to say hello! Also, the newest (5th) edition of the Academic Job Search Handbook will be available in early March of this year, and once we have copies you can come to Career Services to pick up yours for $10 (discounted from the publisher’s price). You might recognize the names of some of the authors if you have stopped by our offices for an appointment or participated in one of our workshops! I know of two other books that are currently being written for the PhD/postdoc audience that will be focusing on career exploration and opportunities (and there may be more than I don’t know about). There are also plenty of older and newer publications available in the Career Services reference library – stop by and browse the next time you are in for an appointment. librarybooks With all of this information available, you should have plenty of reading material to give you a solid understanding of how you can leverage your PhD to find careers that fit your goals, interests, and skills.    

Author: Joseph

Joseph Barber is a Senior Associate Director at Career Services serving graduate students and postdocs. He has a PhD in animal behaviour and animal welfare, and continues to teach these subjects as an adjunct professor at Hunter College (CUNY).