PHD CAREER TRAINING PLATFORM

BEYOND THE PROFESSORIATE

Helping doctoral students and postdocs answer the daunting question of “What can I do with my PhD?”

Our career training platform for doctoral students and PhDs prepares them for careers as faculty or beyond the professoriate. Through our platforms, learners access on-demand courses and live workshops to explore career options, make informed career decisions, and learn proven job search strategies to secure employment in their chosen career field.

50%

Of PhDs and postdocs are undecided about their career.

Source: Grad Career Success

43%

Do not know where to begin in their job search.

Source: Grad Career Success

55%

Worry that work and life will have less meaning outside of academia.

Source: Grad Career Success

72%

Of PhDs who used Beyond Prof felt more confident about their careers and future.

Source: Grad Career Success

I appreciate the structured, detailed, and realistic course and webinar design of Beyond the Prof. I feel that the nebulous world of post-PhD networking and job searching is broken down into logical and manageable steps and translated into the language of PhD students so that we know that we are capable of entering the job market confidently and with the preparation needed. I really appreciate the services that are offered by Beyond the Prof, as well as the thoughtfulness and diligence that is put into all of the courses, webinars, and guides.

My school did not have career advising for graduate students who were looking to explore careers outside of academia. I greatly appreciated having access to these programs to gain a sense of exactly what I wanted to do and how to execute it.

The content is superb and I have benefitted from learning to use LinkedIn as a tool for my networking. In fact, even learning the proper methods of networking was fantastic!! I remember taking in that workshop and being fascinated by all the things I was learning from her. I thought I knew what networking was previously. Also, the career sections, being able to hear from PhDs who are in the marketplace and giving us insight into jobs which aren't academic has been highly beneficial to me. I'm currently searching for a job and so the tools on this site have been relevant and very helpful. Thanks for putting these resources out for us.

The worksheets and webinars (including recordings) taught me how to approach the post-graduate experience and strategically think about ways I could use my doctorate degree outside of academia. I also found the community validating; the entire webinar audience was in some stage of doctoral study or completion and were all trying to figure out the next steps.

I really appreciate the variety of topics covered in the webinars and am grateful that they are always recorded and available for me to revisit in the video library. My favorite programming was the series about preparing for the academic job market offered in late summer. The examples used, while about fun and silly research topics like cookie recipes, were extremely helpful as I was preparing my own documents for the first time.

Preparing PhDs for Career Success

With too few opportunities in academia, the majority of PhDs will end up working in non-faculty careers. Most doctoral students and postdocs are unfamiliar with the range of career options available to them, lack confidence in their ability to articulate their value to employers, and are unsure of how to begin a job search outside of academia.

Based on a decade of experience, we have developed a four-step framework and curriculum to guide doctoral students and postdocs through the career exploration and decision-making process, and to implement a job search with proven strategies.

Our one-of-a kind career training platform provides PhDs with the tools and resources they need to confidently build careers wherever smart people are needed.

Curriculum for PhDs

Discover

In our foundational course, students build a rubric to measure career opportunities. Learners complete lessons to identify their marketable skills, workplace values, and who they are as a professional.

Research

In our second course, PhDs are shown how to apply their skills as researchers to identify possible career fields of interest. Learners gather evidence and evaluate if a faculty or non-academic career is right for them.

Implement

Once learners have chosen their career field of interest, they complete modules to learn how to confidently apply for a faculty job or positions beyond the professoriate.

Build

Our one-of-a-kind career video library features PhDs working in a range of career fields. Learners are able to hear how PhDs are leveraging their education and building impactful careers.

Your doctoral students and postdocs will have access to:

Unique curriculum

Designed to meet the unique professional development needs of PhDs. Video lessons, workbooks, and assessments help facilitate their learning experience.

Career video library

Interviews with PhDs working beyond the professoriate allow learners to hear how PhDs are building impactful careers in industry, non-profits, government, and higher ed.

Live Events

Live monthly webinars and special virtual conferences help engage students and postdocs in professional development throughout the academic year.

Certificate

By completing courses, students can earn certificates. Partner offices can incorporate our curriculum into campus-specific professional development programs.

Support for all doctoral and postdoc programs

Our curriculum helps PhDs identify their unique combination of skills, values, and attributes, and teaches them how to research careers that align with their rubric.

No two historians, anthropologists, or chemists will have the same rubric. We’ve seen historians who love languages learn to code and become software engineers; we’ve seen biologists who love working with students become career advisors.

Through our programming, learners reflect on who they are as a professional, what matters most to them in their work, and identify industries and career pathways where they can leverage their education and training. Our lessons provide proven strategies to help PhDs network, prepare job documents, and articulate their value to employers at each step of the job search – whether in academia or beyond.

This approach is proven to support PhDs from all academic disciplines.

Frequently Asked Questions

An annual subscription is determined by the size of the doctoral student and postdoc population your office serves. We offer discounted and bundled pricing for institutions that subscribe to both Beyond the Professoriate + Beyond Graduate School. Please book a demo and we can discuss pricing options for your campus.

Yes! We encourage all learners to complete the Discovery and Research stage to determine if a faculty or nonacademic career is right for them. Once they have made that decision, they complete modules to help them apply for either a faculty career or nonacademic career. Our faculty career modules help students write their application materials and prepare for a faculty job interview.

We use Single Sign-On which allows students and postdocs to login using their university ID/email address and password.

Yes, platform learners come from all disciplines. In feedback surveys, 95% of users say they feel more confident in their careers and futures, and 72% feel more prepared.

Yes, if your institution is not yet a subscriber, or if you have already completed your graduate education, you can purchase a life-time membership here.