Congrats! You did it! You have your Ph.D.!
While this is one of the most momentous achievements in a graduate’s life so far, many Ph.D. recipients are then plagued with a question that seems more daunting than getting a Ph.D. – what do I do now? Do I apply for postdoctoral fellowships, or try for an industry position? The reality is that most people don’t know, and that’s ok! Now we take the time to figure it out.
Most students have the Ph.D. advisor that pushes manuscript writing and injects the “publish-or-perish” mindset because 1) that’s the only thing they’ve ever been taught and 2) the only experience they’ve ever known. When asking advisors about the prospect of a non-academic life, many either don’t know or dissuade their students from applying to industry positions because they want to nurture their own academic lineage. It’s a real shame, considering that the recent statistics report that between 121-25%2 of Ph.D. graduates will land an academic job after graduation, even after completing a postdoctoral fellowship. Therefore, there needs to be more education for graduate students about how to apply to, and successfully obtain, non-academic jobs.
The best thing you can do as a Ph.D. student is to diversify. I know this seems counterintuitive, considering the journey of a Ph.D. is to become an expert in a small, niche topic. From my experience, to be successful in landing either a postdoc or an industry position, you should develop some skillsets that go beyond sequestering yourself in an office alone writing for many hours a day. Now, if you love doing that, then an academic job is certainly a route for you. For most, however, that’s not the only thing that makes them want to pursue either an academic or non-academic job. Discovering which parts of your Ph.D. you enjoy (e.g., writing, coding, project management, working with people, working independently, problem solving, being the tech wizard, etc.) is a secret to unlocking what type of job you want to pursue long-term.
If you want to continue along an academic path, a postdoctoral fellowship is the logical next step. I felt like mine was a great option at the time: I diversified my research portfolio into a more clinical space (cochlear implants), I learned a new research skill (fNIRS), and I had more training in the aspects of being an academic that I didn’t get an opportunity to hone when I was a Ph.D. student (e.g., grant writing, becoming a publication machine). I also suggest trying to get some teaching experience, especially if you didn’t get the chance to do so in your Ph.D. program, because there are a lot of non-R1 research jobs that favor those who have taught at the collegiate level. I was an adjunct professor at a small liberal arts school teaching one class which was a manageable workload while still being a full-time postdoc. It’s also a way for you to determine whether you like teaching, which is a large part of most academic jobs.
If you want an industry job, a postdoc is also a great option. It was in my postdoc that I met industry partners that led me to my non-academic consulting job. It was also the place where I became more confident in myself, developed my presentation skills, and met a myriad of new people – all things that would become advantageous in my non-academic job. The neuroimaging skills I developed in my postdoc also directly led me to my scientific consulting position.
If you are considering an industry job in any capacity, however, I wish I would have spent more time applying to internships that are only available to students. Big tech companies like Google, Meta, and Amazon, look for Ph.D. students in the summer to help with research projects. Start-up companies also often prefer hiring students for projects because they don’t have the funds to pay the salary of a post-grad. Instead of doing an internship, I joined the staff of two EdTech companies part-time as a research mentor for high school students. These jobs led me to the final round of interviews for both a part-time research program manager position and for a major EdTech language app company.
The best thing to do, down either path, is to network. I know this is often a scary task for many Ph.D. students and post-grads who spend most days in a windowless lab rather than talking to people, but it’s really a simple concept: make friends. This can be at academic conferences either talking to a poster presenter or stopping by an industry booth. This can also happen when joining a student committee either at school or for a conference you regularly attend. This can happen in your lab or in your graduate cohort (yes, befriend your lab mates!). This can occur outside of academic settings through virtual connections with people you meet on LinkedIn or other social media platforms, or even through your hobbies! Most of my favorite and most memorable networking success stories have come from my hobbies. Don’t abandon your hobbies in graduate school! You will be pleasantly surprised by the number of people who want to connect with you and help you reach out to other people in their field. I will admit that every single academic and industry position I got (except for my current faculty position) was through a connection.
Most importantly, I think what is not communicated enough in graduate school is to stay open-minded. When I started graduate school, I was dead set on getting an industry position. By the end, due to life circumstances, I pursued a postdoctoral fellowship. Then, when I ran out of funding, I decided to try for an industry position so I could work remotely. The most unexpected life turn was when I decided to take a big risk and return to academia. If you had asked me 10+ years ago before I started my Ph.D. journey what I would be doing today, the last thing I would have imagined is that I would be a tenure-track professor. I’m a big believer in experiencing things yourself before making decisions on how you want to live your life, and especially, how you want to pursue your career. While you’ll get advice on pursuing one direction or another from many people in your life, it’s important to make these decisions for yourself through a personal, experiential lens.
So, considering a postdoc or an industry job? Why not apply for both and see what happens? You always have time to pivot if you don’t like something, or to continue on a path if you do like it. The journey will help lead you to the destination, and you’ll know within yourself what it is you want to pursue long-term.
Sources:
1. Larson, R. C., Ghaffarzadegan, N. & Xue, Y. Too Many Ph.D. Graduates or Too Few Academic Job Openings: The Basic Reproductive Number R0 in Academia. Syst. Res. 31, 745–750 (2013).
2. Skakni, I., Kereselidze, N., Parmentier, M., Delobbe, N. & Inouye, K. PhD graduates pursuing careers beyond academia: a scoping review. Higher Education Research & Development 45, 235–254 (2026).