Since our launch, GPS-BIOMED has endorsed strategic career planning for graduate students and postdocs. We’ve expanded research training to include: professional skill workshops, career & networking opportunities, internships and alumni mentoring. However, with the variety of activities we (and our UCI partners*) offer, it can be overwhelming to select the ones that are ideal for a particular career path. For trainees who feel this way, we recommend the steps below.
Develop a Strategic Career Plan
- Review your individual development plan (or start a new one)
- Assess your strengths, skills and market value
- Establish manageable career goals and action items
- Select activities that align with your research progress and meet your career goals
These steps can greatly reduce the anxiety, which commonly accompanies a career transition. Below we share career-related questions we commonly hear from trainees, and illustrate how these questions can be answered with a strategic plan.
Lastly, we are thrilled to unveil new content designed to help trainees explore specific career paths. On each page, we provide an overview of job prospects and draw attention to the skills and experiences required to break into a field. We hope you enjoy exploring the following paths:
- Biotechnology & Pharma
- Business, Consulting & Entrepreneurship
- Data Science
- Intellectual Property Law
- Science Communication
- Science Policy
- Teaching
*GPS-BIOMED regularly collaborates with the UCI Graduate Division and Division of Career Pathways that offer career guidance for trainees in all disciplines.
Additional information about career paths for biomedical PhD’s can be found on the following sites:
- AAAS Career Development Courses. Online certificate programs and courses covering a range of topics that promote academic success and nonacademic career prep.
- Explore the skills that can open doors after your doctoral training. Article discussing the variety of soft and technical skills learned in graduate school and how they transfer to diverse career fields. Interactive activity allows you to review skills for different workforce sectors.
- Careers in Biology. Explore your options for careers in biology, improve your professional skills, navigate your training and learn what is happening in the biomedical workforce (iBiology).
- Career Choices for Biomedical Scientists. Examples of how biomedical training applies to a variety of careers (NIH-BEST.org).