Chapter 4 Go Beyond Your Program

---

A recurring theme in pop culture is to go back and do high school again, usually either with a time machine or a magical reunion weekend. While the idea makes most right-thinking people shudder, it plays off the notion of how past choices shape our present and future, and how inevitably we always wish we could revisit some of our past decisions. It has particular resonance for high school because adolescence is such a confusing, ambiguous, and intense period of life, yet when you look back at it, you can often see things much more clearly and recognize what you would have done differently; rarely is this second sight about the actual schoolwork, but more about the social connections and life opportunities of that unique hothouse period of life (what if your crush liked you back, but you were both too shy to say anything? …).

We introduce this disturbing idea of lost opportunities because doing a PhD is possibly the next closest experience to high school. Not only does it replicate most of the above features (confusion? check; ambiguity? check; intensity? check; hothouse? check; unrequited love? … um, hopefully not!), but it is also an experience that many people look back on and think about things they could have done differently beyond the formal program. This chapter is about how to make the most of that experience—the first time. You will be in your doctoral program for years. It can be tempting to think that you should just put your nose to the grindstone (ouch), focus exclusively on your program, and power through to finish as soon as possible. However, this approach has major opportunity costs and—irony of all ironies—may not necessarily get you through your program any more quickly. Your formal doctoral program—the classes, the comps, the dissertation—is the foundation for your career preparation, but it is in your interest to take action to build upon this foundation.

This is a unique period of your life and it is up to you to make the most of it. We continually emphasize personal agency and the need to take ownership for your career as soon as possible. In this vein, you should make it a priority to pursue opportunities beyond your formal academic program and the particular non-program training opportunities available to you as a PhD student. We use the word “priority” very deliberately: We don’t just feel you should “try” to squeeze in some activities that are not directly related to your academic program; we argue that you should actually make a strong, concerted effort to do so. Pursuing non-program activities is an investment in your future career, regardless of what sector you end up in. Your return on the investment will be increased information, enhanced skills, and expanded networks—all of which will benefit you in the long run.

Shouldn’t I focus solely on my program and dissertation?

Given the long duration of many social science and humanities PhD programs, there is an understandable mantra of “focus on getting the dissertation done.” This is sound, in the same way that eating a balanced diet and getting a good night’s sleep are important. But just as your life doesn’t solely consist of eating and sleeping, getting to and then through the dissertation should not be your only focus. You obviously want to complete your program in a reasonable amount of time to avoid financial and personal strain and to minimize the opportunity costs of being out of the workforce. But opportunity costs cut both ways: If you skip opportunities to build knowledge, skills, networks, and experiences that will help your career, simply to add “PhD” to your name earlier and spend more time unemployed and looking for work, the gain is not entirely clear. You want to use this time of your life as wisely as possible, from the earliest point possible. It can be tempting to ignore the many opportunities outside your program until later (like maybe next term, or perhaps after you have finished a first draft of your dissertation) … after all, you have classes to select, TA work to prepare for, and much more immediate and pressing things on your mind. But by starting immediately—even if you are in your first year—you can make smaller, less concentrated time investments that pay dividends later.

What am I looking to gain from non-program activities?

There are numerous possible benefits from non-program activities, such as doing things that energize you, earning extra money, and just generally being a well-rounded and interesting person. On top of these more personal gains, and assuming that you aim (as we strongly recommend) to position yourself for multiple career options, we suggest you strategically seek to obtain the following:

• Information: Making the best decisions requires information, but PhD programs on their own typically leave students surrounded by people working in the same narrow career area and provide little insight into the larger career universe. Increased information, whether obtained through direct experiences, talking to people, workshops, or by other means, gives you an idea of the possibilities and your interests, and opens you up to inspiration—which is always a good thing. It also gives you much-needed strategic insight on what competencies you have and what skills you should develop to enter the job market in a strong position. In most sectors, employers are not looking for PhDs per se, or even individuals trained in particular disciplines. They are looking for career competencies, knowledge, and experience to solve a problem they have (more on that in chapter 8), and many do not realize how PhDs can bring the qualities they are seeking to the job. By planning ahead, you can reduce or eliminate this problem: You will be able to explain how your existing skills and knowledge connect to different environments, and you will identify what additional skills and knowledge you need to build in—and then have the opportunity to develop these.

• Experience/skill development: During your program, you obtain and apply numerous skills, but because you are surrounded by others with similar training you may not see these clearly. Further, there are some competencies that benefit your career prospects that are often left underdeveloped over a doctoral program. In chapter 3 we suggested that you assess your formal coursework options through a career competencies lens. Building on this, we encourage you to assess your various activities—your ta or ra work, your volunteer engagements, and so forth—to identify where you already have experience and to identify where you need to be proactive to strategically seek out opportunities. Activities outside your formal program, such as volunteering, internships, and employment, can provide important opportunities to develop both skills and evidence that you have these skills.

Table 4.1 Worksheet: Non-program evidence of career competencies

Career Competency	Evidence of Competency (examples)	Your Personal Evidence
Critical thinking and problem solving	Designed and administered online survey of cross-country ski club membership; analyzed results to inform club’s official submission to the municipal planning committee
Written and oral communication skills	Lead author for cross-country ski club’s official submission to the municipal planning committee
Digital technology	Programmed and maintained website for local dog rescue society
Professionalism	Organized workshop at national conference, including selecting speakers, managing logistics (space, food, audiovisual), event promotion
Teamwork and collaboration	Worked with three other TAs to develop a common approach to discussion groups and to coordinate grading standards
Leadership	Served as president of a not-for-profit board for four years
Global/intercultural fluency	Worked with local refugee settlement group to assist newcomers in their interactions with the school system

• Networks: You need other people to advance your career. As a start, you need an inner circle of “close ties,” people who will serve as strong references and who are generally invested in your success. But beyond this, you need to develop layers of “weak ties,” people who might be willing to make connections for you and alert you to opportunities. It may be that just seeing the word “networking” makes you feel a little queasy and brings up painful memories of the guy who passed out business cards at your uncle’s funeral, and in chapter 7 we explain how to network as part of cultivating an overall professional reputation. But here we’re highlighting networking and building those “weak ties” as an objective in itself—something that can be achieved, to varying degrees, by effectively working the options below. As with information and skill building, networking and expanding your world of contacts is more effective the earlier you start.

What are the options?

Activities have varying degrees of benefit; some provide information, experience or skill development, and networking opportunities, while others provide just one or two of these, and still others are—how do we say this politely?—soul-sucking wastes of time and energy to be avoided at all costs. There are eight basic options for you to consider.

Table 4.2 Activity and likelihood of benefits

	Information	Experience/Skills	Networks
Training Programs	High	Low to high	Low
Experiential Programs	High	High	High
Talks and Events	Low to moderate	None	Moderate
Conferences	Moderate	Low to moderate	High
Teaching and Research Assistant Work	Low to moderate	Moderate to high	Low
Volunteer Activities	Low to moderate	Moderate to high	Moderate to high
Employment	Moderate to high	High	High
Informational Interviews	High	None	High

Training programs

Your university undoubtedly offers a cornucopia of short-term training programs, be it through the library, information technology services, or some other unit. On top of this, your faculty of graduate studies or university career centre likely offers their own programs and services, many universities are members of larger consortiums that deliver online services or other programming, and some disciplinary associations offer their own training options. We suggest that you set a goal of completing one training program of some sort every single term of your program (including the spring/summer term). Start by looking for a general session about preparing for careers. As you move forward, select more tailored classes, such as using citation software or developing methodological expertise, for skills that you can use as you are moving through your program and that you can list on your résumé. As degree completion comes closer, start adding in more applied career classes, such as developing CVs and résumés. If available to you, we strongly recommend sales and business skills courses; these classes help you learn how your competencies are marketable and can add value to employers across the academic, industry, government, and not-for-profit sectors as well as your own self-employment prospects. If your university does not offer a training program that you need, don’t be afraid to ask about the possibility of establishing such a course. They may be able to accommodate you or direct you elsewhere.

Experiential programs

Training programs will only take you so far. It is one thing to listen to a speaker, or read a book (even this one), apply a skill in a workshop, or speak to a career coach, and it is quite another to learn through experience. Formal internships, apprenticeships, and other structured work experiences seek to consciously build career competencies and do not presume that the student will necessarily pick up the learning benefits of work engagement passively or implicitly. There is a range of possible activities, with varying time commitments and financial compensation. When you explore the options, don’t assume that the suggested disciplinary labels are necessarily indications that the opportunities are limited to those disciplines.

Talks and events

As a PhD student, you will have many great opportunities on your campus that you may never have again; not until PhD candidates leave their programs do they realize that a steady stream of visiting speakers and seminars is not normal in other organizations and workplaces. It can be difficult and even overwhelming to figure out which ones to attend, with many guest speakers, talks, and events calling for your attention. Other types of university events include symposiums, receptions, and other primarily social gatherings that bridge different parts of the university and external communities. The intellectual value of these may vary (as can the quality of the food), but they can be excellent opportunities to expose yourself to different ideas, meet new people, and generally build connections outside your program and disciplinary world.

Many PhD students massively underinvest here, focused as they are on their own work, but it is strategically important to go to things outside your immediate focus. Some activities will contribute to your own intellectual stimulation, which is why universities support them in the first place. Other activities build and reinforce important connections. You may view departmental social events like the holiday reception as tedious distractions from your real work—because they can be—but an hour or two of interacting with other students (who may serve as future contacts), faculty (who may serve as future job references), and the department chair (who is in charge of teaching assignments) can be a good investment.

On the other hand, since there is indeed a strong risk of distraction, develop a strategy for deciding which events are worth your time. For most people, the strategy is simple: Is the topic in your area of interest? We challenge you to go beyond that, though, looking for things that offer possibilities to push your boundaries and expand your world—for example, learning new methodologies, ideas, and approaches that sound interesting, or connecting with people who can ask challenging questions about your own work.

Table 4.3 Should I attend the event?

Is the time reasonable and not hugely disruptive to my schedule?	Yes: 5 pts No: 0 pts
Is there a chance I will learn something or enjoy at least some of it?	Yes: 20 pts No: 0 pts
How many people will be there?	Less than 20: 10 pts 20–49: 5 pts 50+: 0 pts
Is it primarily a program event (sitting and listening) or an interactive event (e.g., reception)?	Program: 0 pts Interactive: 10 pts
Are there specific people attending that I want to meet?	Yes: 20 pts No: 0 pts
Will my presence or absence be noted, and if so, will anyone care?	Yes and yes: 10 pts Yes and no: 5 pts No: 0 pts
Is it a job talk in or related to my discipline?	Yes: 50 pts No: 0 pts
Scoring: 0–10: Feel free to skip it. 15–30: Debatable use of time. 30+: Go! This scoring, you will note, has you attending every single job talk that you can, even if you have decided that you do not want an academic career, or even if the topic has nothing to do with your own interests, or even if you have to rearrange things in your schedule to attend. You are not attending for content (although learning new things is always good). You are attending to watch and see what works, and what doesn’t work, in presenting oneself for the job market, and how presenters can effectively respond to challenging questions.

Our experience: Jonathan

One of the most important aspects of my doctoral education was attending weekly speaker seminars. My department invested heavily in bringing in Canadian and international visitors from across the discipline, and I was a faithful attender every Friday afternoon, no matter what the topic. I sometimes (often?) had almost no idea what people were talking about. But at the end of the talk I always knew a little bit more than I did before, and I gained a much broader and deeper understanding of the discipline, as well as different methodologies, presentation styles, and intellectual outlooks. It was also a chance to see the departmental faculty in action and connect with many of them. Not all programs can afford to invest as heavily here, but this was a fundamental aspect of my PhD program and intellectual development and an incredible immersion into the world of academia.

Conferences

Conferences are part of being a career professional. They are an important way to exchange ideas and build interpersonal connections. They can also be key instruments of professional socialization, with many people of the same ilk gathered in one place and learning and reinforcing certain norms. While conferences are a time and financial investment, there are numerous payoffs. One is new ideas. Listen. Go to panels; some will be duds, but some will surprise you. A good conference experience often involves hearing for the first time about a new theme, book, or thinker, then at a subsequent panel hearing it again, and realizing this is something you should check out. Another is new connections: Meeting people at conferences is a critical way to build your professional reputation and network. And a final payoff is having fun! Dinners and receptions can be more relaxed than you might think, and whether or not you make those professional connections, you can always make some possibly lifelong friends.

As a PhD candidate, you will be automatically encouraged to attend and present at academic conferences. Most academic conferences involve an open call for participants, and the primary activity of the conference is going to each other’s presentations. It is also useful to consider professional conferences, which are typically limited to keynote speakers and plenary sessions and are typically more expensive (but with better food). Of potential interest are those oriented around ideas and that solicit newcomers and external participants, rather than the annual gathering of widget manufacturers. Examples here might include conferences devoted to public issues and ideas, which may have a direct connection to your work, and professional development conferences, which may be oriented around a particular profession or themes, like leadership. Regardless of the conference, seek advice from your supervisor or others on whether you are likely to get a good return on your investment.

Academic conferences: Poster or paper?

Academic conferences in the social sciences and humanities tend to have a certain uniformity, not only in Canada but also beyond, with a time-honoured model of a panel of usually three people each presenting their research, followed by a discussant who has read the papers beforehand and prepared comments, and then questions from the audience. The chief alternative is poster presentations, where the research is laid out on a large visual display, the author may be standing by to answer questions, and there may or may not be an actual written paper. Posters can give you more freedom and be more effective at reaching people beyond the tiny audiences at many panels, but they are sometimes viewed warily in the humanities and most social sciences as interlopers from the stem disciplines (in our view unjustly). Posters are often well thought out, while a time-honoured joke is that papers are written or read on the plane flying to the conference.

The official reason to go to academic conferences is usually to present new research (hopefully a dissertation chapter) and receive feedback on it. But realistically, getting meaningful feedback on a conference paper or poster should be considered a bonus. Assigned discussants are often hit and miss—even diligent ones often struggle with papers and disparate panels that just aren’t in their main area of competence—and audiences for papers and posters alike can be small with wildly random questions. Ideally you will receive some great feedback, but the true payoff is the discipline of forcing yourself to write the paper or visualize your work in the first place, and to think about how to summarize it in 15 minutes or a poster.

Which should you pick? Consider both your PhD stage and your existing experiences. If you are at an earlier stage in your program or you have experience presenting a paper, consider going for a poster. Later in your program, aim to get some conference presentation experience under your belt. And regardless of where you are in your program, look into thesis summary competitions. Being able to present your work in two or three minutes is a crucial skill that you will never regret developing.

Teaching and research assistant work

TA and RA work should serve two functions. One, as discussed in chapter 2, is financial support to get you through your PhD, which is a pretty good reason. But the second is to build your professional competencies, and there is always a risk that focusing too much on the first makes you lose sight of the second. Just as you can make a compelling argument that your completed dissertation is evidence of project management abilities (it demonstrates that you can set long-term goals, break them down into smaller components, and achieve them, and that you can strategize different approaches and make effective decisions about the path forward), your TA and RA work are important opportunities for competency development. The challenge is to see it as such, to seek out the right opportunities that give you the best investment of your time, and to carefully document the tasks and translate these into associated career competencies. For TAing, opportunities to interact directly with students rather than just marking a big stack of papers are almost always more desirable; while leading a bored discussion group at 8:30 a.m. Monday may not be an energizing experience, it builds competencies such as oral communication, leadership, perhaps intercultural fluency, and others.

RA work varies immensely but—good news—grant agencies tend to require RA work to be tied to building specific skills and competencies, not just hours of data entry. And if you do end up entering data, that’s okay up to a point; another piece of good news is that since this work is normally paid according to a fixed and often flexible number of hours, this area is the least likely to get out of control and eat up all the time available. Admittedly, often PhD students don’t feel they have a lot of choice here and must take whatever TA and RA assignments they can get. But look for ways to exercise agency, especially through the networking that we talked about above. There may be more flexibility and options than you assume.

Volunteer activities

We applaud any effort to make the world a better place and thus encourage volunteer activities in their own right. But make no mistake: Some volunteer activities can really help build specific competencies, knowledge, or contacts for your professional goals. This may mean getting involved in student associations, campus unions, and community organizations, or initiating things yourself where you see a need. (One option here is organizing alumni panels or employer panels for your department, allowing you to build competencies and networks at the same time.)

But be forewarned: The time demands of these activities may be bottomless, and the work can feel so needed and rewarding that you get sucked into making this your primary activity for diminishing returns. It is important to (1) set boundaries on time commitments and (2) look for opportunities that offer challenges and growth for you, or at least can lead to interesting stories to relate in a job interview. It’s important not to lose sight of priorities here, lest you hear yourself saying things like, “I will only volunteer for the bake sale if I am put in charge of all revenues and addressed as chief pastry officer.” But look for ways in which you can stretch yourself, build connections with your work and with other people, and generally make a difference both for the world and for yourself.

Employment

Some students seek out employment beyond TA and RAships during their programs. The primary motivation is usually income, especially after they exhaust their funding packages, and we certainly respect that. It’s understandable, but the opportunity costs also need to be understood, since a job of any kind eats up time and energy and makes it harder to complete your program even if you are a little better off financially. (While some individuals can balance a full-time job with working on their dissertation on evenings and weekends, don’t be certain you’re one of them.) However, as with TA and RAships, the focus on income shouldn’t negate a focus on building career competencies if at all possible. In fact, there are good reasons for taking a professional-style job during your PhD even if the income is not vital—as long as it advances your skills, contacts, and long-term prospects. You may even find it energizing to be in a professional environment (though see “eats up time and energy” above), and the closer the work is to your PhD interests, the more it might improve your dissertation. There are all sorts of possibilities here. It can be difficult to fine-tune things too closely (sometimes a job is just a job), but our message is that it can be okay to take on employment outside the PhD, though hopefully for career development rather than just a paycheque. It may even be that you enjoy it so much you abandon your PhD entirely (more on that below), which is also okay.

Our experience: Jonathan

In the fifth year of my PhD, I took a full-time contract for three months with the Ontario government. The project was on something closely related to my dissertation, it was a stimulating professional environment, and it allowed me to apply for full-time positions inside the public service. The work was interesting; I enjoyed every day, and it shaped a lot of my dissertation ideas and thinking. I never managed to land a full-time position, but if I had, I’d probably still be there.

Informational interviews

One of the best ways to learn about career options and what specific careers are really like is to speak to individuals who are working in a field. Informational interviews are a standard way to do this: They provide inside information and allow you to build and expand your professional networks. The idea of cold calling strangers to ask to meet with them may make you uncomfortable, but informational interviews are common and you should not feel that you are making an unusual or outrageous request. In the early years of your program, such meetings will provide you with key insights on the competencies that are valued in different careers; in the later years of your program, these meetings may lead to critical networks that feed directly into your job search.

Informational interviews in five easy steps

1. Establish a list of 20+ names: Brainstorm a list of people you know personally. Ask your supervisor, committee members, and graduate and department chairs for names of alumni from your program (both completed PhDs and those who left the program without completing) and from other programs at your university. Ask your family and friends for suggestions, then move out to the true-strangers realm: Do a search of individuals with PhDs in your field, of names of individuals working in areas that might interest you, and so forth.

2. Make the request: Contact the person and ask for a short meeting at their convenience, ideally in their office (requests to meet “for coffee” or worse still “a drink” suggest an extended social engagement that verges on an awkward blind date). If the person is in a different city, request a short telephone conversation. Clarify that you are not asking for a job, but rather that you are seeking information on careers more broadly. The request should be fairly straightforward, such as the following email:

Dear Ms. Adams,

I am a writing to request a 20 minute meeting with you to learn more about careers in community relations. I am currently in the last year of my PhD in sociology and am curious to learn how community relations work. I am happy to meet with you in your office or speak with you by telephone at your convenience.

Thank you for considering this request. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Melissa Abelson, PhD student

Department of Sociology, Bigcity University

3. Prepare: Do your background research. Learn as much as possible about the organization, field, and individual from online and other sources. Prepare a specific list of questions to ask about what the job type entails, what skills are involved, and what the entry points are. Include in that list of questions a closing question that asks if they can recommend additional people that you should talk to (and permission to use your interviewee’s name when contacting said people). Ask frankly whether having a PhD is viewed positively or negatively in the field. You might be pleasantly surprised, but either way it is useful information.

4. Work the interview: Use the time as an opportunity to both gather information and develop your professional reputation and networks. Arrive a few minutes early (but not too early), dress professionally, and be respectful of the interviewee’s time.

5. Follow up and reflect: Send a thank you email and keep a record for yourself of the date and details of the interview for future reference. Reflect on what competencies you learned to be valuable in that sector, and consider how you might build experience with (and concrete evidence of) that competency.

Our experience: Loleen

One extracurricular activity I pursued as a PhD student has had unexpected lasting benefits for me. On a whim, I signed up for an improv class. I had not taken any drama training before (or since, for that matter), but it looked interesting. The class taught me how to go along with things spontaneously in the moment and work positively with a situation that might not be what I wanted, how to respond quickly and effectively on the spot, and how to be comfortable in awkward situations. It was a fun activity that benefited both my think-tank work and my teaching career. (Live radio interviews, making presentations to decision makers, interacting with the public, and managing a large class of undergraduate students all require the ability to adapt in the moment.) It was an experience that paid off in ways I never expected.

How do I determine what is a sound investment of time?

As with everything covered in this book, it’s not always easy to discern what the wisest choice is. So let’s return to our guiding question: Given both my future goals and the information currently available to me, what is my best decision right now? This is particularly important when considering what additional activities to take on during your program, as you want to avoid time-sucking commitments with limited benefit. Thus, you need to weigh the amount of time required against the payoff you can reasonably expect. The questions in Table 4.4 will help.

Table 4.4 Worksheet: Assessing time vs. payoff

Questions	Your Answers
Time:
- Is this a fixed commitment or a one-time thing? Is it something I can get out of or adjust my involvement?
- Is it short term (hours, days, weeks) or long term (months, years)?
- Is the schedule flexible?
- How likely is it that the time demands will grow?
- What is my exit plan from this commitment?
- How much research have I done on the above? How confident am I about my answers?
Payoff:
- What information, skills, or networks can I reasonably expect to gain?
- Will this lead to a tangible experience or credential that others will recognize and value?
- Do I view this opportunity as comfortably familiar, moderately challenging, or a great leap into the unknown? (moderately challenging = best)
- Can I abandon this commitment without significant reputational consequences?
- Is the activity likely to energize or drain me?
- Does the activity involve any affiliations that may be problematic in any way? Or that may be beneficial in any way?
- How certain am I about any of the above?

Once you’ve answered to the best of your ability, think this way:

	Low Payoff	High Payoff
Limited, Flexible Time	If it makes you happy.	Definitely pursue.
	Things likely to fall in this quadrant:	Things likely to fall in this quadrant:
	- Some talks and events - Volunteer and paid work that does not build skills or expand networks	- Business skills workshops - Most career workshops - Most informational interviews - Selected talks and events - Selected conferences
High, Fixed Time	Avoid unless they provide needed money.	Pursue if you can, but double check all answers above first.
	Things likely to fall in this quadrant:	Things likely to fall in this quadrant:
	- Teaching and research opportunities that do not allow you to expand your skills - Heavy ongoing volunteer commitments	- Internships and other formal programs - Volunteer and paid work that allows you to build skills and networks

My side gig led to a real career opportunity. Should I finish my program?

Do you enjoy the career opportunity? Are you excited about it? If the answer is no, then deciding to pursue it—regardless of what you decide to do about your program—seems like a recipe for long-term unhappiness. True, a bird in the hand is a bird, but if you hate the bird its value to you is questionable at best.

But let’s say you do enjoy the career opportunity, and you do see a future for yourself. The question now becomes this: Do you try to pursue both the career opportunity and your program at the same time, or do you have to choose between the two? Here again, some questions are in order: Do you enjoy your program? How close are you to being done your program? What are the costs (financial, personal, opportunity) of finishing? What are the costs of ending your program before you receive the PhD? Is the career opportunity in a field in which a completed PhD will have important cachet for you down the line (such as a non-academic university position or a research position of any sort)?

Some people can consider such questions with cool dispassion, but most people find these issues agonizing. They may have concerns about “quitting,” feeling like a failure, letting a supervisor or a program down, giving up too early. Finishing the PhD may be a lifetime “bucket list” item, and they worry that its incompletion will haunt them. Before making any decisions, it is important to have a full understanding of your options. What are the possibilities for you to complete more quickly, working on a very concentrated basis? To complete more slowly, working on the program on a part-time basis? To switch dissertation formats to another available option? To change elements of your research project to make it easier to complete in a shorter time frame? To take a formal break from the program for a few months or even more?

Ideally, if you choose to leave your program, you will do so after fully considering all of the options and then determining that your drive for something else is greater. No matter what you decide, you want to be able to move forward with excitement and without regret. Take the necessary time to be able to reach such a decision point.

What do I do if I am at the end of my program and didn’t do any of this?

There is still time. There is always still time. Let’s get started right now:

1. Go back to the career competencies worksheet in chapter 1 and brainstorm both your program and non-program activities. Identify where you have concrete evidence and where you should make strategic investments of time and energy.

2. Look into the opportunities to complete a structured program, such as an internship. Assess if delaying your degree completion to participate in such a program is a worthwhile investment. Also explore opportunities for structured postdoctoral fellowships (see below) that integrate research and career training.

3. Identify the university programs and workshops that are available to you. Decide which present the most value relative to your current needs, and enrol immediately.

4. Set a target and timeline to complete 10–20 informational interviews. Ask your department for assistance in developing the list of interviewees.

Working your career means recognizing and maximizing your personal agency: You continually assess information and then make strategic choices in line with your goals. No matter what stage you are at, you have the ability to make strategic choices that can improve your possibilities and provide you with greater peace of mind.

How can I make the most of a postdoc position?

Postdoctoral positions have the advantages of providing a short-term career opportunity immediately after one’s degree completion while allowing recent graduates to continue research engagement, expand professional networks, and increase their publications. At the same time, they are intended as temporary positions and almost always require physical relocation with the associated (and often high) financial and personal challenges of such moves. Postdocs are less institutionalized in the social sciences and humanities compared to the natural, applied, and health sciences, but they are still common and often highly competitive. Their exact nature will vary considerably in terms of duties, mentorship, research autonomy, and compensation in terms of salary and benefits. The single most common model in Canada in the social sciences and humanities is the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships, in which individuals secure funds independently to work at a university other than the university from which they received their PhD. Most other postdocs are affiliated with individual researchers and units, who invite applications to work as a postdoc on a specific project (though the specificity varies), so the postdoc is essentially an employment contract with a specific individual scholar or research centre.

Just as you needed to show personal agency to work your program to maximize your career development, you also need to be strategic in how you work your postdoc. First, select carefully. If your primary goal is to build evidence of competencies for a non-academic career (including a research career), a fellowship that includes specific research training3 or an employment-based postdoc where you work for a specific principal investigator on their project can be particularly appropriate. In considering these opportunities, seek out in advance clarity on the specific tasks and expectations for the position, and assess how these will aid your skill development and career positioning. If your primary goal is to become more competitive for an academic career, you should consider postdoctoral options that allow you to establish important research networks or add a prestige university name to your résumé and CV, and given the importance of Tri-Agency funding (discussed further in chapter 5), applying for SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships is important. And if you are applying for a second (or third) postdoc after already holding a first, you should carefully consider how you can ensure the new position gives you an opportunity to expand your competencies and broader employability, rather than simply continuing along the same path and buying more time in academia. Regardless of type, when applying for postdoctoral positions, review the eligibility terms carefully, as some competitions place a limit on the total number of times one can apply (in such circumstances, a premature application is particularly ill advised), and most place a limit on the length of time between doctorate completion and application.

Second, once you are in a postdoc position, actively show personal agency to deepen research and professional relationships, develop competencies, and publish. A postdoc where you collect the salary and mostly work from your home office is a wasted opportunity. Develop a strong relationship with your supervisor and actively seek out the training and mentorship that you feel you need at this stage of your career. Engage in the department community, and develop relationships with others beyond your immediate supervisor or research team. Set publication goals for yourself and use your time as effectively as possible (see chapters 6 and 7). And take advantage of your new university’s career training opportunities, as discussed earlier in this chapter.

Third, make a decision immediately about where you are going to draw the line. In disciplines where postdocs are very common, it is increasingly typical to hold a string of postdocs before even being competitive for a tenure-track job. This is less the case in the social sciences and humanities, but for some individuals postdoctoral fellowships serve to delay an eventual shift to consideration of a broader range of career opportunities. Individuals holding a series of postdoctoral positions and limited-term appointments, with two years here and two years there, are not uncommon; for those who eventually end up in academic positions this gamble pays off, but for others there is an opportunity cost in that this time may have been better devoted to broader career development. There are many opportunities out there for you; perpetual temporary labour may achieve short-term goals but not your long-term ones.

How do I balance my program and non-program activities?

We began this chapter discussing the pop culture idea of going back and undoing regrets. As “do overs” are impossible, the goal is to minimize lost opportunities and unfortunate choices. In this chapter, we encouraged you to push your horizons beyond your formal program and seek out opportunities to increase your information, experience and skills, and networks. The career benefits are, we hope, readily apparent. But there are also personal benefits that may arise for you. Your engagement in the world beyond the academy will help make you a more interesting and relatable person. Generally speaking, people who do nothing but their jobs are boring, and this is even more true if they are academics. PhD students, having been taught to be critical thinkers and to engage aggressively with ideas, can at times lack a certain social awareness. They may not always realize when their demeanour is off-putting to a potential employer, colleague, or friend. Time in the broader world can help smooth out these social challenges that can arise from academic socialization. And, last but certainly not least, engaging in the larger world can be highly interesting and pleasurable. Life is short, and you should look for opportunities to enjoy it … even while you are pursuing your doctorate.

---

Footnote

3  At the time of publication (2018), an example of this type of program is the Mitacs Elevate postdoctoral fellowship. This two-year opportunity combines university research with a faculty supervisor and work at a partner organization, and includes a management curriculum to increase career skill training. Return to text.