Career Development Series

Dr. Darlene Zellers provided an overview of the ADAPT model of career development and reviewed the numerous resources available for doctoral students to help with their professional and career development throughout their training at the University of Pittsburgh.

Learn about Katz graduate courses that were designed for busy, working adults like you! Take one, two, or all four courses, which will earn you a Leading People in Organizations microcredential from the University of Pittsburgh Katz Graduate School of Business. In this session, a panel of your peers answered questions about the courseload, the value of the individual courses, the advantage of a business microcredential, and more.

If you love writing and want to find a way to combine that strength with your scientific background, then this session is for you! We heard from a panel of PhD alumni who work in diverse fields, including medical writing, scientific writing, and regulatory writing, in environments ranging from companies to freelance. What does a "day in the life of" look like, how do they use their PhD background to give them an edge, and what recommendations do they have for those who want to enter these fields? These questions were covered in this interactive session.

This session provided information about the free on-campus and online programming and certification program designed to help develop the skills needed for a professional career in STEM. The University of Pittsburgh is one of over 40 higher education institutions that partner with the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) to provide professional development to STEM graduate students, postdocs, and new faculty.

Did you know that being a faculty member is about more than just doing your own, independent research? View this information session to learn foundational knowledge about what being a faculty member is all about, the different types of faculty positions, the different responsibilities that feed into the role, and the importance of institution type when considering a career in academia.

Dr. Darlene Zellers, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Career Development in the Health Sciences, and Director of the Office of Academic Career Development, 1) presented an overview of the ADAPT model of career development planning, 2) discussed how a developmental approach to professional training and career development can complement your appropriate stage of academic and scholarly training, and 3) addressed any questions about career development resources for doctoral students at Pitt.

Are you interested in obtaining a faculty position in academia? View this session to hear from Pitt faculty about how to successfully launch an academic career. Learn about the academic job search, gain tips on how to successfully navigate this process and how to give a winning job talk, learn what the hiring committee looks at, and more. This session draws upon the experiences of Pitt faculty as well as someone who was at Pitt and hired elsewhere to explore the challenges and opportunities associated with the academic job search.

Are you looking for a way to make an impact in academia outside of the lab? Watch this session to learn about exciting career paths across the university that are ideal for PhDs like you! Research administration is a profession that is broad, ranging from managing and implementing research initiatives, to ensuring compliance with institutional policies and federal laws, to helping researchers apply for and obtain grants and manage funding.

This workshop showed participants how to identify dream jobs and provided practical steps to understanding the industry landscape as well as job opportunities. The presenter, Kerry Boehner, also covered how to best market yourself, and ensure interview success in landing your ideal role. It takes a ton of effort, but it's worth it in the long run!

Karen Carney, PhD, a past postdoctoral associate in the Department of Neurology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, provided opening remarks at the 2022 SCIENCE Career Symposium that covered 10 insider tips to achieving your career goals.