Exploring Your Career Options

Career exploration and preparation should occur throughout your time in graduate school.

This does not necessarily mean you should be drafting cover letters while completing your coursework or applying for positions while you are preparing for your comprehensive exams. However, regularly assessing your skills, interests, values, and ultimate career goals is essential as these often radically change as you progress through your program.

For example, during your first or second year in your program you might discover that you really enjoy teaching but have become less enthusiastic about running your own lab or multi-year research projects. Perhaps you enjoy research but prefer writing shorter policy papers or find yourself drawn to community engagement projects in education or the arts. Regularly assessing your interests and values and the career options that best align with those interests and values is vital in finding a career path that is a good fit for you.

Getting Started

We understand that career exploration and self-assessment both take effort and can often be daunting, and we're here to help! The resources on this site are here to help you get started, but we also want to encourage you to reach out to Dr. Nicole Reiz, Director of Professional Development, and the career coaches in the University Career Center to help you explore and navigate the various career pathways open to you.