I'm a Researcher, What Next?

Tuesday 12 May: Considering your Career: Academia and Beyond for Postdocs (online)

In this interactive live workshop, we will help you explore your identity as a researcher, invite you to play with the idea of other ‘possible selves’, generate new ideas and discover strategies for moving your career forward.

Wednesday 13 May: Getting Started with Career Planning for PhDs (online)

In this interactive workshop we'll help you to get started with thinking about your next steps post-PhD.

We'll appraise the breadth of career options for PhDs, discuss the context in which you're thinking about your future career options and the implications for your career planning and we’ll introduce you to tools and approaches to work out what you want and highlight a range of resources and opportunities in Cambridge to help you explore your options and take charge of your career.

Tuesday 19 May: Recognising Your Skills as a Researcher

Join us for this workshop designed for early career researchers aiming to identify and articulate their skills. 

In this interactive session, we will use practical exercises and tools to objectively identify your skills and learn how to showcase them with clarity.

Being aware of your skills will help you to identify roles and opportunities that suit you - as well as helping you to communicate with employers who are looking for people with your skills. 

Tuesday 9 June: Applications for Non-Research Roles (online)

In this interactive workshop you will learn how to articulate the motivation for a career change. You will also use a real job advert to select evidence for transferable skills from academic research experience and additional activities. And we will talk about different CV formats. At the end, you will be ready to write a CV and Cover Letter.

Monday 22 June: Getting Started with Career Planning for PhDs (online)

In this interactive workshop we'll help you to get started with thinking about your next steps post-PhD.

We'll appraise the breadth of career options for PhDs, discuss the context in which you're thinking about your future career options and the implications for your career planning and we’ll introduce you to tools and approaches to work out what you want and highlight a range of resources and opportunities in Cambridge to help you explore your options and take charge of your career.

Monday 29 June: Networking Your Way to Career Clarity for PhDs & Postdocs (online)

We all hear that networking is a hugely helpful resource to get you connected with answers to the many questions you may have when navigating your career, within and beyond academia. Yet, it’s often, the thing we least want to do when we’re managing our careers. This workshop will help you to harness the ongoing value of networking and discuss practical strategies for getting started.

Employer Skills Sessions

Check back soon for confirmed Employer Skills Sessions

Additional Career Events for Researchers

This section shares Careers-focused events for PhD students and postdoctoral researchers taking place around the University. If you would like to include your Department, Institute or College event here, please email enquiries@careers.cam.ac.uk quoting IARWN.

Friday 15 May 4:30 - 8:00pm : Milner Institute x Cambridge Gravity Biotech Matchmaking Event

This event brings biotech companies together with early-career life scientists interested in careers in industry. It aims to matchmake students and postdocs with biotech firms, creating connections that may lead to opportunities for placement.
Free to attend, this is an opportunity to view short presentations from – and network with – biotech companies in Cambridge, as well as to meet like-minded PhD students and postdocs.

Exploring Career Possibilities

Whether you're planning your next step after your PhD or thinking about a career change, we're here to help. You may be unsure whether you’d like to progress within academia, or perhaps you’d like to start exploring a range of career possibilities, this page is designed to help you move forward from wherever you’re starting!

ResearchCareers.org

Explore the varied career paths of former PhDs and postdocs

Vitae

Read researcher career stories and explore recent destinations of doctorate holders

Cambridge Careers YouTube

Explore different sectors and the career stories of researchers on our YouTube channel

ImaginePhD

A tool developed in the US specifically for humanities and social science PhDs that provides excellent information on a wide diversity of job families that value a PhD

British Academy Career Case Studies

The case studies look at the value of high-level skills developed by doctoral study in these disciplines to the wider economy and society, and how we can better understand the pathways of postgraduate researchers from these disciplines who pursue careers beyond academia

Royal Society STEM Career Roadmap

The Royal Society STEM Research career roadmap provides a comprehensive summary of roles in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) research sector and has been designed to support current and prospective researchers to explore the range of careers available.