You are in demand outside of academia! Yes, you!
Sometimes people have a hard time believing this but it is true! More people with PhDs work outside of academia than in it – a PhD is not just for academia, it’s for life! Once you have it, you can do a hundred (or more!) things with it – the world is your oyster!
It may not feel like you have a lot to offer the big wide world of work but many employers do appreciate what a person with a PhD brings to their organisation. Better still, some employers actively seek to employ people with PhDs because they know the benefits that people with the qualification can bring to their organisation. Doing a skills audit can help you to think about all of the skills you have gained in your life up until this point.
Do a skills audit
A skills audit can be a really helpful process as you carefully consider all the skills you have and the ways in which they may be useful in different employment sectors. You may be quite familiar with the skills you need for an academic career – research, writing, presenting, teaching, admin (there’s a lot of that!). How familiar are you with the skills you need for other careers? You maybe very familiar as you may have had a career before your PhD or know a lot about certain sectors. Others of you may be less sure about what skills certain employers would require and whether you have them.
Vitae has a very helpful diagram when it comes to doing a skills audit. It maps out all of the skills that PGRs are meant to develop during the course of the PhD. You can use it to see if you are on track but also to make sure you haven’t forgotten any of the skills you have been developing – that are relevant for alt-ac careers as well as academic! About the Vitae Researcher Development Framework — Vitae Website
