Need Career Advice? New Center Launches for Grad Students, Postdocs
One of the most pressing concerns for newly minted graduate students and post-doctoral trainees is how to secure an academic position -- or how to ready themselves for a non-academic career in industry, government, or other areas. The School of Medicine and Dentistry is launching a new program this fall to better prepare young professionals for more diverse career options, through the Center for Professional Development (CPD).
Currently, the office of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs provides limited career assistance through workshops. But these efforts are being expanded and formalized at the CPD, which is the No. 1 graduate education priority in the URMC Education Strategic Plan.
The CPD will be comprised of three programs -- Careers, Grants, and Writing – offering connections to jobs, internships, or collaboration opportunities; how-to advice for gaining transferable skills in fields such as computer science or statistics; CV critiques; navigation through the funding process; and help in writing grants and fellowship applications, dissertations, cover letter, abstracts, and other documents.
“With the current uncertainties in research funding it is increasingly important to broaden the career opportunities for our graduate students and postdoctoral trainees. By expanding our offerings, we can best meet the needs of all research trainees at the Medical Center,” said Edith M. Lord, Ph.D., senior associate Dean for Graduate Education.
“Many diverse opportunities exist for individuals with a PhD and this will provide a central location for information that will prepare our trainees for a range of career options and make them more competitive and marketable,” she added.