Career Exploration & Preparation
Stay alert for new opportunities and resources!
Planning Your Path to a Satisfying Career
The Graduate School regularly offers Planning Your Path to a Satisfying Career, which is a career self-assessment and planning workshop for graduate students and postdocs. Typically offered once every semester, this workshop encourages students and postdocs to broaden their horizons about the types of careers that might suit their interests, skills and values. Participants leave this two-hour workshop with a first draft of a career action plan, often called an Individual Development Plan, or IDP.
Informational Interview & Networking
Every fall semester, master's students, PhD students, and Postdocs are welcome to participate at our annual workshop The Informational Interview: Investigating Careers While Expanding Your Network. This is an interactive workshop that focuses on effective practices for using your network to investigate careers options and broaden your job search!
Resume Bootcamp
Every spring semester, Master's students, PhD students, and Postdocs are welcome to participate at our annual Resume Bootcamp. Join us to receive insights on what private sector employers are seeking in their applicants and how to craft a customized resume for a given job --with a rubric and tools to take away to your next job search! You can even opt in to receive small group coaching on your resume!
IDP Toolkit
Stony Brook's Individual Development Plan (IDP) Toolkit includes resources, templates, and further information for graduate students, postdocs, and faculty on how to complete an IDP regardless of your field of research.
PhD Career Ladder Program
The PhD Career Ladder Program, or PCLP, provides graduate students and postdocs with small-group career mentoring. PCLP groups meet once a month and follow a structured curriculum of steps that take participants "up the ladder" of career development from self-assessment and skill identification to informational interviews and resume coaching. PCLP provides peer support to students and postdocs in their preparation for any career path, providing a framework of skills useful for any job search. Newly funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, PCLP has recently expanded to serve graduate students from both the sciences and humanities, as well as postdocs across any field.
Career Center
Stony Brook is fortunate to have a Career Center with a full-time advisor for graduate students and postdocs, Assistant Director Alfreda James, PhD. Dr. James offers one-on-one advising and resume review, in addition to a wide array of career resources and programs, such as employer career fairs, resume bootcamps, negotiating workshops, and other services. For more information and to make an appointment, visit the Career Center's website.
Graduate Career Association
The Graduate Career Association (GCA) is a graduate student organization focused on supporting graduate students' exploration of careers outside of traditional academic research positions. GCA regularly holds panels with career professionals who come to SBU to discuss their career path, as well as networking events to bring together the graduate community around career development. GCA events are typically open to graduate students and postdocs. GCA also offers volunteer leadership opportunities for graduate students on its executive board.