From The Hub for The Club:
As part of our mission to support each other in increasing not only our talents but also our marketability in the ever tightening competitive world of science, we now have an Official LinkedIn Group that can be added to your interest category. According to LinkedIn: “Group participants get 4x the number of profile views.” Only attending members and Club alumni can join, so be sure to check it out and apply to join. https://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=8269272
MSU Resources:
“The New Job Search: Expanding Your Career Opportunities in the Ph.D. Job Market” by Julia McAnallen: TheNewJobSearch-23oct2013
Career Network Services: Check out the “Career Resource Tools” page under “Resources + Tools.”
Career Success: a resource through the MSU Graduate School that has tools for assessing your skills, developing a career plan and other tools, including PhD Career Services and PREP (see below) as well as event information and teaching resources.
PhD Career Services, together with the MSU Graduate School, provides multiple online resources, as well as workshops and advising, to support the many paths graduate students choose to pursue.
MSU PostDoctoral Association (PDA): information on career resources including workshops, teaching, research, and travel awards, and social events.
The Academic Advancement Network (AAN): newly redesigned professional development resources for postdocs and faculty at MSU.
PREP is the MSU Graduate School career and professional development model, designed to help you plan for a successful doctoral and postdoc experience and a smooth transition into your future role in academia, government, industry, corporations, or agencies. The acronym PREP foregrounds four professional skills that are key to your doctoral and professional career:
- planning throughout the graduate program to identify and successfully achieve career goals;
- developing resilience and tenacity to thrive through personal and professional stages;
- practicing active engagement in making important life decisions and in acquiring the skills necessary to attain career goals;
- attaining high standards of professionalism in research and teaching.
Other Resources:
Plantae – “Plantae is a robust digital ecosystem where connections, content, tools and services help researchers, students, industry professionals and educators thrive.”
Outreach Training Needed – Science editorial by Alan I. Leshner calling for programs designed to train graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in public communication.
Types of Higher Education Institutions in the United States by the Carnegie Foundation
“Postdocs, What Would You Tell Your Younger Self?” Article in Cell (Feb 2017) containing letters from various postdocs with specific advice they would give themselves as a beginning postdoc.
Duke Postdoc Services, YouTube channel: provides many resources, including how to write for specific fellowships.
Postdoctoral/Clinical Fellows: from the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education
The National Postdoctoral Association is a “member-driven, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides a unique, national voice for postdoctoral scholars.”
The National Postdoctoral Association resources for women
Resources for the Development of Early-Career Scientists. Beginning scientists face a variety of challenges in launching their careers. These publications can help new investigators “make the right moves” and assist those who take on the important task of providing early-career researchers with scientific management training.
The Research Whisperer is dedicated to the topic of doing research in academia. We talk about finding funding, research culture, and building academic track-records. This blog is managed by Jonathan O’Donnell (@jod999) and Tseen Khoo (@tseenster).
Occupational Outlook Handbook: A guide to career information about hundreds of occupations.’
Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning: The CIRTL mission is to enhance excellence in undergraduate education through the development of a national faculty committed to implementing and advancing effective teaching practices for diverse learners as part of successful and varied professional careers.
Versatile PhD: Helping graduate students and PhDs envision, prepare for, and excel in non-academic careers since 1999
Branching points is a collection of resources designed to give science graduate students ideas for nonacademic careers. Much of the material here is based on the dozens of informational interviews I conducted to figure out what I wanted to do after grad school. You’ll find career profiles, Q&A’s with recent grad-school-grads, a beginner’s guide to informational interviewing, musings on branching out, and more.
Below are only a few of the links provided at Branching Points:
- ScienceNexus a hub for resources for alternative career paths, featuring an extensive link collection and event listings
- My Individual Development Plan Science Career’s excellent personalized career planning toolkit
- Science magazine careers portal excellent collection of resources, articles, and career finding tools
- Biocareers career resources and job postings for life science grad students
- Careers in Science and Engineering a student planning guide to grad school and beyond
- Bioscience careers extensive collection of past videotaped talks on paths from grad school to various careers
- Benchfly science career development resources, from grad school to infinity and beyond
- Dougsguides a biology PhD and business exec writes this site to help students transition to the real world, particularly business

I am here to help. I am Karen L. Kelsky, Ph.D.. I spent 15 years as an R1 tenured professor, department head, and university advisor, and I tell you the truth. The truth about grad school, the job market, and tenure. To the best of my ability.
I also tell you the truth about your applications and your record. If they are bad, I will tell you. And then we will get a plan to improve them.
Check out the website here.