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Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions  ~ Albert Einstein

Resources for Science Ph.D.s who are...
Exploring career options
Job searching
Struggling with the stress of your career change and/or job search 

If you are asking what career options you have with your masters or Ph.D.:

Science’s Next Wave www.nextwave.org is THE place to go first.  Check out the “career transitions” area for articles about a wide range of career alternatives in science.  Also look at http://www.phds.org

Excellent books:

• Guide to Nontraditional Careers in Science by Karen Young Kreeger
• Alternative Careers in Science: Leaving the Ivory Tower by CynthiaRobbins-Roth
• So What Are You Going to Do With That?: A Guide for M.A.'s and Ph.D.'s Seeking Careers Outside the Academy by Sue Basalla and Maggie Debelius
  
  

If you are trying to decide what you want in your career:

Any career exploration book is fine, so just go to your local library or bookstore and find one that you think you will enjoy.  Some that I especially like are:

• Put Your Science to Work: The Take-Charge Career Guide for Scientists by Peter Fiske
• To Boldly Go: A Practical Career Guide for Scientists by Peter Fiske
• Finding the Work You Love by Laurence Boldt
• I Could Do Anything if I Only Knew What It Was by Barbara Sher

http://www.authentichappiness.org has a free “signature strengths survey”

Also check out my exercises and articles page.

If you are researching a career that is potentially of interest to you:

http://www.rileyguide.com is an incredibly comprehensive web site related to careers.  Excellent advice and links.

Try simply using a web search with keywords like “careers in bioinformatics.”  Avoid job listings and focus on sites through universities and professional associations.

If you are trying to be more effective in your academic job search, I recommend:

• The Curriculum Vitae Handbook: Using your CV to Present and Promote Your Academic Career by R. Anthony and G. Roe
• Tomorrow's Professor: Preparing for Academic Careers in Science and Engineering by Richard Reis
• Cracking the Academia Nut: A Guide to Preparing for Your Academic Career by Margaret Newhouse
• Job Search in Academe: Strategic Rhetorics for Faculty Job Candidates by Dawn M. Formo and Cheryl Reed
• The Academic Job Search Handbook by Mary Morris Heiberger and Julia Miller Vick

The Chronicle of Higher Education’s career advice articles, including the “Catalyst” series for scientists, (this section does not require a subscription) are available at http://chronicle.com/jobs/archive/advicearch.htm 

If you are starting your job search (outside the tenure track):

First, you need to understand that job searches outside academia are in some ways quite different!  Fewer jobs are advertised. Hiring may happen through a recruiter or an individual manager.  Hiring may or may not have a clear yearly cycle.  Richard Bolles’ chapters on job searching in What Color is Your Parachute are a must read.   He also has a web site with extremely useful information http://www.jobhuntersbible.com

You can read any other book about job searching to get practical tips.  Examples are Job Hunting for Dummies by Max Messmer and Work It by Allison Hemming. 

Also check out the Riley Guide’s job search advice at http://www.rileyguide.com/  Of special note are the articles about how to use the Internet effectively in your search http://www.rileyguide.com/jobsrch.html and  sites to support your relevant research http://www.rileyguide.com/jsresearch.html

If you have been job searching without success:

See my article on assessing the effectiveness of your current job search. 

You may also need to talk through your job search strategies with one or more people who are effective at and knowledgeable about job searching.  You may simply be doing everything effectively in a market (like academia) where there is intense competition so that plenty of well qualified candidates don’t get positions quickly.  On the other hand, you may be making some mistakes and not realizing it.  Scientists sometimes need to practice mock interviews, since “marketing yourself” is a skill that is not often developed within the academic realm.

If you are feeling confused by the options, demoralized by the academic job market, angry about your current career, or overwhelmed by the mere thought of doing something new:

You may want to consider counseling with a licensed LPC, LCSW, or psychologist if you feel that your emotions and struggles are hampering you.  There should be many therapists listed in your local phone book. If you currently have a job, consider Employee Assistance Programs.  Students should all have access to student counseling services.  If you live near a university, there may be free counseling offered as part of a counselor education program.  You can also contact the local United Way for a list of counseling providers (likely agencies instead of those in private practice).

If you are having these feelings in a more manageable way, coaching may be especially useful for you.  Other helpful possibilities include finding a career change partner for moral support or getting a few wise friends to be on your personal advisory board.

Information may also help you!  Read about what others have done in Science’s Next Wave.

Women may find Paula J. Caplan’s book helpful - Lifting a Ton of Feathers: A Woman's Guide for Surviving in the Academic World.  I also recommend This Fine Place So Far From Home:Voices of Academics from the Working Class(Dews, C.L.B. and Law, C.L., Eds.) for those who feel like outsiders in academia.