Now here's an unexpected way to do career exploration: ask a subject area librarian! And that's exactly what I did. I reached out to Steph McReynolds, Librarian for Business, Management and Entrepreneurship, a curator of an excellent research guide on careers, who walked me through her research's fascinating resources. What followed were some ways of learning about companies and opportunities that I didn't know about!
Stacy Hartman, Program Officer for Higher Education Initiatives with the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), discusses how professional organizations have addressed the need to prepare doctoral students for a range of careers.
We have talked about how to get the coveted tenure-track job on Gradcast, but we've never really discussed what it's actually like to get tenure! I was so glad that Candace Receno, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Graduate Program Chair, Exercise Science and Athletic Training at Ithaca College, newly-tenured, could join me in a great conversation about the process and what it looks like to be on the other side of the tenure track!
"In a world of robots, be a human," says Maren Wood, Ph.D., CEO and director of the Center for Graduate Career Success, home of Beyond the Professoriate, an invaluable career exploration platform brought to you by the Graduate School.
But what does that mean in the context of job searching? How and in what ways should we use AI in our job search, how much is too much, and how do we stand out when we know that AI has permeated the career landscape regardless of whether you are a hiring manager or a job seeker?
I've known Allison Alberts, Ph.D. (English Literature, Fordham University) since our days in grad school together--I owe her a ton for all the reviewing and constructive conversation about my work to this day! I was delighted, then, to have her on the podcast talking about her career as a private high school English teacher, since many people are interested in finding ways of teaching that are not necessarily at the college level. Allie shares about her transition from grad school to teaching and offers some tips about how to thrive in this kind of role.
Emily Roberts (Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Duke University) made a big pivot from her research to her current role as founder of Personal Finance for Ph.D.s https://pfforphds.com/, helping fellow Ph.D. students and degree holders navigate the world of budgeting while getting a Ph.D.
I'm happy to announce that Dr. Roberts will be joining us on Friday Sept. 5th via Zoom to share her insights. I was able to learn a little more about her and her passion for finance in advance of her visit, and I hope you'll give it a listen!
In this episode, Ashley Watson, Assistant Professor of Communication at SUNY Geneseo, discusses the research behind her recently completed dissertation, “Born Unveiled: The Process, Protest, and Product of Racialization among International Black African Collegians in U.S. Graduate Education” (University of Minnesota, 2024).
Syracuse is now home to a fantastic resource for international students!Interstride is an interactive portal supporting international students in their job search, immigration journey, and community building. If you've ever been unsure of where to look for jobs with employers who are willing to sponsor, this is the place. If you've had questions about how to present your value to employers as an international student, again, Interstride is your friend. Our guest is Dan Pack, Career Exploration Specialist at SU, who will tell us all about this new, fantastic resource.
Mallory Fix-Lopez discusses her consultancy Language ConnectED, which provides research communication and professional development trainings for academics. Fix-Lopez will visit Syracuse on February 28, 2025, to deliver a 4-hour workshop for international grad students on “Telling Your Research Story.”
Ten years after the Report of the MLA Task Force on the Future of Doctoral Education in Modern Language and Literature, task force chair Russell Berman (German and Comparative Literature, Stanford) reflects on which of the report’s recommendations have had traction over the past decade, which goals have been elusive, and where we stand now with efforts to help PhD students pursue diverse career options.
As president of the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), Suzanne Ortega, Ph.D. advocates for graduate issues, leads research projects, and fosters best practices in graduate education. In this episode, Ortega discusses CGS’s mission, her role with the organization, and what institutions can do to improve graduate experiences and outcomes. If you've ever wanted to hear a high-level discussion of the state of graduate students and the future of graduate education, this is a great podcast to listen to.
Carrie Murawski, PhD has a fascinating career trajectory. Starting out as a visit assistant professor at a small liberal arts college, she transitioned to being a full time, tenure-track faculty member--before deciding to take a different path. Recently arrived at Syracuse University, she is the Director of DEIA Learning and Development at Syracuse University. Carrie and I talked about her roles in academia, how and why she decided to take another route, and her hopes for advocating for DEIA here at SU.
The Charlotte Newcombe Dissertation Fellowship is an excellent opportunity for graduate students who have written dissertations which respond to and participate in deep and meaningful conversations within religion, values, and ethics. Fellows receive a $31,000 stipend to complete the writing stage of their dissertation, and it is available regardless of citizenship status.
I was privileged to sit down with Nimisha Thakur, doctoral candidated in Anthropology at SU and current Newcombe Fellow, to talk about her experience applying for and receiving this award. Her story is an inspiration, and I hope it encourages you to consider applying to this prestigious award, due November 1!
Many folks looking for academic jobs struggle to figure out the "two-body problem," in which both members of a couple are seeking academic jobs at more or less the same time. What do you do? How do you prioritize? How do you talk about this issue as a couple? I'm joined this week by Laura Coutts, Associate Director of Career Services in Biostatistics at Duke University to discuss this thorny issue--and, we hope, to offer some ideas as you pursue your academic career(s).
Leonard Cassuto, Professor of English at Fordham and author of Academic Writing As If Readers Matter. He is a leader in innovative graduate education, and his book is essential reading for all writers, whether for academic audiences or otherwise.
He is visiting Syracuse On Sept. 30th and Oct. 1st, giving two talks:
How to Go Public: Writing for People Outside Your Specialty
September 30, 2024 at 2:15pm – 3:30pm EDT
Bird Library, 114
Academic Writing: How to Do It Well and Why We Must
October 1, 2024 at 12:00pm – 1:45pm EDT
Schine Student Center, 304ABC
The Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O. International) is the most important funding agency for women that you've never heard of. P.E.O. supports women in all fields with two awards, one for U.S. citizens, and another, the International Peace Scholarship, for international students. This podcast, with P.E.O. representative Lisa Blystone, focuses on IPS and gives a sense of the organization generally.
Melissa Welshans, Ph.D., Assistant Director, Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA), walks us through the Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Award, a generous and unusual award for early-stage doctoral students.
This award is meant to support early-stage doctoral students pursuing innovative approaches to dissertation research in the humanities and interpretive social sciences, and I asked Melissa to join me to talk about the award and what the funders are looking for.
Among other reasons for applying: the award is $42,000 base stipend for the fellowship year, plus up to $8,000 for project-related research, training, development, and travel costs! The award also provides a separate $2,000 stipend for external mentorship.
If you’re writing a dissertation, it’s likely you’re incorporating at least some material that is under copyright and thus requires permission to reproduce. In this episode, Dr. Dylan Mohr, Syracuse University’s Open Scholarship Librarian, discusses copyright issues that dissertation-writers are likely to encounter, including identifying, approaching, and perhaps negotiating with copyright holders; how the concepts of fair use and the public domain come into play; and reproducing your own previously published work in your dissertation. Dylan also considers the questions of whether to formally register copyright on your dissertation, whether to make your dissertation available on your institutional repository, and what resources exist to help you. Don’t let ignorance of your dissertation’s copyright context trip you up at the finish line!
I'm joined today by Maren Wood, PhD, CEO and Director of the Center for Graduate Career Success. A longtime friend of Syracuse University, Dr. Wood has created a platform, Beyond Graduate School dedicated to preparing Master's students for their careers after graduation, from career exploration, to networking, to resume prep, to closing the deal in an interview. Maren joins me today and tells us all about the platform. I hope you enjoy it and, more important, give Beyond Graduate School a try!
I recently sat down with my new collegue, Claire Perrott, PhD, Professional Development Postdoctoral Fellow in Syracuse's Office of Research, to learn about her transition from her doctoral program and from tenure track roles she held to higher education administration. Claire offered an honest, unsparing picture of her transition, and I think you'll learn a great deal from that perspective. If you are a postdoc (or will be one at Syracuse soon), you'll also be pleased to know that she is here to support you and to grow our efforts in the postdoctoral area. Listen in!
