Posts Tagged as Career Planning

What’s Next: So Many Things to Study, So Little Time

May 2, 2012 | By Ebony Reddock, Ph.D. Student, Health Behavior and Health Education

I’ve been sketching ideas for my first research lab in this easy-to-carry notebook since 2007. The fact that my time here is quickly ending truly hit me a couple of weeks ago when, out of all things, I e-mailed my department’s administrator with a simple question. I needed to confirm the last day of my fellowship, and my health insurance, so I could switch to my husband’s insurance carrier until I begin my postdoctoral position.…

New Career Resource for International Students in Michigan

April 18, 2012 | By Athena Trentin, Director, Global Talent Retention Initiative of Southeast MI

Michigan is quickly becoming the most pro-immigrant state in the U.S., recognizing that to strengthen our state’s economy we need to retain the world’s top talent, no matter where it comes from. As companies in Michigan begin hiring again, the fastest growing jobs are in the IT and Engineering fields. Several programs are in place to attract the country’s best talent to fill these jobs; MichAGAIN, LiveWorkDetroit!, and Intern in Michigan just to name a…

What’s Next: My Second Career

April 17, 2012 | By Kathryn Prater Bomey, Master’s Student, School of Natural Resources and Environment

When I started my first job after college, I never imagined I’d begin a second career a mere five years later. For some, earning two degrees and having two different careers before the age of 30 might seem daunting, but I’m excited to see what the future will bring. I’m still drawing up my long-term plans, but I’ve landed an internship for the summer that will keep me busy in the interim. As an intern…

When It Comes To My Future, The Sky’s The Limit

April 12, 2012 | By Leslie Rott, Ph.D. Student, Sociology

As I’ve mentioned in at least one previous post, my choice to pursue a non-tenure-track position has been a difficult one. It has been difficult for several reasons: It’s what I thought I wanted, coming into grad school It’s what is expected of me by my department, and specifically my advisor and committee It’s not a realistic career choice given the limitations and unpredictably of my illnesses, trying to keep my health as my number…

How Do You Define Success?

April 10, 2012 | By Natalie Bartolacci, Program Manager, Rackham Graduate School

Last month, we asked our bloggers how they define success in their field. One thing is clear; definitions of success range significantly from person to person, but there are implicit and explicit commonalities in each definition. Below are some common traits of “success,” as defined by our bloggers: Pursuing something you are passionate about Recognizing that even within a particular discipline, there are many ways to be successful “Changing the rules of the game” Understanding…

What Is the Purpose of Studying History?

April 9, 2012 | By Marie Stango, Ph.D. Student, History

In thinking about my own work as an historian, I cannot help but think of the profession as a whole. Traditionally, a “successful” practitioner of history with a Ph.D. was supposed to find a tenure-track job at a university, where he or she would teach undergraduate students and complete research. While this myth of “success” was never the case for every Ph.D., only in the past few years have professional historians really thought about the…

Defining Success: Still Under Review

April 3, 2012 | By Hong Tran, Ph.D. Student, Chemical Biology

I think I rewrote this blog post about 3 times before I realized this simple truth—I don't HAVE a definition for being a successful practitioner in my field. Sure, I think the short answer most people would give for a successful scholar in science would be one who has obtained a Nobel Prize for their efforts, but I don't really think that defines "success." I also thought of numerous qualities and accomplishments that would be…

Ph.D. Education: What Is It Good For?

March 27, 2012 | By Katherine Lelito, Ph.D. Student, Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology

A successful scientist is one that has made significant discoveries in their field. This stems from knowing what questions are worth answering, and knowing what questions can actually be answered in one’s place and time in scientific history. A thorough knowledge of the literature and an ability to come up with an experimental design to find answers is required of scientists. To be able to carry out the research, a scientist must be able to…

The Key to Success: Passion

March 20, 2012 | By Kathryn Prater Bomey, Master’s Student, School of Natural Resources and Environment

Passion. It’s what drives people in the environmental conservation field. Passion for preserving natural wonders, protecting endangered flora and fauna, restoring degraded land, improving policy, changing behavior, reducing industry’s footprint, achieving environmental justice, creating sustainable societies, and improving the lives of people across the globe. Passion. It’s the key to our success. The field of conservation is truly multidisciplinary and encompasses a broad spectrum of careers, ranging from ecological restoration technician, to environmental educator, to…

What Are You Going to Do With That?

March 16, 2012 | By Jax Sanders, Ph.D. Student, Physics

I’ve been working on a physics Ph.D. for over two years now, and although it’s an interesting and immensely satisfying process, there’s a lot of things that annoy me about it. The most annoying is the inevitable question- “what are you going to do with that?” This question is always accompanied by a snide smirk, a condescending tone, and an affected concern for my future. Although there are plenty of nasty reasons for this attitude,…

Reminder: Career Exploration Roundtables on March 15th

March 12, 2012 | By Wendy Ascione, Annual Giving Officer, Rackham Graduate School

Where will your career take you? On Thursday March 15th, Rackham alumni from various disciplines will gather to share their stories about their innovative career paths outside the academy. Students will have the opportunity to network with alumni and share strategies about how to envision new directions in their field. There will be four concurrent roundtables from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Rackham Building and the Lurie Engineering Center on North Campus, followed…

Success Is in the Eye of the Beholder: Sociology as Passion

March 9, 2012 | By Leslie Rott, Ph.D. Student, Sociology

For me, the question of what makes a successful scholar in my field is loaded, because my opinion probably varies from many of the other people in my field. (Although as you’ll see later when I quote Berger and Mills, they are foundational sociologists and I think they are spot on.) I think most people in my field would view a successful scholar to be one who has published in the top sociology journals, has…

Why U-M? Our Student Bloggers Sum It Up For Us

March 8, 2012 | By Natalie Bartolacci, Program Manager, Rackham Graduate School

Last month, our student bloggers were asked to write about what influenced their decision to attend U-M for graduate study. Below are the some of the deciding factors for our bloggers: Getting to meet the professor they would be working with before making the decision Michigan residents: U-M is a “world-class educational institution” in your own backyard! Two words: Full funding! For a blogger whose family lived in the area, she could see her brother’s…

Career Exploration Roundtables: A Rackham Centennial Event

March 6, 2012 | By Wendy Ascione, Annual Giving Officer, Rackham Graduate School

Where will your career take you? On Thursday March 15th, Rackham alumni from various disciplines will gather to share their stories about their innovative career paths outside the academy. Students will have the opportunity to network with alumni and share strategies about how to envision new directions in their field. There will be four concurrent roundtables from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Rackham Building and the Lurie Engineering Center on North Campus, followed…

The Versatile PhD: A New Resource for Humanities and Social Science Ph.D.s

February 29, 2012 | By Paula D. Wishart, Career Consultant, The Career Center

The Career Center, in partnership with Rackham, is pleased to announce a new resource that demystifies non-academic careers, revealing many interesting professions that can utilize the skills you are developing in graduate school. The Versatile PhD is a web-based resource that you can use anytime, from any computer, confidentially. There you will find: A thriving, supportive web-based community where you can participate in discussions, network with Ph.D.s and A.B.D.s outside the academy, or just listen and learn.…

(re)Discovering My Love of Bugs: Why I Came to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

February 28, 2012 | By Katherine Lelito, Ph.D. Student, Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology

Applying to graduate school was an easy decision for me. I had been carrying out research during my undergraduate and master’s programs, and I liked doing research. Although I enjoyed studying entomology and plant biology, I knew there were so many fields that I hadn’t yet explored. Was there a model organism I could love to study more than bugs?? I suffered from severe commitment phobia of the fields and organisms that I knew too…

Choosing to “Go Blue”: Why I Decided to Enroll at U-M

February 24, 2012 | By Marie Stango, Ph.D. Student, History

I decided to apply to graduate programs in history during my senior year of college. Ultimately, I applied to about a dozen programs that piqued my interest. I was told that the most important thing to keep in mind was “fit” – how I felt that I would fit in with the school, the department, and most important, the faculty. Faculty advisors are integral in graduate education, and it was vitally important that I find…

The Pursuit of Passion

February 20, 2012 | By Rodney Caruthers II, Ph.D. Student, Near Eastern Studies

My decision to commit to the University of Michigan for doctoral study was in many ways a product of progressive enlightenment. Arriving at an important decision such as choosing which institution to pursue graduate study is vital not only for one’s future endeavors but also for personal satisfaction. The program selection process, as I gradually came to understand, is one that should command considerable attention even at the risk of being somewhat persnickety. There are…

Why I Came to U-M: The Right Location and the Right Program

February 13, 2012 | By Kathryn Prater Bomey, Master’s Student, School of Natural Resources and Environment

Picking a grad school was an easy choice for me. As a southeast Michigan resident, the University of Michigan was a world-class educational institution practically in my own backyard. So once I decided to go back to school, the choice was clear. During my previous career as a journalist, I often wrote articles about conservation and environmental education. I was continually struck by people’s passion toward nature and protecting the environment. For example, I’ll never…

Science, Sciencey Stuff, and One’s Favorite Beer

February 10, 2012 | By Hong Tran, Ph.D. Student, Chemical Biology

If I had to answer why I chose U-M in one sentence, it would be my program. U-M is one of the only schools in the nation that offers a Program in Chemical Biology (PCB), is one of the most competitive schools across the nation in biochemistry research, and has an impressive list of faculty who could accommodate almost any research interest. Naturally, considering my background in biology and chemistry and little understanding of how…

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