Core Skill: Career Development

Rackham Resources

Rackham offers several annual career-development programs, including:

Rackham Embedded Coordinator for Graduate Student Career Advancement

Dr. Kirsten Elling provides career coaching, advising, and programming to doctoral students in order to help them navigate challenges and build a successful career. You can schedule an appointment with Dr. Elling here.

Gear Your Career

At this two-hour event held annually in January, participants take professional headshots, get business cards printed, and/or consult briefly with a U-M career and professional-development expert on their LinkedIn profile. This event is open to master’s and doctoral students.

What’s Next

Held annually in May, this one-day program for doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows gives participants from similar disciplinary backgrounds the opportunity to learn from a guest career-exploration expert and to meet with mentors working in a range of fields beyond the professoriate. The program alternates between a focus on the humanities/social sciences and STEM every other year.

Ph.D. Connections

This one-day, multidisciplinary career conference is held annually in April to support doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows in their exploration of career paths beyond academe. Participants learn about career opportunities beyond the professoriate through interactive sessions with Ph.D.s working in diverse fields and workshops focused on career exploration and job search preparation.

Designing Your Life

Inspired by Stanford’s Designing Your Life program, this interactive, six-week seminar teaches students principles for designing a fulfilling career. The seminar is held annually in the fall semester and is open to master’s students, doctoral students, and postdoctoral fellows.

Rackham Workshops

Rackham also regularly offers workshops on career-development topics, including future-faculty workshops and alumni career conversations. Check the Rackham events page for these regular programs and workshops.

Campus Resources

CRLT Preparing Future Faculty Web Resources

Academic careers, writing a teaching philosophy, productivity in grad school.

University Career Center

Confidential career consultations and workshops on diverse career options.

Rackham-CRLT May Seminar on Preparing Future Faculty

Nationally recognized program to prepare Ph.D. candidates for the academic job search and faculty positions.

NextProf

Michigan Engineering workshops to strengthen and diversify the next generation of academic leaders.

Tech Transfer Fellows Program

Fellows assess the technical and market potential of new U-M inventions.

Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

Career and professional development for biomedical post-baccalaureate, graduate, and postdoctoral trainees.

Versatile PhD

Information on non-academic careers for Ph.D.s, A.B.D.s, and master’s degree holders.

Imagine PhD

Career exploration and planning for humanities and social-science doctoral students.

MyIDP

Career exploration and Individual Development Plan tool for STEM doctoral students.