There are many possible post-PhD career paths. A book of informational interviews may help, but a collection of 53 interviews may be too overwhelming—where should you start?
Here I conducted a hierarchical qualitative classification to categorise and characterise potential career paths, from the individual career journeys featured in the two volumes of the Academia and the World Beyond book series. The key result is shown below, along with a list of which interviews comprised each terminal set.
The findings reveal a spectrum of opportunities, from traditional academic roles to “academic adjacent” and “skill-transfer” careers. This work underscores the versatility of Psychology doctoral training, providing skills that can support a wide array of career possibilities. The results serve as a guide for current and prospective PhD students–and their mentors, emphasising the variety of professional contexts where doctoral training is beneficial.
Madan, C. R. (2024). “What will you do after?”: Lessons from Academia and the World Beyond. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 77(2), 2385-2390. doi:10.1177/17470218241236144
› Academic
›› Research:
Irish [Vol. 1: Ch. 15],
Buckingham [1:17], Ludvig [1:19], Fried [1:20], Vazire [1:21], Uddin [1:22], Hanson [1:23]
›› Teaching:
Karanian [1:16], Arbeau [1:18],
Johnstone [2:16]
› Non-academic
›› Academic-adjacent
››› Research Infrastructure
›››› Advocacy:
Kousta [1:12], DeSoto [1:14],
Askew [2:17], Lantz [2:18], Esch [2:31]
›››› Interpersonal:
Rowe [2:19], Palmer [2:20], Ette [2:29], Ledmyr [2:32]
›››› Technical:
Van Gulick [1:2], Moss [1:7],
Hirst [2:8], Pickering [2:11], Iyer [2:30]
›››› Research Support:
Quintanilha [1:4], Helena [1:11],
Warbrick [2:9], Toovey [2:10], Treit [2:12]
››› Outreach
›››› Policy Advocacy:
Kim [1:6],
Hayes [2:4], Diamond [2:7], Himberg [2:25]
›››› Science Communication:
Foell [1:5], Caldwell [1:9],
Chabrol [2:3], Sadangi [2:13]
››› Industry Research: Wall [1:3], Greenberg [1:13], Veldsman [2:2], Smayda [2:5], Riddoch [2:14]
›› Skill Transfer
››› Data Science:
Moran [1:8],
Spronk [2:6], Balsters [2:15], Similä [2:21], Vilgis [2:22], Neadle [2:23], Batty [2:24], Salhin [2:28]
››› Project Management:
Smith [1:10],
Lakusta [2:26], Gopi [2:27]
Other noteworthy sets
Academia-industry fluidity: Irish [1:15], Ludvig [1:19], Smayda [2:5], Hirst [2:8], Johnstone [2:16]
Grief/stigma related to loss of academic identity: Caldwell [1:9], Helena [1:11], Chabrol [2:3], Hayes [2:4], Toovey [2:10], Balsters [2:15], Vilgis [2:22]
Two-body problem (coordinating careers of married partners): Moss [1:7], Ludvig [1:19], Hanson [1:23], Hayes [2:4], Toovey [2:10]
Family-related considerations: Quintanilha [1:4], Smith [1:10], Irish [1:15], Ludvig [1:19], Uddin [1:22], Hanson [1:23], Veldsman [2:2], Hayes [2:4], Riddoch [2:14], Neadle [2:23], Batty [2:24]
Different paths to similar roles (founding Editor-in-Chief of academic journals): Smith [1:10] (industry, part-time editor), Kousta [1:12] (full-time editor), Vazire [1:21] (academic, part-time editor)