This newsletter is typically distributed the last Thursday of the month and contains a variety of resources, links, and reflections on graduate-level career & professional development, higher education, and an occasional detour into neuroscience topics, the area I formally trained in as a graduate student and postdoc.
Missed the inaugural newsletter from January 2021?
I highlight a helpful online guide from the National Postdoctoral Association to assist you in creating a training and career plan. While Individual Development Plans (IDPs) are often thought of as paperwork to complete, the process of assessing your skills, interests, and values and how you will leverage and grow them into a meaningful career is critical to maximize your time as a graduate student or postdoctoral researcher.
This article from the Chronicle of Higher Education covers how career offices and services are seeking new ways to prepare students for a rapidly changing workplace by embedding career development and support in academic programs and initiatives early in a student's tenure. While it focused mainly on serving undergraduate students, many of the concepts should be considered when supporting graduate students in their career and professional development.
From 2017 but a great read on how to take approaches used in sustainable agriculture to professions in higher education and the need to often say no to more.
RISE UPP leverages the work of two state university systems that have developed and implemented inter-institutional approaches to diversify faculty through postdoctoral recruitment, training, and transition into faculty positions - the University System of Maryland’s NSF AGEP PROMISE Academy Alliance and the University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. These systems will act together as Core Model Partners and will provide support to three additional state university systems that will adapt these models as Scaling Partners: the University of Texas System, the Texas A&M University System, and the University of North Carolina System. The RISE UPP Alliance will help Scaling Partners act as a system to facilitate the more equitable and inclusive recruitment, development and subsequent hiring of minoritized postdoctoral scholars into tenure-track positions at R1, R2, and teaching-intensive institutions within participating state university systems.
The NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education is pleased to offer a series of webinars and small group discussions to help you develop the confidence and resilience you need to navigate challenging situations in school, work, and life. Separate cohort groups for graduate students, postdocs, and neurodiverse trainees will be offered.
Programming begins September 8th!
The workshops and group discussions in the series are:
Unit 1. An Introduction to Resilience and Wellness
Unit 2. Exploring our Self-Talk: Cognitive Distortions and Imposter Fears
Unit 3. Self-Advocacy and Assertiveness for Scientists
Unit 4. Developing Feedback Resilience
Unit 5. Managing Up to Maximize Mentoring Relationships
SmartSkills is a free, virtual course for postdocs who are members of the NPA. Monthly classes are taught by experts and focus on building skills critical to career and personal success.
Note that most US institutions of higher education have a sustaining membership to the NPA, which you can use to access a FREE affiliate membership with your .edu email address. Learn more here.
A collection of FREE online tools and resources to assist graduate students, postdocs, and those who support them in their career and professional development.
What are your interests and values? How do skills you developed or are developing map onto potential careers after your graduate or postdoctoral training? I share some guidance on exploring your career options leveraging online tools.
Much recent news has been made on challenges faculty have found recruiting postdocs. So, is a postdoc right for you, post-Ph.D.? I share some things to consider when making that decision.
