Career Advancement

Exploring the diversity of careers available to master's and PhD students is a helpful exercise even if you already have decided on a specific path. The myIDP and ImaginePhD platforms provide resources for the user to match different careers with their skills interests, and values.  

• mIDP: for careers in STEM. Also see Beyond the Lab: See and Listen for more in depth information for careers in life sciences.  
• ImaginePhD: for careers in Humanities and Social Sciences. Also see The Humanities Project for information on select organizations where humanists work.   

Beyond the Professoriate’s e-learning platform, Beyond the Prof, is a professional development tool where Postdocs and PhD students can explore career options and learn job search strategies. Through the two programs of study (Academic Careers and Professional Careers), students are empowered to make informed decisions about their career path and learn successful job search strategies from other PhDs. To log in simply visit Beyond the Prof, select University of Florida, and enter your GatorLink login information.

Beyond Graduate School is a one-of-a-kind, online platform that helps Master’s students make the most out of their investment and build their careers. From video lessons on career exploration, to writing application materials, to interviewing and negotiating for that next career step — Beyond Grad School helps master’s students through each stage of their job search. 

To log in, visit Beyond Graduate School, select University of Florida, and enter your UFL login information.

Additional Resource: InterSECT is an online platform that provides a series of simulation exercises for graduate students from all fields to explore diverse careers.   

• Informational Interviews provide an excellent way to learn more about specific careers and grow your professional network. It is simply a conversation that you have with someone that currently works in your field of interest. This guide from ImaginePhD provides detailed information on how to lead successful informational interviews.  
• The Graduate School’s Preparing Future Faculty is a 13-week program where participants learn about faculty life and promotion at different types of academic institutions, receive one-on-one mentoring from a faculty advisor, and gain valuable teaching and learning skills.  

Conducting the search

• The Career Connections Center has a great resource available to walk you through the often-daunting search process of finding a career or internship. Check out this resource: Constructing a Job or Internship Search

Internships 

• Many types of internships are available for graduate students. A recent study has shown that doctoral students who participated in internships perceived an increased ability to identify careers of choice, and increased confidence in pursuing this career. Importantly, participating in internships did not increase time to degree completion.   
• The Career Connections Center (C3) connects graduate students with numerous internship opportunities. Using Gator Career Link, graduate students can find both paid and unpaid internships that allow you to apply what you are learning in the classroom to the workplace. Consider these hands-on experiences to cultivate valuable and relevant competencies and develop a unique portfolio of work experience that sets you apart from your peers.

Start your search for an internship by checking out the resources listed below. Reflect on your experience once you complete it so that you can make meaning and be able to tell the story of what you learned to your next employer.

Internships at UF

• UF Innovate Tech Licensing Internships- paid internships in technology management and commercialization 
• Humanities Center Internships in the Public Humanities- Multiple internships available for graduate students in various campus locations 
• Harn Museum Internships- Internships are offered in all museum departments with the goal of providing professional experience and growth opportunities 
• Museum of Natural History Internships- Can include a range of opportunities and are typically funded from research grants for specific tasks and projects. These part-time appointments can be as short as a single semester or continue for several years and are perfect for students to gain research and/or collections experience while also receiving an hourly wage. 
• Cade Museum Internships- The Cade Museum for Creativity & Invention strives to provide a workplace that promotes creativity and invention at its core. We are looking for interns that have a passion for creating meaningful experiences for our guests and students 

Federal Internships 

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: internships are available to Masters, doctoral, and medical/veterinary students. Long term fellowships and other opportunities are also available.  
• Central Intelligence Agency: internship and other opportunities for STEM and Humanities graduate students are available throughout the year, not only during summers.  
• The National Institutes of Health provide 8-week summer internships in a variety of fields that cover biomedical research. (At the NIH "biomedical research" includes everything from behavioral and social sciences, through biology and chemistry, to physics, mathematical modeling, computational biology, and biostatistics).
• The U.S. Department of State offers many internships for graduate students, nationally and internationally.  

Other Internships

• Several National Labs offer internships and other funding and training opportunities.
• The Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory (HASTAC) provides a current list of internships and jobs in the Humanities.     
• The National Science Foundation (NSF) has funds available for graduate students to pursue non-academic internships if the student’s advisor is a PI on an existing NSF grant.  
• For a comprehensive listing of internships and other funding opportunities for graduate students in all fields, please consult UCLA’s searchable database GRAPES. 

Transferable Skills

• Being able to identify and communicate your transferable skills when interviewing is key to showcase your experience and how it best relates to the position you are interested in. It will also showcase your skills further and in an applicable way. Check out this Transferable Skills Guide from the Career Connections Center.

Delivering your Pitch 

• An elevator pitch introduces who you are, what you do, and why the person listening should be interested. Most importantly, it should be very brief. Many of us think we can do this on the spot, and the consequences can be disastrous. Be sure to have a pitch rehearsed from the very beginning of your studies so that when opportunity strikes you are prepared.  

Networking and Job Search 

• Most jobs are not advertised. Instead, most workers are hired based on who they know (their network). While resumes, CVs, and cover letters are important, they are not as effective as an introduction from someone that the prospective employer already knows and trusts.  

Resumes and CVs 

• The expected content and format of CVs and resumes can vary considerably by field, sector, and country. If applying for academic positions, please consult with faculty members in your discipline for the most accurate information. Ideally, ask for help from young Assistant Professors who have just experienced going through the job market. 
• Here are some examples from the Career Connections Center: Grad CV to Resume, Cover Letter Example, Cover Letter Worksheet, Resume Example, CV Example, and Teaching and Research Statement .

Additional Resources

• The Career Connections Center (C3) provides many resources, including revision of application materials for graduate students as they embark on diverse careers:   
  • Molm Family Gator Career Closet (free to borrow professional attire)
  • how to set up your LinkedIn profile
  • create professional portfolios
  • cover letters
• If you are in a field in the life sciences, the University of California, San Francisco provides many resources for diverse careers.   
• The Graduate School hosts a Job Search Series in the Fall in partnership with the Career Connections Center and the Center for Resilient Agriculture. Over the course of six sessions, all aspects of a job search, from developing your pitch to interviewing and negotiating a job offer are discussed.