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The previous two attributes spend some time looking at you. It is also important to know where you fit in. It is therefore necessary to plan the up and coming years.
Consider the following short story.
Peter was completing a PhD in biochemistry. While his PhD was in a biological field, he had gained a lot of skills in computing as much of what he was doing required software that hadn't been developed elsewhere. While Peter was writing up, he decided to apply for a short term contract with the high performance computing department within his University. He was successful in his application and so gained some work experience on a small project in the IT area. This experience along with his PhD in a more scientific area resulted in him having the best experience he could have to secure a job with one of the major laboratories in the USA that was developing the software for programs which allowed biochemists to better do their work. Without remaining open to experience in another area, i.e. the IT arena, Peter may not have been in the ideal position to secure the postdoc he ultimately did.
To maximise your options it is important to understand the common routes that people take in your field, while at the same time keeping a broader view of the world of work to see where else your skill set might fit in.
The normal routes may be:
- Straight to postdoc
- Straight to academia
- Straight to industry
- Maybe there isn't a norm?
In Activity 3 in your workbook you will be able to start recording some of your thoughts around this area.
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