Doctoral Student Resources

Don’t wait until the last years of your doctoral program to think about what you’re going to do once you graduate! Employer Engagement and Career Design (EECD) can work with you throughout your program to help you better understand your motivations and goals, explore career options, craft job materials, learn how to network effectively, and reflect on your progress.

We know that every doctoral program and doctoral student is unique, so we’ve devised a flexible career design pathway that will help you investigate your interests and develop the skills you’ll need whether you pursue a career in academia or industry (including jobs in government, non-profit organizations, K-12 education, corporations, startups, and more).

Below, find suggestions for how you can begin to design your future career, with links to specific EECD programs that can support you in this work.

Are you wondering what kind of academic institution you want to work for? Are you curious what industry careers might be a good fit for you? Reflect on your skills, values, and interests to envision potential career outcomes, then set goals to help you achieve these outcomes.

  • Check out our self-paced Canvas modules for resources on self reflection and self assessment.
  • Consider building a FREE individualized development plan (IDP). IDPs provide self assessments to help you identify your skills, interests, and values. They then offer resources to help you explore careers related to those values and skills, and provide tools to help you set and track both short- and long-term career goals. Below are two free IDP tools for PhDs:
    • myIDP (a tool for PhD students in the sciences)
    • ImaginePhD (a tool for PhD students in the social sciences and humanities)
  • Explore our Career Guides to see how different fields of study can lead to a variety of occupations.
  • Visit our Career Design Events Calendar for upcoming relevant programming.
  • Come to the Career Studio to discuss career pathways and set goals with a career counselor.

Interested in a career in academia? In industry? Whatever your professional interests, you can’t just think your way into a career, you need to test things out. Being open minded and curious ensures that you won’t miss new opportunities as they arise. Through various experiential opportunities, you can decide what career path might be right for you.

  • Check out our self-paced Canvas modules for resources on finding experiential opportunities.
  • Attend our relevant coaching labs to help you with your internship, co-op, or job search.
  • Connect with the LEADERs program to learn more about their experiential opportunities for PhDs.
  • Check out the various opportunities listed on the PhD Network “Opportunities” page.
  • Explore NUworks for relevant experiential opportunities, from internships to full-time jobs.
  • Come to the Career Studio to discuss career pathways and set goals with a career counselor.

Career Design can help you create a clear understanding of your professional identity, and practice confidently sharing that identity with those in your network. Learn how to tell your story through your job materials (for both academic and industry jobs). Use LinkedIn and other platforms to build your online professional brand. Create a professional introduction (your “elevator pitch”) to share when attending recruiting events or networking opportunities. Attend practice interview sessions to gain confidence in articulating how your doctoral experience has prepared you for the professional world.

For help crafting or revising your job materials:

  • Explore our and self-paced Canvas modules for more on these topics. In particular, explore these modules:
    • 3.3 Tell Your Story: PhD Career Portfolio: Academe (for those seeking academic jobs)
    • 3.4 Tell Your Story: PhD Career Portfolio: Industry (for those seeking jobs outside of academia)
  • Utilize Big Interview’s Resume AI tool for resume templates (including PhD-specific templates) and resume feedback.
  • Career Design also has coaching labs to help you craft your resume and cover letter.
  • Come to the Career Studio for review of your job materials.

For help building your brand, creating a professional introduction, and preparing for interviews:

  • Explore our and self-paced Canvas modules for more on these topics. In particular, explore this module:
    • Module 4.2: Navigate Your Networks: Building Networks and Managing Online Identity for PhDs
  • Utilize Big Interview to practice answering interview questions and receive AI-generated feedback.
  • Career Design also has coaching labs to help you tell your story.
  • Come to the Career Studio to discuss how to convey your unique professional brand.

Learn how to leverage online platforms as well as events like conferences and panels to build a meaningful network of contacts that can support you throughout your doctoral program and beyond.

  • Explore our self-paced Canvas modules for more on these topics. In particular, explore this module:
    • Module 4.2: Navigate Your Networks: Building Networks and Managing Online Identity for PhDs
  • Connect with Northeastern alumni via both LinkedIn and NUSource, a Northeastern community run by Northeastern’s Alumni Relations Office.
  • Attend our relevant coaching labs.
  • Check out the Career Design Events Calendar for upcoming networking opportunities with employers.
  • Come to the Career Studio to discuss networking strategies with a career counselor.

After you have testest out a career path or completed an experiential opportunity, it is time to assess how it went. This process enables you to identify and address what you need from a job, such as company culture, level of autonomy, identity resource groups, and management styles.

Northeastern Resources that support doctoral students include:

  • PhD Network – An organization designed to build community among PhD students. The Network holds events, offers funding for travel, and shares various professional opportunities.
  • LEADERs Program – Provides PhD students with context-based experiences that will help prepare them to be impactful researchers in academia or beyond. The LEADERs program—Leadership Education Advancing Discovery through Embedded Research— integrates leadership and professional-skills education with a research project at an organization in industry or the public sector.
  • Center for Teaching and Learning (CATLR) – CATLR supports all educators (including graduate students) in creating powerful learning experiences. Doctoral students can review their online resources, attend upcoming events, and connect one-on-one with a CATLR consultant on any aspect of their teaching.
  • Graduate Student Government (GSG) – GSG is a student-run organization that works closely with administration, staff, and students to improve all aspects of graduate student life. They also maintain a list of graduate student organizations.
  • Graduate Ombuds – Northeastern’s Ombuds for Graduate Students offers confidential, impartial, and informal assistance to graduate students who have concerns related to their university experience.

Employer Engagement and Career Design supports for doctoral students include: 

  • Canvas modules – 24/7 self-paced instruction
  • Coaching labs – Live, virtual workshops on topics related to all things career (register through NUworks)
  • Career Design Events Calendar – Upcoming special interest and employer-led events
  • Career Studio – Daily drop-ins, M-F (virtual and on- campus)
  • EECD Weekly Schedule – More information on regularly scheduled programs (register through NUworks)
  • NU PLACE – a campus hub that provides programs and tools to support the career and professional development of historically marginalized learners
  • NUworks – Information on internship and employment opportunities, as well as other career resources
  • EECD Website – Additional helpful resources
  • Questions about any of Career Designs supports for doctoral students? Email [email protected] or call 617.373.2430.