Not every science graduate student will stay in academia. In fact, that is the minority. Science PhDs end up in industry, they work as teachers, lawyers, writers, entrepreneurs, politicians, and creative professionals. Many of those jobs are not addressed as possible options to graduate students, yet we welcome scientific representation in a wide range of fields, from screenwriting to politics. Can we make graduate students in the sciences feel confident about their abilities to find the career they want – even if they have never met anybody with that job? Are there changes underway in universities’ attitudes to training graduate students? How can we help inform students about their options post-graduation? How do we address stigma? Does vocabulary like “alternative careers” and “leaky pipeline” affect student career choices? This discussion welcomes contribution from anyone interested in discussing careers for science graduates.
