Acknowledgments
Contents
Editor and Contributors
Editor
Contributors
A PhD Is a Journey, But Where Will It Lead?
Introduction
About the Volume Editor and Interviewer
Informational Interviews
The Interview Questions
What Should You Do with These Interviews?
Overview of Interviews
Opportunities Just a Few Clicks Away
Additional Resources
Final Observations
References
“A Career Path in Open Science Has Been a Great Fit”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
Can you tell us a bit more about how you went from finishing your PhD to working in an academic library? Did you need to do any formal training in advance?
Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
How do you think having a PhD has helped you succeed in your current position?
What do you like most about your work?
And what do you like least about your work?
A lot of people like academia because they feel it gives them an opportunity to work on a topic that they deeply care about. Do you think this is also true in your current position?
Another reason many like academia is that they feel it provides them with more freedom than they think they would get in other positions. How much freedom do you feel you have to work on what you think is interesting?
What are some relative benefits you’ve seen in working in a non-academic position?
Based on your journey, what advice or suggestions do you want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
Is there anything else you’d like to tell someone reading this interview?
“Technical Skills Are Always Useful, No Matter What You’re Actually Working On”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
What do you like most about your work?
And what do you like least about your work?
How do you think having a PhD has helped you succeed in your current position?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a position similar to yours, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
A lot of people like academia because they feel it gives them an opportunity to work on a topic that they deeply care about. Do you think this is also true in your current position?
If someone was interested in pursuing a similar career path, what would you suggest they do to better prepare themselves?
Based on your journey, what advice or suggestions do you want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
“Align Your Mission and Vision with Your Next Steps After Your PhD”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
Thank you so much for sharing your personal story of how your plans changed. Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
What do you like most about your work?
And what do you like least about your work?
How do you think having a PhD has helped you succeed in your current position?
Can you tell us a bit more about what sort of questions you asked your mentors for advice on?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a position similar to yours, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
If someone was interested in pursuing a similar career path, what would you suggest they do to better prepare themselves?
A lot of people like academia because they feel it gives them an opportunity to work on a topic that they deeply care about. Do you think this is also true in your current position?
Another reason many like academia is that they feel it provides them with more freedom than they think they would get in other positions. How much freedom do you feel you have to work on what you think is interesting?
Based on your journey, what advice or suggestions do you want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
Is there anything else you’d like to tell someone reading this interview?
“I Might Have More of a Knack for Science Communication Than for Doing Actual Science”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
That was a great introduction. I have lots to ask you about! Let’s start from the “beginning.” What was the focus of your PhD?
How did you decide to move to the USA? Was the cross-lab collaborative project first, or did that emerge after you moved?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
Based on your journey, what is some advice or suggestions you would want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
Can you tell us a bit more about Real Scientists and then the DE spin-off?
Is there anything particularly interesting that you learned about through someone else’s curation of the Real Scientists DE account?
Can you tell us more about how you realized you would rather pursue a science communication career rather than staying in a research position?
What is day-to-day life like in your current position?
What do you like most about your work?
And what do you like least about your work?
How do you think having a PhD has helped you succeed in your current position?
A lot of people like academia because they feel it gives them an opportunity to work on a topic that they deeply care about. Do you think this is also true in your current position?
Early in the interview you mentioned that you found that different labs have different expectations and approaches. Can you tell us more about what you were thinking about there?
“You Should Create a Job That You’ll Never Need a Vacation from and Turn It into a Career”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
Your second postdoctoral position, at the teaching and learning centre, sounds a bit different than a typical postdoctoral role. What kind of work did you do in this position?
Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
A lot of people like academia because they feel it gives them an opportunity to work on a topic that they deeply care about. Do you think this is also true in your current position?
Can you tell us a bit more about some of the specific projects you’ve worked on, as examples?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a similar position as you have now, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
If someone was interested in pursuing a similar career path, what would you suggest they do to better prepare themselves?
How did you determine that starting a corporation was the next step towards achieving your goals? For instance, as opposed to working for a company that had sufficiently aligned interests.
What do you like most about your work?
What do you like least about your work?
Are there some aspects of academic research that you miss?
Based on your journey, what is some advice or suggestions you would want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
Is there anything else you’d like to tell someone reading this interview?
“A PhD Has Helped Me Learn How to Think Through Problems”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
Was there anything that you did to better prepare yourself for a UX research job?
Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
How do you think having a PhD has helped you succeed in your current position?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a similar position as you have now, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
What were some factors that led you to not pursue a teaching career further?
If someone was interested in pursuing a similar career path, what would you suggest they do to better prepare themselves?
What do you like most about your work?
And what do you like least about your work?
A lot of people like academia because they feel it gives them an opportunity to work on a topic that they deeply care about. Do you think this is also true in your current position?
Another reason many like academia is that they feel it provides them with more freedom than they think they would get in other positions. How much freedom do you feel you have to work on what you think is interesting?
Based on your journey, what advice or suggestions do you want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
Is there anything else you’d like to tell someone reading this interview?
“A PhD in Industry Is a Revered Qualification”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
How have your career plans changed as you’ve continued on to your current position?
If you don’t mind, can you tell us a bit about some of those missteps?
Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
How do you think having a PhD has helped you succeed in your current position?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a similar position as you have now, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
If someone was interested in pursuing a similar career path, what would you suggest they do to better prepare themselves?
A lot of people like academia because they feel it gives them an opportunity to work on a topic that they deeply care about. Do you think this is also true in your current position?
Another reason many like academia is that they feel it provides them with more freedom than they think they would get in other positions. How much freedom do you feel you have to work on what you think is interesting?
What do you like most about your work?
What do you like least about your work?
Based on your journey, what is some advice or suggestions you would want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
“No Matter How Specific Your Interests, There Are Options Out There”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
Can you tell me more about Neuro Transmissions? How did the idea to make a YouTube channel get started?
Neuro Transmissions is something you’ve done while also working on your PhD. How did you balance the two?
If someone was currently in their PhD studies, how might they decide if science communication might be a good fit for them?
If someone was interested in pursuing a career in science communication, what would you suggest they do to better prepare themselves?
How similar or different do you think is your current role as science communications fellow from the work you’ve already been doing for Neuro Transmissions?
What do you like most about your work?
What do you like least about your work?
Based on your journey, what is some advice or suggestions you would want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
A lot of people like academia because they feel it gives them an opportunity to work on a topic that they deeply care about. Do you think this is also true in your current position?
Another reason many like academia is that they feel it provides them with more freedom than they think they would get in other positions. How much freedom do you feel you have to work on what you think is interesting?
Is there anything else you’d like to tell someone reading this interview?
Chris: It’s been several months since your interview and you have had more experience in your current position now, can you tell us more about your current job?
“I Am Pretty Interested in Coding, Technology, and Infrastructure”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
You’ve had a few positions between completing your PhD and your current position, can you tell us a bit more about how these positions differed?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a position similar to yours, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
If someone was interested in pursuing a similar career path, what would you suggest they do to better prepare themselves?
A lot of people like academia because they feel it gives them an opportunity to work on a topic that they deeply care about. Do you think this is also true in your current position?
Another reason many like academia is that they feel it provides them with more freedom than they think they would get in other positions. How much freedom do you feel you have to work on what you think is interesting?
What do you like most about your work?
And what do you like least about your work?
Based on your journey, what advice or suggestions do you want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
Is there anything else you’d like to tell someone reading this interview?
Chris: It’s been a few months since your interview and you are in a new position now, can you tell us about your new job?
Can you tell us more about how your previous GitHub position differs from your new position?
How do you think having a PhD helps you succeed in your current position?
“There Is an Enormous Market for PhDs in Technical Sales Positions”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
How do you think having a PhD has helped you succeed in your current position?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a similar position as you have now, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
If someone was interested in pursuing a similar career path, what would you suggest they do to better prepare themselves?
A lot of people like academia because they feel it gives them an opportunity to work on a topic that they deeply care about. Do you think this is also true in your current position?
Another reason many like academia is that they feel it provides them with more freedom than they think they would get in other positions. How much freedom do you feel you have to work on what you think is interesting?
Can you tell us a bit more about how you transitioned to a job adjacent to academia? In particular, apart from thinking about translatable skills and finding a suitable job, how was it to change your perspective to mentally transition to a position o
Based on your journey, what advice or suggestions do you want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
Is there anything else you’d like to tell someone reading this interview?
“I Had No Idea That the Option to Pursue a Career as a Professional Scientific Editor Even Existed”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
Can you tell us a bit more about how you started to consider other options and became the editor of Trends in Cognitive Science?
Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
How do you think having a PhD has helped you succeed in your current position?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a similar position as you have now, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
If someone was interested in pursuing a similar career path, what would you suggest they do to better prepare themselves?
What do you like most about your work?
And what do you like least about your work?
A lot of people like academia because they feel it gives them an opportunity to work on a topic that they deeply care about. Do you think this is also true in your current position?
Another reason many like academia is that they feel it provides them with more freedom than they think they would get in other positions. How much freedom do you feel you have to work on what you think is interesting?
Based on your journey, what advice or suggestions do you want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
“Having a PhD Is Seen as a Strong Asset When Being Considered for Hire as an Intellectual Property Attorney”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
What do you like most about your work?
And what do you like least about your work?
How do you think having a PhD has helped you succeed in your current position?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a position similar to yours, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
If someone was interested in pursuing a similar career path, what would you suggest they do to better prepare themselves?
A lot of people like academia because they feel it gives them an opportunity to work on a topic that they deeply care about. Do you think this is also true in your current position?
Based on your journey, what advice or suggestions do you want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
“I Advocate on Behalf of Psychological Science Before the US Congress”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
How do you think having a PhD has helped you succeed in your current position?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a similar position as you have now, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
A lot of people like academia because they feel it gives them an opportunity to work on a topic that they deeply care about. Do you think this is also true in your current position?
Another reason many like academia is that they feel it provides them with more freedom than they think they would get in other positions. How much freedom do you feel you have to work on what you think is interesting?
What do you like most about your work?
What do you like least about your work?
Based on your journey, what advice or suggestions do you want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
Is there anything else you’d like to tell someone reading this interview?
References
“Finding Your Passion and Staying Authentic”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
How have your career plans changed as you’ve continued on to your current position?
Can you tell us more about your post-PhD data analyst position?
How long was it between finishing your PhD and starting your first postdoctoral position?
As you’re a full professor now, what was your journey from your first postdoctoral position to where you are now?
I feel like deciding when to have a baby and how that aligns with career progression is a topic that many struggle with. Can you tell us about some factors that should be considered?
It sounds like you’ve managed to navigate the Australian funding landscape really well, particularly in having moved there after your PhD. Do you have any advice or insights related to relocating and navigating different funding systems?
Do you think that someone who has just finished a PhD might not be aware of some aspects of being a professor and running a research lab?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a position similar to yours, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
If someone was interested in pursuing a similar career path, what would you suggest they do to better prepare themselves?
What do you like most about your work?
And what do you like least about your work?
Based on your journey, what advice or suggestions do you want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
Is there anything else you’d like to tell someone reading this interview?
“To Thrive at an Undergraduate Institution, One Must Love Teaching and Advising”
Christopher Madan: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
For someone who has similar interests to you, what are some options you considered as part of your “plan b”?
Earlier you mentioned that you had worked for a year as a “visiting assistant professor.” Can you tell us a bit more about what that position is?
Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a similar position as you have now, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
Can you tell us a bit more about how you move your own research forward through undergraduate projects? For instance, how do you find what might be a manageable topic for a thesis project and how do you balance the research topic being in the student
If someone was interested in pursuing a similar career path, what would you suggest they do to better prepare themselves?
What do you like most about your work?
What do you like least about your work?
Based on your journey, what is some advice or suggestions you would want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
“I Really Enjoy the Hectic Multitude of Jobs I Get to Complete in Any One Day”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a similar position as you have now, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
What are some aspects of the job that you think a PhD student would be particularly unprepared for?
I know you’ve written some blog articles giving advice for new lecturers/assistant professors, can you tell us a bit about those?
It would be great to hear some of this advice! It would be great to get a summary of a few of these, along with details on where to find the full articles. Can you give us an overview of workload and the responsibilities that go with being in a f
What is your approach for supervising a large number of undergraduate students?
What is your advice for supervising your first PhD student?
What do you like most about your work?
And what do you like least about your work?
You currently work at the University of Exeter, but this isn’t where you first were hired as faculty. Can you tell us a bit about why you looked for another faculty position?
Thanks for telling us more about that process. I think that aspect – considering moving to another university – is particularly mystifying for those still figuring out what it’s like to be in a faculty position. Can you elaborate on some of what y
Based on your journey, what advice or suggestions do you want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
Is there anything else you’d like to tell someone reading this interview?
“Find a Mentor, Someone Who Loves to Teach and Who Is Good at It”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
What did you do then?!
How have your career plans changed as you’ve continued on to your current position?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a similar position as you have now, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
Are there some aspects of running a research lab with undergraduate volunteers that someone currently finishing a PhD—in a lab with all of the related infrastructure—might need to consider? Any advice for them?
If someone was interested in pursuing a similar career path, what would you suggest they do to better prepare themselves?
What do you like most about your work?
What do you like least about your work?
Based on your journey, what is some advice or suggestions you would want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
Is there anything else you’d like to tell someone reading this interview?
“Be Bold and Go for Opportunities Outside Your Comfort Zone”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
People do a post-doc in an adjacent field often enough, but doing several, each in different fields, is less common. Can you tell us more about how you ended up progressing along that path?
Can you tell us more about your time working at the drug discovery company? For instance, what did the job involve and some of the considerations that led you back to academia.
When PhD students think about a future in an academic position, I don’t think they often consider roles such as being a course director. What does that entail and how does that fit with your other responsibilities?
What are some of the different skills that you think your role, or academic positions more generally, require?
You’ve moved around between countries through your career. How different did you find the academic systems?
Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
What do you like most about your work?
And what do you like least about your work?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a position similar to yours, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
If someone was interested in pursuing a similar career path, what would you suggest they do to better prepare themselves?
Earlier you mentioned that your wife is also an academic and the issue of the two-body problem and both securing jobs. Can you tell us about some of the considerations that came up when you were both interviewing and trying to find positions or other
I know you both also have children. Do you have any advice for those thinking about when to have children or on how the associated change in lifestyle relates to life in academia?
Based on your journey, what advice or suggestions do you want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
Is there anything else you’d like to tell someone reading this interview?
“I Get to Travel a Lot and Talk to Many Really Smart and Thoughtful People”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
How have your career plans changed as you’ve continued on to your current position?
A few years ago, you wrote a blog post about the list of skills/competencies that postdocs can be expected to have. Can you tell us a bit more about that?
Can you tell us about a few more items from that list? I have found myself referring students to that list from time to time to demonstrate the breadth of directions there are to develop skills in and to show that’s unfeasible to become an expert
Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
What do you like most about your work?
And what do you like least about your work?
You’ve moved around between quite a few countries. Have you noticed any interesting differences between the academic systems?
Can you tell us more about how you ended up working on your PhD jointly between Berlin and Ann Arbor?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a position similar to yours, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
Based on your journey, what advice or suggestions do you want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
“Your Skills Are Valuable and You Likely Have Many Options After Your PhD”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
What sort of role do you have with respect to journals and editing? I feel that PhD students tend to only have limited experience with that side of academia. What led you to become more involved with those types of roles?
Apart from luck, what are some factors that you think have helped you get more influence and opportunities in the field? You’ve mentioned both invited talks and editorial roles, and I’m sure those in tenure-track positions would appreciate your advic
You recently co-founded the Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science (SIPS). Can you tell us about the responsibilities that went along with this and what was your motivation to be in this leadership position?
What do you like most about your work?
And what do you like least about your work?
Do you think that someone who just finished a PhD might not realize that some aspects of being a professor and running a research lab are parts of the job?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a position similar to yours, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
If someone was interested in pursuing a similar career path, what would you suggest they do to better prepare themselves?
At the start of the interview, you mentioned that you recently moved universities, as well as countries. Can you tell us a bit more about that process? For instance, how long had you been looking for a new position, reasons for the move, or considera
Based on your journey, what advice or suggestions do you want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
“Running a Research Lab Is Like Running a Small Business with a Highly Uncertain, Constantly Fluctuating Budget”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
That’s great that you finally got offers and multiple of them! Can you tell us what were some factors that helped you decide which to take?
Can we go back to your other story. Why did you decide to teach in Bangladesh for part of 2010?
Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
Do you think that someone who just finished a PhD might not be aware of all the different aspects of the job of professor?
If someone currently finishing their PhD was considering a similar position as you have now, how might they decide if it would be a good fit?
If someone was interested in pursuing a similar academic career path, what would you suggest they do to better prepare themselves?
Do you have any suggestions on how to balance being a collaborator and team player versus establishing yourself as an independent scientist?
What do you like most about your work?
What do you like least about your work?
I think this is an important ongoing issue in academia. Do you have any suggestions for websites/resources that might be helpful in giving others more direction in how they can help contribute to diversity initiatives?
Based on your journey, what is some advice or suggestions you would want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
Is there anything else you’d like to tell someone reading this interview?
“There Are Many Reasons That People Succeed in Academia”
Chris: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your current position?
What was the focus of your PhD?
As you were finishing your PhD, what were you thinking about your career plans?
Can you tell us a bit about your journey from finishing your PhD to where you are now?
From interviewing at different places, did you get an indication of how they differed? Apart from the two-body problem, what are some factors that an applicant might want to consider when deciding where might be a better fit?
Do you think that someone who just finished a PhD might not realize that some aspects of being a professor and running a research lab are parts of the job?
Can you tell us a bit about what day-to-day life is like in your current position?
What do you like most about your work?
What do you like least about your work?
If someone was interested in pursuing a similar career path, what would you suggest they do to better prepare themselves?
Based on your journey, what advice or suggestions do you want to pass on to someone who’s currently finishing their PhD?
Is there anything else you’d like to tell someone reading this interview?
I think this is a great point—not to say you’re not smart, but rather that soft skills are very relevant for success. Can you tell us more about your thoughts on this?
Index
