Research postgraduates – current and recent
All our careers staff are experienced in supporting our research postgraduates.
We recognise that your experience and career ambitions are different from our undergraduates and taught postgraduates, and tailor our support accordingly.
Whether you’re hoping to use your research outside academia, progress within academia or do something quite different, we have resources and people to help you manage and develop your next career step.
What can we help you with?
Career planning
Today’s world needs the highly developed skills, experience and insights which a research degree can bring, whether you see your future in the world beyond academia or have the strategic focus and achievements to make it as an academic.
Look out for events throughout the year linking you to our alumni, including School and Faculty events, and our Meet the Professionals programme
Other excellent sources of PhD-specific career options include:
- PhD CareersFrom FindaPhD.com
- Career Planning for PhDs ebookFrom jobs.ac.uk (pdf)
- 10 Career Paths for PhDs ebookAlso from jobs.ac.uk (pdf)
- What are my career options with a PhD?From the University of Birmingham
- Jobs on Toast - Career confidence for PhDsCareer planning resources and advice from Dr Chris Humphrey
Making the most of your postgraduate research degree
The actions you take and skills you acquire from day one of your research degree may ultimately help your career prospects. Here are some of our suggestions of actions to consider:
Further careers support
As busy postgraduates, we know that thinking about your career often has to fit into odd hours to suit your schedule. Therefore we've focused on making as much support as possible both self-service and available 24:7.
Careers events, including talks and workshops, employers and alumni activities
Join in the wide range of sessions open to any student, including employer webinars, careers fairs, our "Meet the Professionals" alumni panels and career skills sessions to boost your professional profile, including our LinkedIn workshops (very popular with our postgraduates).
Many of our events, particularly those including employers and alumni, run only once a year - keep track of what's on when so you don't miss out. Find out more with:
News and updates
Look out for regular postgraduate careers tips with our monthly careers newsletters, specifically for research postgraduates. Keep up with our blog and social media (Facebook, Twitter, Weibo) with articles, news and tips for all students.
