The Versatile PhD offers the PhD Pathways Series to provide an “outside the academy” perspective on career preparation and job opportunities across a range of skills, trends and industries. The next session will meet on October 24th to discuss “Debunking Academia vs. Industry Myths: Be the Entrepreneur of Your Own Career” with Dr Kaidi Wu.

Less than a third of PhDs get tenure-track jobs. The vast majority of PhDs are left to figure out the labryinth of a non-academic job market on their own. Yet, the 2024 industry job market is far from the panacea it was touted to be: intense competition, mass layoffs, dwindling job security, rigidity of the 9-to-5, lack of intellectual rigor, discriminatory treatment of international job candidates. This talk will take an honest look at the challenges faced by PhDs in both academia and industry. It will explore ways to design a fulfilling career that ultimately provides stability and security for doing what you enjoy.

Kaidi Wu, Ph.D. helps PhDs create the careers they want in and out of academia. She obtained her piano performance degree from the University of Michigan, went on to receive her PhD in social psychology at the University of Michigan, and completed her postdoc at UC San Diego. She has worked at Amazon, Meta, and Match, and currently helps PhDs realize the tremendous value of their PhD beyond the traditional career pathway.

Register to attend.