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Arrested (Professional) Development
You may have heard that there are some big plans in the works for The Graduate School’s website. Over the summer, it will be treated to a major overhaul, and as part of that process the Graduate Student Professional Development blog will relocate to become part of the new site. For the next few months, things will be very quiet here on the blog as we migrate not only to a new address, but also to a new platform utilizing Drupal, a web framework and content-management system already widely used across Duke.
We are excited about the launch of the new website, as well as new Career & Professional Development programming for the Fall 2014 semester. In the meantime, have a great summer break, and we will see you back here in September!
Summer suggestions for professional development, part 3
No matter what plans you have for the fall – from starting your first semester of graduate school to starting a postdoc or full-time job, and everything in between – you should think about taking a little time this summer to get your virtual house in order. You can bet that potential employers, colleagues and other professional contacts will be searching for you online. Do you know what they’ll find? Are you happy with how it represents you? (more…)
Alumni Profiles Series: Natalya Wallin
Tell us about yourself:
I received a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) from Duke Graduate School in 2010 and am currently a Master of Public Policy Candidate at the University of Chicago Harris School, a DACOR Fellow, former International Affairs Staff Writer and newly appointed Executive Editor of the Chicago Policy Review. I am also serving as Student Advisory Board Member of the newly launched Center for Policy Entrepreneurship at the Harris School which is a critical initiative to help students master the politics of policymaking. (more…)
Summer suggestions for professional development, part 1
It has been quite a year for graduate student career and professional development here at Duke. In her first full year in the newly-created position of Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Professional Development, Dr. Melissa Bostrom coordinated a range of programming for all research master’s and doctoral students in the newly launched Professional Development Series. In the fall semester alone there were 35 events in five series: the Academic Job Search, Communicating with the Media, Core Competencies, Ph.D. Career Paths, and Entrepreneurship. (more…)
Professional development doesn’t always have to feel like work
Sometimes it’s a relaxed, engaging conversation over a meal with interesting folks.
Sometimes it means getting together with a group of peers to share experiences and support.
Sometimes it will have you tapping into your creative side for improvisational fun and games. (more…)
Getting off the tenure track: lessons from history
The Chronicle of Higher Education shared some encouraging news yesterday in what has lately been a contentious national dialogue about the futures of graduate education in the humanities, announcing a new Mellon Foundation grant to support non-academic career & professional development for Ph.D. students in history.
Maybe you don’t need a career plan
Yes, you read that correctly. Even if the career roadmap you’ve been busy drawing looks like a straight line to your dream job, you should probably think about scrapping it. (more…)
The Versatile PhD: your guide to the afterlife
The after(-academia-)life, that is.
Maybe you’re the proactive kind of student who started preparing for life after the PhD early in your graduate school career – networking, conferencing, setting up informational interviews, and staying abreast of job market trends and placement data. Or maybe, like me, you have approached your graduate education as an end in itself, immersing yourself in your research and writing without much thought for what would come next. No matter where you may fall on the continuum of career-preparedness, it can be daunting to navigate the transition out of graduate school and into your professional life. (more…)
