Blog by our PhD Careers Consultant Catherine Reynolds.

• What are you looking for next?
• Where will you thrive and do your best work?
• Where will you find job and personal satisfaction?
• What’s out there anyway?

There are pros and cons in every employment sector and multiple roles open to PhD graduates. You might consider your future direction from two different angles.

The psychological approach

Your values, strengths, skills and interests matter and you can save some time by considering your unique vocational profile. Knowing something of what makes you, you will help you find direction and focus in your career thinking. Sometimes stepping aside from the environment of your PhD topic and considering yourself more holistically can help clear your mind about what you really want to do next.

The sociological approach

What’s happening in the labour market and are there employers or sectors out there of particular relevance to you or your PhD work? Knowing more about opportunities can help you build a strategy for the immediate and the longer term. Employers visit LSE every day, they come from all sorts of sectors and have a variety of roles on offer. Recently a number of employers have been asking for more PhD applicants. Check out who’s visiting and what’s happening on Career Hub.

Learning

Both approaches are synthesised in a  learning approach. Knowing more about yourself and the world round you will help you plot a career transition that suits you so you are ready for opportunities as they arise. This learning might take time to achieve, you’ll gather it slowly by being alert to information and people. Starting your career thinking early means you leave with a more secure plan or  a sense of direction. LSE Careers is experienced working with people in similar situations to yours, we can help your learning in one to one consultations as well as group events.

Careers of other people leaving LSE with a PhD

There are many roles in higher education outside the purely academic and some are filled by PhD qualified applicants. Earlier in the year, Dr Alex Free (LSE, Media 2015) spoke about his role as a Communications and Research Officer working on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Professional Services Division here at LSE. Similarly, there people with LSE PhDs in the Civil Service, NGOs, think tanks, consultancies and international organisations. Their job titles tend to include researcher, analyst, consultant…

Some PhD graduates become social or other entrepreneurs. Examples from a recent Entrepreneurs panel, all PhD speakers included: Alex Green (Economic History, ongoing); Andrea Rota (Sociology, 2016); Asi Sharabi (Social Psychology, 2005); Giulia Pastorella (European Studies, 2016); Stuart Theobald (Philosophy, ongoing) and Jonathan Freeman (International relations, ongoing).

In the corporate sector too PhD qualified LSE graduates work as consultants, analysts and researchers finance, management consultancy and many other sectors. Increasingly senior people in banking and finance have a PhD as part of their portfolio.

Information about the destinations of our PhD graduates can be searched by department on our website.

Creating a portfolio of experience

Building experience during your PhD can provide a rich resource to draw from later. As well as research and teaching the impact your work is having in external organisations can help build a bridge to assist the transition after your PhD. Getting yourself known, getting your work known and building your network are legitimate activities during your PhD; you might consider contributing to blogs; media coverage; talking to audiences outside academia; doing some consultancy or other temporary work.

Careers appointments

LSE Careers actively supports your career progression whether you intend to work inside or outside academia or in both. All the issues discussed above can be discussed in complete confidentiality with our PhD Careers Consultant at whatever stage you are in your PhD studies.

Confidential one-to-one careers consultations are available every week, use this to plan your career strategy. Book an appointment with me now!