From Getting a Ph.D. to Getting a Job Annual Career Fair Helps Doctoral Students Move From School to World of Work

The Third Annual Graduate Student Career Fair for the Biomedical and Health Sciences: Serving Science in Many Ways attracted more than 200 Ph.D. students. The annual event is sponsored by the Graduate Student Council of the Medical School to meet the career-planning needs of graduate students pursuing Ph.D.s in the biomedical sciences. There are 11 Ph.D. disciplines offered at the Medical School through the Horace Rackham School of Graduate Studies, including biological chemistry, biophysics, cell developmental and neural biology, cellular and molecular biology, human genetics, immunology, microbiology and immunology, neurosciences, pathology, pharmacology, and physiology. Students from all the disciplines, and from other health science schools at the University of Michigan participated in the day-long fair held in the Towsley Center at University Hospital.

The morning began with break-out sessions on: “From Getting a Ph.D. to Getting a Job,” and “The Search Process.” Other workshops included “Science Policy, Science Education, and Regulatory Affairs,” “Finding a Post-Doctoral Position,” “Proctor & Gamble: A Global Research and Development Corporation,” “Serving Science Outside Academia,” and “Serving Science Within Academia.”

“The central theme of this event — Serving Science in Many Ways – brings together an outstanding group of professionals from both traditional and non-traditional career paths,” stated Rupak Rajachar, chair of the Graduate Student Council. The Council invited many alumni/ae to the event, which also served as a “reunion” of sorts, particularly for the alumni members of the Association of Multicultural Scientists, a graduate student organization for underrepresented racial and ethnic groups at the University of Michigan whose goal is to assist its members in successfully completing their doctoral degrees.