Non-academic careers
I don't think non-academic careers are "alternative careers" and they are certainly an increasingly popular choice. This page discusses general resources, considerations if you are leaving the academy, how to adjust to the corporate life, and popular options such as intellectual property law and writing.- Off the bench: career options for scientists
- Traitors or Trailblazers?: women pursuing alternative careers
- Alternative careers in science, an overview of resources from HMS Beagle. (Password required, but free).
- Careers in transition: a list of resources from Science's Nextwave (free password may be required)
- Web resources for non-academic careers
- Nonacademic careers, a list of articles from The Chronicle of Higher Education
- The Labrat.com features CV posting, job lists, interview tips and more. Directed at non-academic science.
- Negotiating salaries in the private sector
- Will you be my mentor?: finding mentors for the non-academic track.
- Cover letters for non-academic jobs
If you're ready to leave the academy:
- Deprogramming from the Academic Cult,
- Four steps to succeeding outside the academy
- Tips for leaving the academy
- More tips about life after grad school, from the authors of "what are you going to do with that?"
- PhDs Work, helping young scholars find careers and succeed outside academe.
- The difference between a CV and a résumé and how to convert from one to the other: here's one version and then another version from The Chronicle, and also from Columbia University career center
- From The Scientist: Career Guides for the Perplexed, or, how counselors help move scientists from the lab to the office.
- On the verge of a break with academe, or contemplating career options in science
The corporate life
- Ruling in academic hell or serving in corporate heaven: deciding which track is for you.
- From academe to industry and back: things to consider about corporate culture.
- An article from The Scientist comparing jobs in academia and industry. The survey data and selected quotations are particularly interesting!
- Women in Biotech and Pharmaceuticals, from Science. A frank look at corporate positions from those inside.
- Scientist as entrepreneur
- A study that shows women scientists more interested in industry than academe; discusses how companies could do better at recruiting women. From Catalyst, a web site to promote women in business.
- Leaving the bench for a corporate perch: options in the business world.
- PhDs into MBAs: management consulting as a career option. From The Scientist.
- From The Chronicle, see this management consulting article. Here's another: a first person description of moving from a science PhD into management consulting. This article reconsiders consulting as a career option.
- Consultant for a day, also from The Chronicle
- Educational consulting
Writing
- Science Writing program at UC Santa Cruz is an option for those with degrees in natural science and full time academic or field research experience. Also check out classes at your local University extension.
- Abandoning academe with few regrets, one biologist's transition to a freelance writing career.
- A Guide to Careers in Science Writing from the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing.
- National Association of Science Writers has considerable information on its site:
Intellectual Property
- Careers for scientists in patent law, from The Chronicle of Higher Education