Career Management for Early Career Academic Researchers (FutureLearn)

Career Management for Early Career Academic Researchers (FutureLearn)

Explore different career options, learn what you want out of a career and understand how to implement good career decisions. Explore different career options and understand what you want from a career. Being an early career academic researcher, whether you’re a doctoral student or research staff, can be challenging: should you pursue further academic research? What skills will help you progress in an academic career? What other career options are open to you? On this course you will answer these questions and more, considering how to manage you career and reflecting on what you want out of a career.

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You will be encouraged to consider different career options, both within and outside academic research, and build your confidence in marketing yourself in applications and interviews.

What topics will you cover?

  • Factors that are important when considering future career development including key drivers, strengths, interests, personality, and values and how these impact on career choice
  • Experience, skills and qualifications that aid progression in an academic career and how to build relevant experience
  • Common career areas researchers enter outside academic research and how to generate and research individual career ideas
  • CVs for different roles and how to present experience effectively when applying for academic and non-academic jobs
  • What to expect at academic and non-academic interviews, and how to prepare effectively for these

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

  • Develop an awareness of what is important when considering future career development, including reflection on key drivers, skills, interests, personality, and values and how these impact on career choice
  • Identify the experience, skills and qualifications that will aid progression in an academic career; assess individual experience; identify gaps in light of what is required for moving on; and consider how to build relevant experience.
  • Explore some of the more common career areas researchers enter outside academic research and develop strategies to help generate and research individual career ideas
  • Describe how to adapt a CV for different roles and have improved confidence in presenting experience effectively when applying for academic and non-academic jobs
  • Discuss what to expect at academic and non-academic interviews, how to prepare effectively for these, and develop an awareness of how to present research experience to different types of employers
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