Career Exploration

Once you have completed some self-assessment exercises, it's time to explore careers and identify those which fit you. There are a number of methods to explore careers and they should be used in tandem to give you the best and widest range of information. Use on-line and print resources (available in the Career Services library) to follow career trends and find information on salary, duties and qualifications, working environment, and stress level. Use informational interviewing to get an inside perspective on potential careers and possibly discover related careers you may not have otherwise known existed. Shadowing, volunteering, and internships are unparalleled ways of getting first hand knowledge of a potential career.

Career & Industry Profiles

These resources and more are available at the Career Development Center's library, 167 Angell Street (Across from Brown Bookstore)

  • Career Magazine Current and archived articles about various careers and the job search, links to other career sites.
  • Fast Company Offers information about specific industries and companies.
  • Job Hunter's Bible Richard Bolles (author of What Color is Your Parachute?) provides links to self-evaluation tools, resources for researching companies, writing resumes, and more.
  • Occupational Outlook Quarterly This online O.O.Q. from the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides employment projections and career information.
  • The Riley Guide A directory for hundreds of job resources, services, and career information guides covering business, industry, government, non-profit, overseas work, etc.
  • Vault.com Offers information about specific industries, companies, narratives about a typical day in various careers, career advice, message boards, and more.
  • Wall Street Journal's Career Site Offers salary and hiring information, career columnists, job-hunting advice, etc., for the business and industry sectors.
  • WetFeet.com Provides a range of career resources, including industry and company profiles, advice for career changers, resources for women and minorities, etc.

Informational Interviewing

Informational Interviewing is a key strategy for career exploration as well as for building your network. Making the contact and arranging the interview is the first step; knowing what you want to ask when you arrive is critical. Review the questions below, pick those that are most appropriate, and tailor them to fit the situation and your personal style. Let the conversation flow--don't feel like you have to ask every question on the list.

What is the purpose of informational interviewing?

Informational interviewing allows you to talk to "experts" about their careers and career paths. The goal of these conversations is to expand your understanding of a career area as you consider career directions, as well as to make valuable professional contacts. The purpose is not to obtain a job. Informational interviewing allows you to:

  • learn about a career field: its culture, opportunities, and necessary training
  • receive advice on job search strategies
  • gather information about a specific organization
  • explore what a particular job might entail
  • receive advice on graduate school or other preparatory experiences
  • develop a network of contacts
  • build your confidence and knowledge for job interviews

Who can I interview?

You can interview anyone who is doing work in a field that might be of interest. This includes family members, friends, faculty members, the person sitting next to you at a party, and Brown graduates. See Opportunities for Informational Interviewing (below) for more ideas.

How should I arrange the interview?

Interviews can be arranged by letter, e-mail, or telephone. Many people find it helpful to write a brief letter of introduction, and then follow up with a phone call to arrange a time to talk. The talk can be in person or on the phone. E-mail often allows for continuing discussion.

How can I prepare for an information interview?

Do research before you go to save time and have a more valuable conversation! Use print, electronic, and personal resources to gather information about the career field and the organization. If you've done your research or talked to others in the field, you can pose more interesting questions that will yield richer answers. Think about what you want to learn from each contact. Use the questions above as a guide. Be sure to include questions about additional contacts or resources. Each interview can lead to new sources of information.

How should I follow up?

Write a thank you note indicating your appreciation for their time and advice. Consider additional follow up to keep them up-to-date with your career plans and to let them know how their advice contributed to your career decisions or job search.

Sample Questions for Information Interviewing

Career Path:

  • Describe your career path leading to your current position.
  • How did you select this career?
  • What was your first job?
  • Are there alternative routes to the same career/job?
  • What are the levels or steps in this career?
  • Is there mobility between organizations? Nationally? Internationally?

Education/Training/Experience necessary:

  • What background, skills, or experiences are necessary?
  • Are there specific opportunities for applicants with Ph.D.s or M.A./M.S.?
  • Is an internship advisable?
  • Are there some gaps in my resume that need to be filled?

Daily activities/organizational culture/lifestyle/fit:

  • What is your typical day like?
  • Is there a typical work schedule? Is overtime, flextime, part-time, job-sharing, travel required or possible?
  • What is the work environment like? Casual or formal? Fast-paced or relaxed?
    Team-oriented or independent?
  • What types of people generally thrive in this environment/career?
  • How well can career and family responsibilities be managed in this field?
  • What effect does this career have on your lifestyle and family life?
  • What are the rewards of your work? Drawbacks?
  • What type of training is provided?
  • What is the typical salary range?
  • How much autonomy is there?
  • Are there opportunities to receive mentoring?
  • What is the typical timeframe for moving up?

Future of the career field:

  • How do you see the career field changing in the next decade?
  • Where will the jobs be in the next decade? What types of jobs will emerge? What types will be eliminated?

I want to learn more:

  • Who else would you recommend that I talk to for information?
  • What professional organizations are active and helpful to students?
  • What journals/magazines would be helpful to read?
  • What are helpful websites to explore?
  • What question haven't I asked you that I should be thinking about?
  • What is the best career advice you can give me?

Networking and Informational Interviewing Resources

Opportunities for Informational Interviewing

  • BRUnet (Brown's Alumni Network): Available only to Brown University students and alumni. BRUnet is a database of more that 8,000 brown alumni who have volunteered to help students and alumni learn about specific career options through informational interviews. To register, go to the Brown Alumni Association website.

If you are interested in learning more about non-academic career opportunities, we encourage you to try informational interviews with Graduate School Alumni who have volunteered for BRUnet. You can search for contacts by occupation, company name, geographic area, and more. Here is an (unsolicited) endorsement of the BRUnet program we have received from a Ph.D. student via email:

"The thing that I especially want to mention is how incredibly valuable the BRUnet network was for me. I e-mailed about 6 people. All of them were very prompt answering my mail.They all accepted to have informational interviews on the phone, one person called me from Mexico City. All this was not only helpful for learning their experiences, industry, tips etc., but it also helped me get interviews. One thing that I learned for sure is without a face a resume is a piece of paper. Mainly the reason that I am writing this mail is that I also wanted to mention how important networking is. The more one asks, the more one learns. But it is not the only outcome. It also shows things like initiative etc, so companies like it. One more point: the hardest thing for me was to have the courage to contact the people in BRUnet but I quickly discovered, they are very, very willing to talk."

  • Career Conversations with Brown Graduate School Alums
    Career Services organizes programs in which graduate alumni share thoughts on career choices, the job search, and life after Brown. Career Conversations cover a wide range of opportunities.
  • Brown Career Fairs
    At Brown Career Fairs you have the opportunity to speak in person or online with representatives from a wide variety of employers. On-campus Career Fairs are open to all Brown students. Brown has participated in Virtual Career Fairs with other research institutions.

WRK4US
The WRK4US listserv is described as "an open, unmoderated listserv for the free and supportive discussion of nonacademic career opportunities for people with graduate education in the humanities and social sciences." 

Intern, Volunteer, Shadow

After researching career opportunities and conducting informational interviewing, consider interning, volunteering, or shadowing to help determine if a profession or organization is a good fit for you.

Formal internship programs for graduate students are not as common among organizations as those for undergraduate students, so chances are you will be using your well-crafted skills of persuasion to convince a company or organization why they will benefit from creating a temporary (and paid!) position for you. Volunteering, of course, allows you more control over the nature and duration of the arrangement. Job shadowing usually occurs over a period of one or more days and consists of unobtrusively following and observing one or more persons during the course of a workday at a particular organization.

Resources

Discipline Specific Resources

Humanities and Social Sciences

Anthropology

Art History

Economics

Philosophy

  • What can you do with philosophy? University of Louisville's web page listing the non-academic careers of its philosophy majors as well as several links to web sites with career suggestions for philosophers.

Political Science

Psychology

Slavic Languages

Life Sciences and Physical Sciences Resources

  • Sciencejobs.com For jobseekers looking for the right position in bioscience.
  • PhDs.org This website features job listings, articles on the job market, job search basics.
  • Job-Hunt.org This job search list has a section devoted specifically to Science, Engineering & Medicine.
  • Science's Next Wave Hosted by Science Magazine, resources arranged into sections including: CV/Resume Database, Career Transitions, Job Hunting for Grad Students.
  • Bio Online Industry guides, job listings, articles, live chats.
  • The Scientist Find job listings from the journal, subscribe to job alert via email, or browse and search job listings.
  • Science Magazine Search through recent job postings.
  • The Harvard Biotechnology Club This is a student-run organization that bills itself as "the largest student-run biotechnology organization in the world. Anyone may join and it's FREE." Sign up for their informative email lists, browse job postings, or attend their career fairs.
  • Association of Science-Technology Centers "An organization of science centers and museums dedicated to furthering the public understanding of science". Search job listings for Science educators, museum curators, development officers, and managers.
  • Nature: International Weekly Journal of Science See the NatureJobs section of the website for cities/countries 'in focus', job listings, and articles on companies and new technologies.
  • The Scientist's Guide to Traditional and Alternative Careers For scientists, jobs are very difficult to find these days. This site aims to provide scientists with information on traditional and alternative careers with both links and featured guest essays by scientists who offer their wisdom on how to find a job, what their jobs are like, and other topics of interest.
  • Career Binders (in the Career Services Library) Careers in Science and Technology, Careers in Biotechnology, etc.
  • Books available Life and Physical Sciences (in the Career Services Library):
    • A Ph.D. is Not Enough: A Guide to Survival in Science by Peter J. Fiebelman. (Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1993.)
    • Alternative Careers in Science: Leaving the Ivory Tower by Cynthia Robbins-Roth. (Academic Press, 1998.)
    • Career Renewal: Tools for Scientists and Technical Professionals by Stephen Rosen and Celia Paul. (Academic Press, 1997.)
    • The Scientist as Consultant: Building New Career Opportunities by Carl J. Sindermann and Thomas K. Sawyer. (Plenum, 1997.)
    • Guide to Non-Traditional Careers in Science by Karen Young Kreeger. (Taylor & Francis, 1998.)
    • The Industry Insider, Consulting for Ph.D.s, Lawyers and Doctors . (Wetfeet Press, 2000.)
    • So What Are You Going To Do With That?: a guide to career-changing for M.A.s and Ph.D.s by Susan Basalla & Maggie Debelius. (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 2001.)
      Features the career-change story of Brown's own Dina Venezky (Ph.D., Geological Sciences, 1998)
    • 2001 Regional Life Science Employment Directory . (Dean Publishing. 2001.)
    • Opportunities in Biotechnology Careers by Sheldon S. Brown. (VGM Career Horizons, 1995.)
    • Biotechnology Industry Guide . (Institute for Biotechnology Information, 1998.)
    • Jump Start Your Career in BioScience . by Chandra Louise, Peer Productions, 1998.
    • The Insider Guide to Jobs in the Biotech and Pharmaceuticals Industry . (Wet Feet, 1999.)
      Also see Industry Guides for such fields as Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals, for information on companies that hire people with advanced degrees.
    • Preparing Physicists for Work. (American Institute of Physics Career Services Division, 1997.)
    • Physical Sciences Career Directory: A practical one-stop guide to getting a job in the physical sciences . (Visible Ink Press, 1994.)

Chemistry

Engineering

  • American Institute of Chemical Engineers Offers job search strategies, information about career fairs, etc.
  • How to Succeed as an Engineer: A Practical Guide to Enhance Your Career by Todd Yuzuriha. (JK Publishing, 1998.)
  • Engineering Society Directory 2001 (Bonamy Publishing, 2001.)
  • Career Advancement and Survival for Engineers John A. Hoschette. (John Wiley & Sons, 1994.)
  • Careers in Science and Engineering (National Academy Press, 1996.)
  • Peterson's 1999 Job Opportunities for Engineering and Computer Science Majors

Mathematics & Applied Mathematics

Physics