The Versatile PhD mission is to help humanities and social science (and STEM as of July 2013) graduate students identify and prepare for possible non-academic careers. We want them to be informed about academic employment realities, educated about non-academic career options, and supported towards a wide range of careers, so that in the end, they have choices.  The key concept here is versatility:  the ability to apply their skills and interests in a wide variety of fields.

Versatile PhD is two things:  a free community, and a premium content subscription service.   The free community is open to anyone and offers a rich support system for those possibly transitioning into non-academic careers.  Panel Discussions are held seven times a year, introducing members to specific PhD-friendly careers they may not have heard of before.

The Premium Content Area contains high quality non-academic career materials uniquely useful to humanists and social scientists and unavailable elsewhere.  Institutional subscriptions are available to the Premium Content Area for  universities and disciplinary associations. Click the appropriate membership category under “About” for details about the Premium Content and subscription terms.

The Versatile PhD, LLC, is a California limited liability company, founded by Paula Chambers in 2010.  This followed eleven years of managing the free community in its original form, as a listserv called WRK4US, which she founded in 1999 when she was herself a graduate student in a humanities PhD program.  More info on Dr. Chambers under “Founder and Team.”

Thank you for visiting, and may your students endlessly discover how versatile they are.