The Versatile PhD mission is to help graduate students and PhDs identify, prepare for, and excel in possible non-academic careers. We want them to be informed about employment realities, aware of nonacademic career options, and supported in preparing for a range of possible careers, so they have choices and a network of like-minded peers to help them along.
The Versatile PhD subscription service provides all-original first-person content unavailable elsewhere, written by real-life “Versatile PhDs” — PhDs and ABDs succeeding outside the academy. Your annual subscription fee gains your affiliates access to the premium content via the PhD Career Finder. The PhD Career Finder is useful even without the premium content, but an institutional subscription gives your students concrete examples to follow in their quest to get from here to there–and a ready network of others who have gone before them.
Hiring Success Stories. Authentic application materials used by PhDs or ABDs to get their very first post-academic jobs: resume, cover letter, additional correspondence, position announcement if still available, CV for comparison, and a well-written narrative explaining exactly how the job was won. These are authentic application documents, not made-up examples.
Career Autobiographies. First-person narratives in which advanced Versatile PhDs describe how their career evolved after leaving the academy, with all the twists, turns and surprises that shaped their careers. These bios show that careers can progress in many surprising ways, that happy endings are common, and that certain “best practices” really do lead to success.
Panel Discussions. 4-6 PhDs and ABDs all working in the same non-academic career describe what their work is like and answer questions from users. These information-rich discussions take place in the free discussion forums of the site, then become premium content in the PhD Career Finder where only those with subscription access can read them.
Beginning in the fall of 2018, VPhD is adding a six-module Options for Success Career Discovery Course, a high-volume, curated job feed, and individualized career planning tools.
A free preview of VPhD’s premium content is available. You, your colleagues, and selected affiliates may participate.
Subscription term is July 1 – June 30. Pro-rated and mid-year subscription periods are available.
Inquiries, please contact Todd Maurer: todd [at] versatilephd.com