Gaming and related social media platforms are in need of highly-trained research talent.  The sector requires a constant stream of creative artists, editors, social scientists, quantitative analysts, neuroscientists and engineers, to name just a few in-demand job types.

Outside of the fun and potentially time wasting aspect of video games and gaming environments there are, of course,  important gaming applications to such fields as education, medicine, museums and the arts, and national security.  Our search this week uncovered a wide array of  opportunities at large companies such as Meta, Tik Tok, Disney, Nielsen Research and selected (and well funded) start-ups and market research firms.  Many are looking for deep research skills.

Peruse a few examples, and find more on our SmartJobs page.

HSS

Market Research Director, Platforms, National Research Group

Market Research Analyst, Jellysmack

Lead UK Researcher, Disney Streaming

Global Product Marketing Manager, Tik Tok

Vice President, Research, Spectrum Science

Senior Research Analyst, Nielsen

Research Director, Sensis

STEM

Global Vertical Researcher, Marketing Science, Meta (Facebook)

Research Intern – HCI (Human Computer Interaction), Microsoft

Research Scientist Intern, Neuromotor Interfaces, Oculus

Director, Neuroscience, Nielsen

If there are areas of work you would like us to explore in more depth, please contact at social@versatilephd.com. 

We want to hear from you.

For access to more jobs as well as archived and searchable opportunities, visit our SmartJobs page. NOTE: SmartJobs access requires a university affiliation. User-generated jobs are open to all members and can be accessed here.

From websites to intelligent transportation systems, the field of cybersecurity is rapidly becoming a critical part of every organization. We’ve profiled cybersecurity and related careers in the past but the momentum in the field–includes jobs, across a wide array of functions and domain knowledge–continues to build.

According the Cybersecurity Ventures, the total spending on cybersecurity worldwide will exceed $1.75 trillion between 2021 and 2025.  This translates into government and company budgets, and then hiring.

To get a sense of the potential careers available, we have profiled a few “live ones” below.  Take a look and read their job descriptions.  You can also reference hundreds more jobs on our SmartJobs page, and background success narratives over at our PhD Career Finder.

HSS

Senior Knowledge Analyst, Cybersecurity, Boston Consulting Group

Threat Researcher, Sophos

Senior Vulnerability Research, Lloyds Register Group

Sr Director, Government Affairs, SAP

Public Policy Manager, Cybersecurity, Facebook

STEM

Offensive Security Cyber Researcher/Developer, Draper

Senior Cybersecurity Analyst, Visa

Senior Staff Security Engineer, Palo Alto Networks

Intelligent Transport Systems Cybersecurity Researcher, Precision Solutions

Human Capital Cyber Workforce Manager, Deloitte

If there are areas of work you would like us to explore in more depth, please contact at social@versatilephd.com. 

We want to hear from you.

For access to more jobs as well as archived and searchable opportunities, visit our SmartJobs page. NOTE: SmartJobs access requires a university affiliation. User-generated jobs are open to all members and can be accessed here.

As many readers know, we have consistently showcased experiential opportunities on various parts of the VPhD site, whether they be PhD-Scale innovation challenges, micro-projects or part-time job opportunities. With the hiring season upon us, we wanted to emphasize PhD internships and the value they can bring to graduates across many fields.

In a recent article at Inside Higher Ed (“Engaging Employers Early in Grad Student Training”), Anne Meyer-Minor explores the value of finding experiential work opportunities, even and especially outside of your thesis area, and how to use such experiential opportunities to build a professional network. We couldn’t agree more.  Moreover our own experience and interaction with employers, from government to private sector growth companies, suggests that having some type of experiential work experience presents a distinct advantage when it comes to getting hired.

What can you do today?

This month there is a vast trove of PhD internship opportunities on job boards and aggregator sites (LinkedIn, Google, Glassdoor, Indeed), and within specific companies, government agencies and research institutes.   We’ll be showcasing specific internships in the weeks ahead but for now leave you with a number of options to explore on your own.

Note that even if you’re not looking for specific opportunities today, familiarizing yourself with what is available in the marketplace, and the specific types of internships and qualifications that reflect these opportunities, can’t hurt as you prepare to seek work outside of the academy.

And you can also check our Experiences and PhD Pathways sections, in addition to other content, which often discuss the importance of experience outside of your lab or thesis.

Here are a few ways to begin.

COMPANIES AND INSTITUTIONS

SEARCH AGGREGATORS

CONTACT US

Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash

Media pervades our world so it’s no surprise that careers in media research are in high demand. Yet for the PhD community, what may be less known is the vast range of economic sectors, job types and skills requirements that utilize media research as well as the caliber of highly trained academics that are recruited.

As we note in this week’s job cull, from large companies such as Facebook and Citi to well established research consultancies, government and emerging start-ups, enterprises are all aggressively hiring in the marketplace for applied research and communication skills.

Think behavioral science, publishing, editing and communication, data science, gaming and artificial intelligence–and other new areas of research yet to be uncovered.  We provide a few postings below and many more on our SmartJobs page.

Dig in.

HSS

Mixed Methods UX Researcher, Facebook

Head of Media Sciences, Citi

Market Research VP, Strategic Partnerships, National Research Group

Executive Office, Media Sciences, Goldman Sachs

Manager, Media Strategy, Known

Global Communications Market Research Manager, Deloitte

STEM

Senior Data Scientist, Nielsen

Director, Marketing Science, Annalect

Data Analyst, Juba Plus

Data Scientist, Cap Gemini

Research Scientist, Artificial Intelligence, IBM

If there are areas of work you would like us to explore in more depth, please contact at social@versatilephd.com. 

We want to hear from you.

For access to more jobs as well as archived and searchable opportunities, visit our SmartJobs page. NOTE: SmartJobs access requires a university affiliation. User-generated jobs are open to all members and can be accessed here.

Long-term spending at the government level (eg. President Biden’s Infrastructure Bill, and spending around the world post-Covid) and through a wide range of company initiatives (eg. ESG–Equity Social Governance– initiatives) are about to drive environmental job demand to record levels.

Take a survey of almost any organization today and there will be some research or active initiative dealing with its future environmental impact, or its various stakeholders.  Moreover, we have observed there is particularly high demand for PhDs and graduate-level students and post-docs with an interest in the sector.

According to the US Department of Labor, so-called “green occupations” (see figure below) include significant demand for environmental engineers, environmental and health scientists and conservation scientists through 2026 and beyond.  Yet these are only narrowly defined jobs for the environment and many are at an entry skill level.  There is another, and much larger subsection of environmental or green jobs that reach across almost every industry and occupational areas wit job specifications that  include public policy, business development, data science, health, project management, investment research, and partnerships work in the US and around the world.

To illustrate, this week we’ve collected a large cache of jobs that relate to the environment, climate and sustainability–again, broadly defined. Sift through the examples below and the hundreds of other jobs in our SmartJobs section ton find out more.  You might also look at environmental careers over at the PhD Career Finder to understand and process and challenges that other PhDs have successfully overcome to build careers in this area.  

Finally, be open to a multitude of new career directions.

HSS

Principal Environmental Intelligence Researcher, Mitre Corporation

ESG Ratings Sector Lead, Institutional Shareholder Services

Foreign Affairs Specialist, Marine Mammal Protection Act, NOAA

Water Power Technologies Strategy, US Department of Energy

Analyst, Research and Analytics, Environmental Defense Fund

STEM

Predoctoral Researcher, Argonne National Laboratory

Environmental Scientists/Engineers/Health Specialists (multiple), Eastern Research Group

Senior/Principal Air Quality and Climate Change Consultant, Stantec

Environmental Scientist, California Water Resources Control Board

Senior Associate Researcher, Environmental Medicine and Public Health

If there are areas of work you would like us to explore in more depth, please contact at social@versatilephd.com. 

We want to hear from you.

For access to more jobs as well as archived and searchable opportunities, visit our SmartJobs page. NOTE: SmartJobs access requires a university affiliation. User-generated jobs are open to all members and can be accessed here.

While researching this week’s SmartJobs posting on mental health we also noticed a rising demand for graduate and PhD level skills within the health tech and outcomes segment.

This is not only about STEM skills per sea but a much broader scope that includes PhD-level skills related to business development, policy, data science, user experience, project management, economic outcomes research, and partnerships work within larger healthcare companies

We profile a few selected positions below:

HSS

Director, Early Innovation Partnering, Johnson & Johnson

Business Development Manager, iHealth Labs

Consumer Experience Researcher, Sanofi

Project Manager, Vibrent Health

Policy Lead, Ellison Institute

STEM

Vice President, Health Economics Outcomes Research

Researcher, Health Equity, Mathematica Policy Research

Global Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Lead Data Scientist, Novelis

OPEN INNOVATION

If you’re not looking for a full-time position it is never too early ton gain real-world experience outside of academia.

Of note: there are many opportunities to contribute to health innovation, such as our latest participation in the National Institutes of Health and NASA’s “Air You Wear Challenge,” (see flyer below).  You can register for this challenge, and others, over at our Experiences section.

If there are areas of work you would like us to explore in more depth, please contact at s ocial@versatilephd.com. 

We want to hear from you.

For access to more jobs as well as archived and searchable opportunities, visit our SmartJobs page.  Note: SmartJobs access requires a university affiliation. User-generated jobs are open to all members and can be accessed here.

From Covid-19 stresses to Olympian Simone Biles, there has been a new embrace of mental health challenges.  This means more companies, jobs and potential career paths for PhDs and graduate students in the field.

One example is that investment into mental health start-ups and new technologies have rapidly expanded the number of private companies involved in supporting mental health challenges.  In 2020 alone, investors allocated a record $1.5 billion into mental health start-ups, which has also created a new area of hiring and career development that includes advocacy, clinical work, technology platforms, data science and policy work.

We provide below a few selected positions across Humanities Social Sciences and STEM fields below, with many more opportunities in our SmartJobs section.

Keep an open mind.

HSS

Therapist, (LMFT, LcSW, PhD, PsyD), Little Otter

Program Coordinator, Community Support for Families, Wellmore

Case Manager, Community Liaison, Street Smart Youth Project

Social Worker, Mental Health Clinician (Spanish Bilingual), Institute for Family Health

Psychologist – Adult, Kaiser Permanente

STEM

Research Scientist, Spring Health

Mental Health Data Analyst, NYC Health

Post-Doctoral Fellow, ADHD and Behavioral Disorders Center, Child Mind Institute

Early Mental Health Clinician (0-6), A Better Way

If there are areas of work you would like us to explore in more depth, please contact at s ocial@versatilephd.com. 

We want to hear from you.

For access to more jobs as well as archived and searchable opportunities, visit our SmartJobs page.  Note: SmartJobs access requires a university affiliation. User-generated jobs are open to all members and can be accessed here.

Photo: USA TODAY Network