Employability Outside Academia is a course that supports PhD students and postdocs in their preparation to make the transition to industry and/or non-profit organisations. It helps them finding out what position would suit them.

In three full days, you will find answers to questions like: Is it realistic for me to stay in academia or should I seek for a job elsewhere? What do I (really) want? What job opportunities are there for PhD students and postdocs outside academia? What is necessary to make the transition to a position outside academia? Am I maybe too old to make the transition? How can I increase my attractiveness to non-academic employers? What steps do I need to take? How do I present myself towards organizations outside academia? How do I deal with the insecurities I have?, etc.

With help of the trainer and your fellow participants you will receive tailor made answers to the career questions you have. As a bonus, you will definitely gain a lot more self-insight!

Why an employability course for Early Career Researchers?

The vast majority of people with a PhD can not stay in academia, given the limited number of positions.

Second, early career researchers are not educated for a career outside academia an are not aware of career opportunities outside the academic world.

In addition, discrepancies exist between the skill sets academic researchers present and what non-academic employers are looking for. As a centre of expertise for postdoc development, PCDI was commissioned by the Amsterdam Economic Board to investigate this mismatch. No less than ten different companies and two umbrella associations [brancheverenigingen] were involved: What do they expect from PhDs and what discrepancies they see in competences. 

Based on this survey PCDI developed a preparative course for postdocs and PhDs. The course is open to all Early Career Researchers who aim to make the transition out of academia.