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Be Pro-Active: Seek Post-Graduate Career Information Early

Tara L. Kuther, Ph.D.
Western Connecticut State University

As an assistant professor of psychology, students often seek my advice in applying to graduate school. Many students express the desire to earn a doctoral degree in psychology to practice in a private or hospital setting, or to work within academia. However, with the advent of managed care and the increasing use of masters-level professionals in hospital and private-practice settings, the doctoral degree offers little assurance of a position after graduation. Even in academia it is not uncommon for Ph.D.s to complete several temporary postdoctoral appointments or visiting assistant professorships before securing permanent positions. Others choose to leave academia for careers in government and corporate research or with social service agencies.

Despite this seemingly bleak picture, opportunities are available for creative and resourceful psychologists; however students should be aware of these trends and begin to innovate early in their graduate school careers. Specifically, graduate departments should maintain current information about post-graduate career opportunities and should modify programs in light of such findings.

Graduate programs have an ethical responsibility to provide students with information about the utility of a graduate degree in seeking permanent academic and nonacademic positions. Specifically, departments should assess the progress of graduates at regular intervals. It is particularly important to determine the proportion of students who obtain positions within academic and nonacademic settings, and to determine whether the nature and content of the coursework was sufficient to prepare graduates for their careers. Academic departments have a responsibility to use assessment-based information to refine their programs in light of the realities that graduates experience (Association of American Universities, 1998).

Some might argue that these recommendations go beyond the scope of a graduate department’s responsibility. It is indisputable that goals of graduate education include the provision of knowledge, the indoctrination of students into a profession, and the promotion of student welfare. According to the Association of American Universities (1998), "in designing graduate programs and advising graduate students, university administrators and faculty members must hold the interests of students paramount." Does the responsibility to promote the welfare of students extend beyond graduation? I believe that it does. For example, most faculty advisors offer assistance to their students in job-seeking before and after graduation. It is generally expected that advisors will offer introductions, make phone calls, and write letters of recommendation on behalf of students, suggesting that some level of responsibility on the part of advisors extends beyond the commencement ceremony.

The decision to attend and to remain in graduate school is much like the informed consent process in that the provision of accurate information is critical to decision-making on the part of students. Graduate students must be informed of the availability of academic and alternative careers. Therefore, faculty have an obligation to be familiar with, and to encourage students to become aware of, the changing scope of career opportunities.

However, it is the responsibility of students to actively seek such information in guiding their careers. Graduate students should explore career opportunities within academic and nonacademic research settings. Specifically, students should be introduced to the possibility of nonacademic research and policy careers not as alternative careers, but as careers that are appropriate to their level of training. So, when students approach me for graduate school advice, I encourage them to think beyond the handful of years in graduate school, to seek information on post-graduate career opportunities, and to be open to innovation.

This article first appeared in the Summer 2000 Edition of the APAGS Newsletter, Vol. 12(2)

 


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