At a nonacademic career conference in December 2004 sponsored by the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students and the Federation of Behavioral, Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, presenters offered the following tips for pursuing a nontraditional career:
* Identify your skills, interests and needs and then pinpoint agencies, organizations and companies to apply those skills.
* Develop a professional network. Conduct informational interviews by talking to people who have a job that you want and asking them about what their job entails.
* Tap career resources, such as your university's career services, graduate student or postdoc organizations and your professional network.
* Target places where you can combine your psychology training with other fields, such as by blending psychology with politics to work on addressing psychological policy issues.
* Create training opportunities, such as by developing your own practicum experience or research project that combines your interests.
-M. DITTMANN