From PhD to Life

“A year into a prestigious postdoc, I knew that I wanted to leave academia, but struggled to articulate what I wanted to do next. After attending one of Jen’s webinars, I decided to give the Career Clarity Program a try, because I resonated with the program’s focus on defining one’s values and goals before starting a post-academic job search. Through assessments, guided worksheets, and the invaluable biweekly Zoom calls, I was able to identify what I bring to an organization, and more importantly, craft a narrative about my career trajectory. These factors gave me a much-needed confidence boost, and I found an amazing job much more quickly than I had anticipated! The Career Clarity Program was exactly what I needed during my transition out of academia. I loved the self-paced structure of the program, and felt supported knowing that I was not alone in the challenges I faced. As mentioned previously, one of the great strengths of the program is its focus on values and goals; knowing what drives you is critical to creating a life that allows you to flourish!”

Alexa Wood, PhD (environmental social sciences)

“It's been a wonderful course/resource. Thank you for the work and nuance you've put into it. Super helpful to think about what skills I would have liked to deepen during my work in industry that I can do so now as a PhD student (grant writing and program evaluation, for example).”

Yvette Ramirez, PhD student (information)

“Hi Jen, LOVING the course so far! I'm just wrapping up the fifth lesson, and already I've learned so much about myself. Lots of what you talk about really resonates with me and also helped me feel less alone about the mental blocks I put up that are getting in the way of finding the right job for me.”

Ari Bell, PhD (psychology)

“I was able to better understand what was important to me in job searches, and, in turn, could articulate to employers why I was interested in their job posting, how my priorities align with their institution, and the long-term vision of my career.”

Moriah Bellissimo, PhD, RD (nutrition and health sciences)

“The best part of the course for me was finding my focus. I went through the recommended exercises and found that it was really helpful to write down exactly what I was seeking - this really helped me to limit my search and not get bogged down by just applying for jobs that were likely not suitable. I was lucky in that I could wait for the job that truly appealed to me and even though it was frustrating at times, my patience paid off and I was able to secure a short term contract in my dream job (role and organization)... I also found it helpful to be in a supportive environment and hear from other PhDs and also of course your support and listening ear! Thanks for asking the right questions and always being empathetic to the difficult task of job seeking.”

Jane Doe*, PhD (public health)

“Working with Jen was an excellent experience. I have a PhD and am in the midst of an academia to industry transition. Jen understood what I was going through in a unique way as only someone who has also gone through it can. Every session, she challenged my assumptions and preconceived notions about my career transition and asked the right questions to unlock feelings and ideas I did not even know I had. I have come out of this experience immersed in a new industry sector with goals that better align with who I am and my core values. Jen taught me to identify and name my fears and how to work through them to move forward. I highly recommend working with Jen, especially if you have a PhD unsure of what to do outside of academia or how to go about finding a job in industry.”

Matthew G. Doyle, PhD, PEng (mechanical engineering)

“The PhD Career Clarity Program gave me the space I needed to reflect on who I am, what matters to me, and how I define meaningful work, helping me lean on my own inner wisdom to navigate decisions about next steps in my career. Each section reinforces that central guidance—you can find work that matters to you and aligns with your goals and values. Tools in the Prep and Focus sections (like the “Gremlins and Other Unhelpful Stories” worksheet) made me more mindful of the stuff gunking up my thoughts around career choice and reminded me of personal strengths I could call upon. Building on this foundation of self-knowledge, the Identify and Market lessons provided highly practical, expert strategies and exercises aimed at making the job search process more targeted and effective. I feel fortunate to be moving forward in my career with the gems of self-insight that came from taking this course alongside a wonderful community of fellow jobseekers. Thanks Jen!”

Katie Hynes, PhD (English)

“Jen’s Career Clarity program helped demystify the job search process and made me feel less alone. I felt pretty lost knowing I had to find a new job but not knowing the steps I needed to follow to get there. But with Jen’s help, I feel so strong and confident in my marketability and my ability to change careers (in the middle of a pandemic!) without sacrificing my values.”

Rachel Hynson, PhD (history)

“Thank you so much for your support in the Career Clarity program! It was just what I needed as I was taking my first steps out of academia. I felt alone, disoriented, insecure, clueless, and hopeless. Two weeks ago, just six months after that difficult start, I got the best job I could possibly hope for. I remember reading these kinds of sentences from other transitioning PhDs and thinking it couldn't happen to me. Well, it did! I'm over the moon, and the interactions with you have been an instrumental part of my success. My favorite part was the live Q&A sessions. Your personalized advice was super helpful, and the moral support was breathing life into me. I didn't feel alone anymore because I felt that I have you to guide me and the rest of the group by my side.”

Tania Smith,* PhD (philosophy)

“I joined the program when I was writing up and I knew that I didn't want to take a long break, that I was going to job hunt. But at the same time I knew that because I had worked in academia for a number of years, I wanted to switch gears and try something different. I'm an organized person, I like things structured, and I like to know what I'm doing next. And that's when I thought the program could help me with that. I thought I owed it to myself after working for so long and studying for so long and having three degrees. The process was definitely made easier by the program. I'm not saying it for the sake of it! It genuinely helped me, and I'm really grateful for that. I had to do some self reflection and I didn't know where to start. And having this structure really helped me plan it accordingly. It's really cool how much the program enabled me to do things that I had heard about but didn't have the right tools or the right methods to do it.”

Sej Modha, PhD (bioinformatics)