PhD Career Day: Bringing perspectives beyond academia
The first edition of the PhD Career Day by the University of Luxembourg took place on 24 January 2023. This event provided PhD candidates or postdoctoral researchers with opportunities to learn more about their career prospects by meeting company representatives face-to-face, get an understanding of what the companies stand for, and look for. Being at the forefront of careers beyond academia, EURAXESS Luxembourg organised two sessions dedicated to building a career outside academia in Luxembourg and to developing your career thanks to mentoring.
Meet former researchers who transitioned to non-academia
Pursuing a career beyond academia is a lot about valuing the skills you have gained throughout your research journey. During the session dedicated to "Pathways beyond academia", EURAXESS Luxembourg presented three former researchers of the University of Luxembourg who shared their own experience to pursue a career beyond academia.
Sheila Becker is the Head of Network and Information Systems' Security (NISS). As one of the first students to receive a PhD from the University of Luxembourg's Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT), starting her doctoral work just as the research centre was created, Sheila made her leap to non academia quickly. To her, PhD candidates have a different approach on solving issues and facing problems. This point is most probably one of the most important characteristics to stand out on the job market.
A PhD is a work. You invest time. You work eight hours a day. You get paid for it. You develop skills during this period. Employers should take this into account.
Sebastian Reddeker is the CEO of Luxembourg for Tourism. After completing his PhD at the University of Luxembourg on advertising communication in a multicultural space in 2011, he quickly transitioned to non academia joining Luxembourg Trade Confederation (clc), first as project manager for the Luxembourg programme, the trade centre for the Greater Region, then as a division manager for Villes & Commerce as part of the PRO Commerce Pact, supported by the government before taking on his current role. To him, conducting a PhD in Luxembourg is a great opportunity to enter international networks.
If a company tells you to remove your title, move on. Find a company that values the time you invested in your PhD and the skills you gained.
Listen to Sheila Becker and Sebastian Reddeker
Christopher Morse is director of Zortify Labs. He recently gained his PhD from the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH) where he investigated the application of user experience (UX) design methodologies in the development of next-generation interfaces for museums. According to him, it's important for PhD candidates to think about different ways to present their research and specifically what it means and how it is relevant for people outside academia.
As a PhD candidate, you spend a lot of time on your research topic. Try to position yourself in different ways.
Listen to Christopher Morse
Useful tips from our alumni: Be open-minded, build a network
Mentoring for career development
EURAXESS Luxembourg along with Ines Crisostomo, a mentoring programme coordinator at the University of Luxembourg, organised a session dedicated to mentoring as a way to support the career development of young researchers.
Building a career outside academia requires much more than technical and job-related skills. Indeed, it implies awareness one's own skills, effective communication about them, professional networks, and a career vision.
A mentor can help along the way, e.g. by sharing experiences, giving advice, challenging ideas or facilitating potential business relationships - thus engaging in a mentoring relationship can be a game changer for early career professionals. Inma Peral Alonso, Research Facilitator at the University of Luxembourg, Linda Wampach, Programme Manager & Science Communicator, and Christopher Morse, Director of Zortify Labs, shared their personal experiences with PhDs and postdocs curious to discover the benefits of such a relationship.
The EURAXESS Luxembourg "2getthere" mentoring programme, pairing young researchers with mentors who successfully moved beyond academia, was launched in 2022 and is the first of its kind in Luxembourg.