I often hear PhDs say, “I have a PhD in this field, so those are the only jobs I can do.” In this episode of The Bold PhD Podcast, I challenge that mindset and encourage PhDs to look beyond the title of their degree.
My own career transition taught me this lesson. When I was searching for work after my postdoc, I initially limited myself to jobs related to my PhD in microbiology and immunology. It was only when I stepped back and identified the individual skills I had developed—research, writing, data analysis, critical thinking, problem-solving, and experimental design—that I began to see more possibilities.
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* My PhD dissertation on the role of bacterial amyloids in the regulation of gastrointestinal homeostasis (in case you wanted to read it, lol): http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/3346
One of the biggest mistakes I see PhDs make is assuming their degree determines the jobs they can pursue.
I understand why this happens. After spending years becoming an expert in one area, it is easy to believe your career has to stay in that same lane.
I know because I did it too.
When I was looking for work after my postdoc, I initially searched for jobs related to my PhD in microbiology and immunology. It took some intentional reflection for me to ask: What skills did I actually develop during my PhD?
That question changed how I looked at my career.
I realized I had skills in research, writing, data analysis, experimental design, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Those skills could be useful far beyond the job titles I had been searching for.
I saw this again when I interviewed 50 PhDs across different disciplines. Their careers showed me that the degree title doesn’t tell the whole story.
Your PhD is not a box. It is a toolbox.
When you start looking at the tools you’ve developed—not just the title on your degree—you may discover far more possibilities than you imagined.