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Student website explores careers for science graduate students

Graduate student Liza Shoenfeld stumbled across a startling statistic during her first year of graduate school: in 2006, only 15% of PhDs were in tenured or tenure-track positions 6 years after graduating. To find out where everyone else goes, she began interviewing PhDs who have pursued nonacademic careers. These interviews led to the creation of a website, Branching Points, that features career profiles, a beginner’s guide to informational interviewing, Q&A’s with recent PhD graduates, tools to aid career exploration, and humorous essays about branching out from academia. The site has caught the attention of university deans, the editor at Science careers, and policy makers at AAAS.

Those interested in career development are encouraged to check it out.