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Isn’t the academia bubble so comforting? It’s nice to be in an environment we’ve been socialized to understand since we were 5. Or maybe it isn’t – maybe you’re practically choking on what feels like an old and stale wad of academic gum. Well, you aren’t the only one! Some of us grad students get here and realize (some sooner than others) that academic work just isn’t where we see ourselves in the future. A few more of us get here and realize that even if we did like the bubble, the bubble has popped and there isn’t any room for us long-term. So what options do we have? How do we get out safely and successfully?

The Career Centre is a great resource for us. Earlier in the year I talked to Maria Kapakos who is a career counselor at the Centre and she provided me with some good tips about pursuing the options outside the bubble. Here they are:

1)   Attend a workshop: There are lots of workshops that are offered through the Career Centre that focus on grad students, and specifically cater towards those of us who want to move away from careers in academia. One point in particular that Maria made was that we are full of skills, but don’t quite know how to re-position or “rebrand” these skills so they seems applicable to the non-academic sphere.

**Upcoming Career Management workshop: Feb 13^th, 1:30pm. – 3:30pm. Register here.

2)   Shift your C.V. to a resume: Language matters, and the rhetoric we use on our C.V. is very different from the type we should be using on a resume. Of course, both ultimately saying the same thing, but there’s a subtle (and important) difference between saying you “taught” and “marked” a course, and saying you “led”, “developed” and “assessed” classes and workshops.

3)   Become aware of the avenues to search for work: Book a one-on-one appointment with a career counselor (free! and guaranteed to fit into your schedule), or attend an upcoming workshop to get some hints as to where to find non-academic job opportunities.

**Upcoming Non-Academic work workshop: Feb 17^th, 11:30am-1:00pm. Register here.

4)   Prep your interview self: An interview for an industry position is going to fare differently from one in academia. Similarly, an interview for a social media position is going to fare differently than if you’re up for a position in the steel sector, for instance. Attend an upcoming workshop that caters directly to these needs.

Still feeling alone? Don’t worry, there’s now a Sh*t Grad Students say meme to help us qualm any fears the Career Centre can’t tackle. Enjoy!