Careers in focus: Careers in academia 30 March 2010

Event overview

Are you considering your career options? Are you thinking about where you'd like to be... next year... in five years time? Do you want to continue working in an academic environment?

Around half all postgraduate researchers take up jobs within the education sector immediately on graduation but not all of those are in research positions.

Following the success of our previous Careers in academia events, Vitae is another one-day Careers in academia event on the 30th March, to explore what a career in the academic environment is really like.

Like most careers, there are many elements that make up a career in academia, and you need specific skills to succeed in what can be a very competitive environment. Here's your chance to find out what really is involved, what skills and strengths it will take to succeed, and to decide if this is the career for you.

Programme overview

This one-day event provides participants with an insight into some of the areas that make up a career in academia.

Participants have the opportunity to:

• meet with current academics from a range of disciplines to hear about their experiences of an academic career and ask the questions you've always wanted to, but weren't sure who to ask
• explore how to market yourself for a career in academia, both within your department, and at interview
• look at how to write effective grant/paper applications
• discover what life is like as a postdoctoral researcher
• work with fellow researchers and share experiences with other participants