Build skills, create opportunities
First, note that there will be no newsletter next Monday, August 9. I’m helping out with a one-week course, so will have lots of grading to do. Now, onto the good stuff!
This week, I’d like for you to think about the kinds of opportunities (or options) you’d like available to yourself both during and after completing your PhD. For example, you may be certain that you’d like to pursue a career in academia as faculty at a research-intensive university. However, securing this type of position is tough (securing any position is tough!). So, I encourage the students I work with to identify a range of opportunities to which they’d be open upon graduation.
In doing so, students generate a list of both academic and non-academic careers. On the academic side, some students are open to pursuing careers at smaller research institutions or small liberal arts colleges. Others are open to more administrative positions (e.g., center directors, program evaluators). On the non-academic side, some students are open to pursuing research-oriented careers in industries such as tech and consulting. Others are open to careers in nonprofit spaces. It’s hard to imagine a space where skills acquired during the PhD would not be valuable!
Importantly, you have to be intentional about creating these opportunities. Below, I highlight ways (not exhaustive) you can increase your competitiveness both inside and outside academic spaces.
Take advantage of institutional resources. As a PhD student, there is typically a range of resources available to you to support both personal and professional development. At the same time, it’s hard to know what is available, especially as a new student. For this reason, it’s super important to check in with more senior graduate students and faculty to understand what is available to you. Although an individual may not have all the answers, collectively, there’s quite a bit to learn from everyone.
For example, it’s likely you’ll have access to a gym and even free classes or one-on-one training! The student life office may host professional development courses on etiquette and workshops on alt-ac careers (i.e., careers outside academic spaces like consulting or user experience). I actually attended many library events at the University of Michigan which helped me to better understand their resources, how to use different kinds of software, and even develop better course sites to improve student engagement. Although these sorts of events/workshops are usually free, registration is often required, so start exploring these opportunities early!
Earn specialized certificates. While completing your PhD coursework, you may have the opportunity to earn additional certificates along the way. These certificates may be unique to your department or may be university-wide. Many social science programs offer quant certificates, indicating that a student has completed additional (advanced) quantitative training in statistics. Given the increasing utility of data science, many schools now offer data science certificates open to both undergraduate and graduate students. And, those interested in pursuing careers at teaching-focused institutions (or just interested in improving their teaching techniques), may want to see whether their program offers teaching certificates. In my case, I completed a teaching certificate through a teaching center on campus. To do so, I completed additional coursework/workshops and created a teaching portfolio.
The types of certificates you can earn will vary by school and even program within school. Check in with other students in your program to see what they’re doing and learn more about how to obtain relevant certificates. In many cases, you’ll also want to check in with your advisor(s) to determine whether a certificate makes sense/is possible given your other requirements.
Participate in summer programs. Many schools, especially larger schools, offer training opportunities in the summer. At the University of Michigan, scholars from around the world travel (absent a pandemic) to campus to participate in the ICPSR Summer Program In Quantitative Methods of Social Research. The program is admittedly expensive; however, there is funding available for Michigan students and I regret not taking advantage of these funding opportunities! I did, however, participate in the ICOS Big Data Camp, which was wonderful and free (for Michigan students). Unfortunately, many of these programs are learned about through word-of-mouth. This is why it’s so important to talk to as many people as possible. If unable to easily connect with other students, search for student CVs on department websites. Often these sorts of programs are listed in sections on “additional training received.”
Consider internships. An increasing number of social science PhD students are completing internships outside academic spaces (especially during the summer). I’ve connected with students who have worked at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Microsoft, among other places. These internships are great opportunities to learn more about other industries and how you can use your PhD skills in ways that are meaningful in new spaces. Additionally, interns get a lot of practice communicating their science in ways that are accessible to folks outside their discipline.
Note that securing an internship may have implications for your stipend. Further, the degree to which your advisor is on board with you pursuing an internship may be unclear. For that reason, internships may be tricker for some students to complete than others (even within the same program). At the end of the day, though, you need to set yourself up for success. So, be prepared to discuss why an internship is important for you at a particular stage. Lastly, be open to both loving it and hating it—both reactions provide useful information (i.e., “Yes, this is something I want to consider!” or “No, I definitely don’t want to do that”).
Network. Building out your network is critical, yet networking can be so hard! Although I’ll talk more about networking in a later post, it’s important to keep the importance of networking top-of-mind. If you struggle connecting with others, especially unfamiliar others, generate a set of open-ended questions that you can ask those you meet in different spaces (e.g., conferences, classes, workshops, coffee shops). Open-ended is key—you want to avoid “yes/no” questions. So, rather than ask someone whether they study cognitive development, I would ask them to tell me a bit more about their research, especially recent projects that they’re excited about.
Start by networking with your cohort and lab mates. These are folks who are likely going to be invested in you (I hope!) and will work with you through some awkwardness. For example, early on, my lab mates invited me to lunch and it was wonderful. I was definitely nervous, but they helped me by asking fun questions and indicating that they genuinely wanted to get to know me. If meeting with multiple people at once doesn’t work well for you, invite one person to go on a walk or get coffee. And you can be honest about your intentions—you can simply say you want to get to know people in your cohort/lab and would enjoy chatting with them. Showing some humility can go a long way in these difficult situations.
Some homework: Take some time to think through where you see yourself in the near and far terms. What do you enjoy most about the work you’re doing and what do you enjoy least? What are your must-haves (e.g., “I must be able to do research” or “I must be able to work directly with people”)? What sorts of careers seem interesting outside academia? What skills, including training, do folks in those positions have? In short, go on a fact-finding mission (LinkedIn is great for this) and see where people with PhDs in your field are going!
SCHOLAR PROFILE #5: MERLE VAN DEN AKKER
The purpose of these profiles is to highlight and connect you to scholars at different career stages doing interesting and important research and service work.
This week, we get to learn about Merle van den Akker, who is a PhD student in Behavioural Science at the Warwick Business School, which is located in the United Kingdom.
Now, let’s learn about Merle’s academic journey.
What are your research interests?
My research focuses on the intersection between consumer finance and behavioural science. I’m interested in how we reason about money – in every and all aspects. How do we spend? How do we save? Why do we get into debt, and how can we make we stay out of (bad) debt, using our own thinking patterns, reasoning and behaviour to steer us in the right direction? I’m also interested in understanding how we can design our environments so that they work with our psychological “quirks” to get to where we want to be, both psychologically and financially.
My PhD work specifically focuses on the effect of introducing new payment methods (contactless cards, mobile payments) on personal finance management. I found that introducing newer payments does increase spending, but not to the extent where short-term debt usage (overdraft, payday loans etc.) is necessary.
With whom are you working for your PhD?
My PhD is at the Warwick Business School (WBS), University of Warwick with Professor Neil Stewart and Professor Andrea Isoni.
Why did you choose your PhD institution and advisor(s)?
I knew both my supervisors as teachers for the MSc1, which was very lucky. Neil, as mentioned above, was someone I had reached out to to discuss my future. When I came back to him and mentioned that I would consider doing a PhD, he offered to support me through the process and be my supervisor for it if I wanted him on the projects, given our aligned interests. I accepted the offer and started looking for a second supervisor, who I found in Andrea, also a professor of mine in the MSc.
I actually picked both my supervisors as they seemed like nice and approachable people and they also both had skills I hadn’t acquired yet: Neil taught me analysis in R and Andrea is an experimental economist. I would describe myself as an economic psychologist. So Neil would be able to support my lack in coding skills (especially back then) and Andrea would help me out with the more economic aspects of the research. I sought out people who could make up for my shortcomings if you will.
Please share more about your academic journey.
I’m Dutch and grew up in the Netherlands, which is also where I went to high school. In high school I knew that I wanted to study psychology, this was a dead certainty. The other dead certainty was that I didn’t just want to study psychology. A then close friend of mine went to several open days, of which one was to University College Maastricht (UCM), which is a Liberal Arts & Science program, or rather, as I call it, a “choose your own adventure bachelor’s degree”. This degree means you can pick any of the courses they offer, as long as your curriculum makes any sense in the end. This option, on top of the comparatively large amount of contact hours and high intensity of the degree, hooked me in seconds. My second to last high school year had barely finished before I had applied and been accepted into UCM. I was on the moon! And the intensity they promised? Well, they delivered.
So yes, UCM was super intense. I did all the psychology courses I could find, and there were lots of them as Maastricht University is known for its psychology. However, I was also moving in the direction of economics, which to me was just people trying to deal with scarce resources. It was a good match. My profile very quickly built into being that of an economic psychologist.
UCM was three years, so I had to quickly orientate myself towards the next move. I did apply for degrees in the Netherlands, but economic psychology, or rather, behavioural economics/science wasn’t as big in 2015 as it is now. I had a life-changing conversation with Teun Dekker, UCM’s interim dean, about pursuing behavioural science in the UK, where it was growing much faster, which took me to the University of Warwick. The only MSc application I ended up putting through. And as luck would have it, I got accepted into the MSc Behavioural and Economic Science. So I packed my bags and moved to the UK, for what I initially presumed would only be one year.
The MSc was great. I loved both my BA and my MSc. But given that the MSc was only a year, I knew I had to reorient again, even quicker this time. I applied to several consultancy firms, landed interviews and hated all of them. I said as much to a teacher of mine, professor Neil Stewart, who sat down with me to ask me about my real passion in behavioural science. Given that I was mainly interested in doing research on behavioural consumer finance, Neil suggested looking into doing a PhD. I talked it over with my parents (I was only 20 at the time!) and decided it was a good idea. I applied to several programs, but my heart was set on the WBS, if I’m being completely honest with myself. And that’s where I’ll be for another few weeks!
How did you navigate the PhD application process?
I got lucky as I found both my supervisors before even writing a single sentence on the application form. When it did come to the actual application process, I have had my hand held throughout the whole thing. Neil outlined all the hoops I had to jump through, and went through all my drafts: research proposal, motivation letter, funding requests, etc. I had a lot of help. By January of 2017, I had my place and institutional funding secured. By March 2017, I had an additional scholarship secured based on the social and economic value of my research. It was quite a smooth process all things considered.
Are there any important norms/practices to consider when applying to PhD programs in the UK given your knowledge about practices elsewhere (e.g., in the US)? If so, what are they?
Quite frankly I don’t think there’s too much of a difference, especially now that the UK is instating similar VISA requirements for all people concerned, as it left the EU. My advice is quite general: do a lot of research on your potential institution and supervisors. Talk to current PhD students at that institutions, and PhD students currently being supervised by your supervisors of interests. It goes a long way towards figuring out if you and the (potential) supervisor(s) are compatible, with regards to personality and work style/ethic. A supervisor really makes or breaks your PhD experience, but also the future you can have afterwards. It’s really important. Not to badmouth my supervisors, but our working styles weren’t that compatible, and that really caused quite a few issues and put obstacles on the course that needn’t have been there.
Also, PhDs in the UK are shorter than in the US. What I’ve noticed with colleagues of mine (we are in behavioural science, that might also impact this a bit), is that going to the US with a UK PhD is rather difficult, as the programs are vastly different in length, due to the additional training received in the US. I wouldn’t say this should be a deterrent, but do keep that in mind!
What is one bit of advice you'd like to give new (first-year) PhD students?
Do your research, seek out advice, and communicate. There’s no reason to be ignorant, confused, or anxious about not knowing what to do.
With regards to research, as I said before, research the institution and supervisor(s), so you know what you’re getting yourself into. Once you’re there, this research doesn’t stop, its direction just changes: what do you want to do? Where do you want to go next? It seems a bit early to map out this strategy already, but I don’t think it’s ever too early to start laying a good foundation.
When in doubt, seek out advice. You’re never alone. You’ll have several colleagues (cohort members) going through the same experience. You’ll have several colleagues (older cohorts) who’ve already been through what you’re going through. If you need advice to deal with something, if you’re confused or uncomfortable, talk to people about it and collect all the information you need. This goes for coding problems, practical issues, emotional issues, mental health concerns and maybe even switching programs, supervisors or dropping out completely. Just seek advice!
Lastly, I think it’s very important to communicate. And with that I specifically mean the communication between you and your supervisors. You might be a complete rookie when starting the PhD (I was), but you need to communicate your expectations, as well as your boundaries. Of course, your supervisor(s) will have these as well. Things to think of are: how often do you meet? What level of involvement do they have (laissez-faire vs. looking over your shoulder)? What is their working style? What is the level of (mental) support you’ll need? What do you want out of the PhD (post-doc, industry)? Can they help you get there? Some of these things you want know at the start, some of these things might change drastically over the course of the PhD. To avoid confusion or worse, communicate.
Is there anything else about you or your journey that you’d like to share?
Maybe a good thing to mention: I’m leaving academia. I personally don’t think academia and I are a good fit. I think I should be transparent about that.
Moving from a PhD into industry is a completely different journey, and requires a lot of reframing of your (professional) identity, a relabelling of yourself and your skillset as well as a complete overhaul of how you present yourself. However, you as a person don’t have to change, nor is the PhD suddenly “without value.” It’s a slightly tricky thing to do, but it sure as hell can be done! So if you feel like academia isn’t working out for you, just be honest about that to yourself, and seek out alternatives (do more research, it never stops!!!). And of course, seek out advice from those who’ve done it! There’s also a great online community, especially on twitter, that discusses this decision and how to go about it. In general, there’s a lot of value to be had from the #AcademicTwitter sphere.
Many thanks to Merle for sharing more about her academic journey!
RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT
In this section, I highlight resources you may find helpful as you navigate the PhD application process as well as the PhD itself. This week, I’m sharing a few resources for those interested in pursuing PhDs in business, including two from Merle!
If you’d like to see a specific resource appear here, please share the relevant information via this survey. And remember, I maintain a running list of resources here.
Business PhD Wiki: This is a wiki to provide support for prospective applications to PhD programs in business schools. This website is meant to host a living document providing up-to-date information on applying to Business PhD programs.
This wiki includes a lot of great information, including sample CVs and application statements. There is also general information for those interested in pursuing a PhD in business to help them decide whether a business school PhD is the way to go.
Money on the Mind: If you’d like to know more about Merle’s journey or learn more about behavioral science, check out her blog!
Merle’s blog provides wonderful insight into behavioral science and related fields (e.g., marketing). In addition to producing her own content, she also interviews leading behavioral science scholars! I was fortunate enough to contribute to a post on teaching children about behavioral finance.
Questioning Behaviour: If you you’d like to know more about people who have also done PhDs in behavioral science (or adjacent fields) and their journeys in and after the PhD, check out Merle’s podcast, which she co-hosts with Sarah Bowen. Half of their third season is exclusively discussing the PhD!
Like her blog, Merle uses her podcast to discuss important ideas and make behavioral science more accessible to everyone (academics and the broader public). Her public science efforts are truly commendable and there’s a lot to learn not only through the content she provides, but also how to be an active participant in the research community as a doctoral student.
How to reach me: You are always welcome to email me (letstalkgradschool@gmail.com) or find me on Twitter @tweetsbymidge.
Let’s give away some books: Readers located in the United States and Canada are eligible to enter the book giveaway to receive a copy of A Field Guide to Grad School by Dr. Jessica Calarco. To do so, complete this survey and note that you only have to complete it once to be entered in all subsequent giveaways! I do hope to expand the reach of the giveaway; however, at the moment, the shipping costs are too great to scale. If you’d like to talk about ways your institution could secure an electronic (or hard) copy, please let me know (sign up for a 1-on-1 meeting below!).
1-on-1 sessions: Interested in some additional mentorship? Sign up for 1-on-1 sessions to discuss your questions regarding the social science PhD application process and/or completing a social science PhD more generally! Sign-ups will happen via Calendly and you can check periodically for updated openings. Sign up here!
Note: For right now, I’m going to test out a few times on Mondays, but my availability may change. As it stands, sign-ups are available 14 days in advance of meeting. Additionally, I am requiring that those requesting 1-on-1 meetings subscribe to this newsletter. This is because I will likely reference material from posts during meetings and I’d like you to have that information handy.
Until next time!
Margaret
Master of Science degree. It’s customary for students in the UK (and elsewhere) to earn a master’s degree before applying for the PhD.