The majority of people with a PhD does not stay in academia, but pursues careers in a variety of fields. There are many different career paths open to young scientists. However, it is often difficult for them to decide which path to take, or there is a lack of clarity about the requirements for a particular path. Young scientists often start their career planning by looking at job advertisements. But career planning is much more than that!

Participants examine their goals, values, and interests, analyze their skills, and discover interesting career options within and outside of academia. They learn how to explore career options and expand their professional network. At the end of the course, participants create their own career development plan.

After this course, participants

• Have a better understanding of their life and career goals
• Have analyzed their skills and competencies
• Are aware of career options within and outside academia
• Have designed their individual career development plan
• Know how to actively engage in career planning

Group size: maximum 12 participants 

Dr. Iris Köhler is a certified career coach, trainer and experienced scientist. She studied agricultural sciences at the Technical University of Munich and received her doctorate there in 2013. After a postdoctoral stay in the USA and working as coordinator of the graduate school at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Leipzig, she founded her own company “The Scientist Coach” in 2019. She knows the challenges that young scientists face in career planning and enjoys helping them to develop their own career path – inside or outside academia. Iris has conducted over 100 courses with over 1400 participants and over 300 individual consultations/coaching sessions.

The setup of the course requires 100% attendance and includes 30 hours course work (online sessions and self-study) + 1 hour individual coaching

1 ECTS - learning contract required