Where can my PhD take me? Skills & career paths you haven’t thought of
If you’re reading this with a freshly minted PhD, or if you’re still in the trenches, you’ve probably been asked that famous question: “So what are you doing after this?” The assumption is always academia. The lab. Teaching. But what if I told you that your PhD doesn’t have to limit you to one career path?
In this blog, I’ll help you mindshift from seeing your doctoral degree from a one-trick pony to a versatile toolkit of opportunities and and give you some concrete ideas to what else you can do with it.
First things first
Before we dive in, I want to make it clear that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting a research career. Most of us start a PhD to do exactly that. We dream of making discoveries, publishing them in important journals, and one day landing that tenure-track professorship. That’s what we sign up for.
But that isn’t the only option, and it’s worth being realistic about the challenges. Academic positions are limited. Tenure-track jobs are scarce (and even harder to find if you’re not willing to move around the world for them), funding is unpredictable, and competition is fierce. Even the most brilliant and hardworking candidates can spend years chasing opportunities that might never appear. On top of that, the lifestyle—long hours, uncertain funding, constant pressure to publish—can take a toll or limit you from doing other things.
So it makes sense to start thinking beyond the traditional research track. Your PhD gives you skills that are valuable in countless other areas. Exploring those options doesn’t mean giving up on research; it just means recognizing that your degree can take you somewhere you didn’t even know was possible.
Skills you actually gain with a PhD
Whether you realize it or not, your PhD has turned you into a professional problem-solver. The catch is, academia doesn’t always teach you how to describe those skills in a way that others understand.
Here’s what you’ve actually been learning:
Troubleshooting in the lab: Spending days or weeks figuring out why an experiment keeps failing, spending hours on end debugging code, or re-running statistical analyses dozens of times to make sure your results are robust. What you’re actually learning here is analytical thinking and complex problem-solving—being able to tackle complex, ambiguous problems at work, identify the root cause, and keep iterating until you find a solution.
Reading papers: You might think you’re just reading papers to keep up with the literature so you can find a new research gap or add them to your thesis, but what you’re actually doing is self-directed learning. You’re training yourself to quickly understand new information, pick out what matters, and apply it to your own work. These skills are invaluable in any job where you need to learn independently and adapt to new challenges.
Running experiments and managing timelines: Running multiple experiments at once, coordinating with collaborators or co-authors, and keeping track of timelines for your thesis or publications. What this translates to is project management. You’re able to plan, prioritize tasks, coordinate with team members, and deliver results on time.
Explaining your ideas: Grant writing, presenting at conferences, teaching undergrads, or helping out your lab members when they get stuck. What’s happening here is communication and persuasion. You’re learning how to break down complex ideas so others can understand them, explain why your approach matters, and convince people—whether it’s reviewers, colleagues, or students—to follow your reasoning. These are exactly the skills you need to influence decisions, lead teams, or pitch ideas in any career.
Working with numbers: Analyzing large datasets, interpreting microscope images, or making sense of conflicting results. What you’re actually learning here is data analysis and visualization. You can draw insights from messy or complex information to make decisions or recommendations. This skill is key for making informed decisions, solving problems, or guiding strategy in almost any career.
Where those skills can take you
Your PhD has trained you to solve tough problems, manage complex projects, and communicate big ideas — all skills that are valuable far beyond the lab. Whether it’s in tech, policy, business, or communication, those same abilities can open doors you might not have considered.
Data scientist or analyst: You already know how to work with messy data and find patterns that matter. In this role, you turn numbers into stories that guide decisions, something every organization, from startups to governments, needs.
Consultant or strategy advisor: You’re used to breaking down complex problems and figuring out what really matters. That’s exactly what consultants do — help organizations make sense of information and find better ways forward.
Science communicator or editor: Turning technical ideas into something people actually understand. Whether you’re writing articles, editing research papers, or creating outreach content, you’re helping bridge the gap between science and the public.
Policy or regulatory work: Your comfort with evidence, data, and detail makes you ideal for shaping or evaluating policy, ensuring new products or technologies meet safety and ethical standards, or helping governments make science-informed decisions.
Entrepreneur: You’ve already been running experiments, testing hypotheses, and persisting through failure, that’s basically entrepreneurship in a nutshell. Building something new takes exactly the kind of resilience and curiosity your PhD has already demanded.
Product manager: Coordinating people, timelines, and priorities isn’t new to you. Product managers guide projects from idea to launch, using the same planning and problem-solving muscles you used in your research.
Finance or quantitative roles: Modeling, forecasting, analyzing uncertainty. If you’ve handled complex data or statistics, you already speak this language. Your ability to interpret numbers critically is a major asset here.
Creative and design roles: Game design, digital storytelling, simulation development—these all draw on your ability to think systematically, test ideas, and bring imagination to structure. Creativity and logic are a surprisingly powerful mix.
How to make the transition
A lot of people struggle to make the leap from academia to the “real-world.” I've seen many colleagues feeling trapped in research, talking about applying somewhere else, even starting applications, but never actually making the change. Often it’s fear or uncertainty holding them back, not a lack of skill.
And it’s completely understandable — you’ve spent years building an identity around your research, your field, and your title. Walking away from that world can feel like erasing everything you’ve worked for. But you’re not starting over. You’re simply learning how to use the skills you already have in a different setting.
Tips on making the switch
The first step is learning to translate your experience. Instead of leading with your thesis title or publication list, focus on what you actually did. Use the skillset you’ve built. For example, you didn’t just run experiments and repeat analyses, you managed a complex project with multiple stakeholders, tight deadlines, and shifting timelines.
Talking to people who’ve already made the transition can also be a game-changer. Reach out to former researchers now working in industry, communication, or design. Ask how they got started, what surprised them, and what skills turned out to matter most. These conversations not only help you see what’s possible but also start to build your network outside academia.
Perhaps the best advice I have is to figure out what you actually like doing and start there. What energizes you? What gives you a reason to get out of bed in the morning? Maybe you’re good with numbers or enjoy data wrangling. That kind of curiosity and attention to detail can take you into roles like data science, market research, finance, or policy analysis.
When I first started looking beyond academia, I had no idea what was out there, so I started doing things that I enjoy—writing and editing. I would always help other colleagues in the lab proofread their articles before submission. Then, over time, I started freelancing for clients who needed help turning scientific or research concepts into clear, engaging content. That little side hustle eventually became my full-time career.
But don’t just take my word for it. This is part of a larger shift going on.
It’s happening more and more
Around the world, more PhDs are moving beyond academia than ever before. According to a recent article in Nature, the number of doctoral graduates now vastly outnumbers available academic positions, and scientists warn that doctoral programs need to prepare students better for non-academic jobs.
At the same time, employers are waking up to the benefits of hiring researchers. Another Nature piece notes that PhD-trained professionals are increasingly prized for their analytical thinking, creativity, and ability to navigate complex problems—skills that drive innovation in tech, finance, healthcare, and beyond.
What this means is that what used to be a back-up plan or an alternative track for PhDs is increasingly the main track, and the world is actively making room for it.
Takeaways
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to stay in research, but it’s worth being realistic about the limited opportunities. The key is learning how to translate academic talk into language that shows employers what you can actually do—the skills you’ve developed, the problems you can solve, and the impact you can make.
Most importantly, figure out what you really enjoy doing and think about how you can do that every day. Remember, you’re not leaving academia behind, you’re using the skills it taught you to make the world a better place.
And that’s really the goal of science, isn’t it? To understand, explore, and make a difference in the world.
