PhD Career Exploration Spotlight: Chris Larson

Hosted by The Franklin Institute

This summer, we will be featuring blog posts written by PhD students who participated in Career Services’ Career Exploration Initiative (CEI), a program that helps doctoral candidates explore their career interests through networking opportunities with advanced degree professionals. Click here to learn more about CEI.

Working with Dr. Das was a fantastic experience. I was immediately welcomed and introduced to The Franklin Institute (TFI) staff, and they all had great insights from their extremely various backgrounds. The primary objective of my time as a CEI participant at TFI was to assist in their upcoming earth systems exhibit. I met with Dr. Das and the earth systems team at TFI weekly to discuss progress on the exhibit, how it was going to look, what the text panels were going to say, and, most importantly, how to do all this keeping in mind that middle-school-aged children were the target audience. I was tasked with determining the necessary info for the hurricane formation visual and the climate change text panel. As someone with a meteorology background and who is currently studying climate change, this was a perfect way to go back to my roots while also applying my current studies. The biggest challenge was figuring out how to whittle down such complicated science to a few sentences for a young audience. Dr. Das and her team made sure I understood how important this was, and with their help, I was successful. 

The CEI program helped me learn just how many opportunities there are for people not interested in staying in academia. Although I was matched to TFI because the host has a PhD, other employees at TFI had a PhD as well, and I was able to talk to them about their careers and how they got to where they are today. As difficult as it may be to admit sometimes, it’s important to get your name out there, especially as you’re starting your career! Even past the program, multiple people at TFI are aware of me and my career goals, and they have already put me into contact with potential opportunities. 

Another lesson I learned through CEI is that it’s especially important to have a running CV and resume (that’s 2 pages maximum) so that you can send it out in a timely manner. It’s also important to show genuine interest in any job you’re going for. Employers want to see that you’re interested in their job, not just that you’re looking for a job. Highlight the extracurriculars, ask for an informational interview, and emphasize what transferable skills you can bring to the table. The CEI program helped me see that I have these tools at my disposal and I can advocate for myself when looking for a job. I also know that there is a path out of academia, and a career such as working at a science museum could be the one I’m looking for. 

The best piece of advice that I received during CEI is to show interest in the job you’re going for. This might sound obvious, but an employer will remember the candidate who reached out and asked for an informational interview versus a random application. The value of making a connection is priceless; having people you can reach out to that may be able to point you toward certain paths and contacts gives you a major leg up in the job search. I’ll value my time at TFI forever, not only because of the wonderful people and intriguing work and outreach, but also because of the connections I have made and the incredible network of colleagues I have gained. 

If you’re a late-stage PhD student and wondering what the path outside of academia looks like, and you’re not quite sure how to navigate that, then the CEI program is right for you. We’re constantly bombarded with academic-centric jobs, workshops, and anything else. It’s time that the other option is not only introduced but explored as well. Even if you’re leaning toward the academic side, there’s no harm in seeing what a career on the other side would look like. I’ve left this program with a wealth of knowledge about the job application process, insights on where to look for non-academic jobs, and how to go about soliciting myself with the skills I’ve learned from research. I now feel prepared to take on the job search this upcoming year!