The following sampling of tools and resources should be combined with your own research. We suggest you use targeted keyword searches to find representative employers and opportunities, explore professional associations, join LinkedIn groups, and browse additional job board postings. Remember to also search LinkedIn and MyPenn (formerly QuakerNet) to connect with Penn alumni in fields related to your interests. Additionally, the sample jobs and employers are only a small selection of what’s posted in Handshake – log in to see much more!
We also suggest using the Career Exploration section of our website for more information or researching by major.
Many career opportunities in STEM fields need candidates who have strong research, technical, and scientific skills. However, roles in industry also need a wide range of transferable skills that are essential for getting the research done in a timely, collaborative, and impactful way. Skills such as effective communication, problem solving, project management, collaboration, and innovation, are all highly valued in industry. Understand which professional skills you need to build during your time at Penn by using resources such as iBiology and ChemIDP, and then learn how to communicate these effectively in your resumes and interviews.
Creating a spreadsheet of employers that do the kind of work and research that you hope to do as a professional is always a good idea. This can help you prioritize your networking and job search. Use keywords in the job sections of Handshake and LinkedIn to see which organizations are interested in your skills. Check out the employers that alumni from Penn are working at now in our outcomes surveys, and see where students have had their internships. Use CareerShift to perform a company search by industry and geographical locations to get a great list of organizations to explore (and email addresses for contacts too!).
There are many opportunities for you to connect with employers and alumni over the course of an academic year. Some employers will hold information sessions that can be a fantastic way to understand more about a company, their positions, and their hiring practices. Search for these on Handshake, and make sure to complete your Handshake profile and make it public so that employers can reach out to you. Attend some of our career fairs to engage with employers, recruiters, and alumni – these are useful networking events even if you are not actively looking for jobs or internships. And don’t forget to take advantage of the interactive alumni database on LinkedIn!
On this page, we’ve compiled many resources to help you prepare for a career in the life or physical sciences. Of particular interest should be our industry specific job boards, as well as various scientific professional organizations.
This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2021 Career Services Summer Funding Grant. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they spent their summer. You …
This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2021 Career Services Summer Funding Grant. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they spent their summer. You …
This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2021 Career Services Summer Funding Grant. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they spent their summer. You …
This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2021 Career Services Summer Funding Grant. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they spent their summer. You …
It’s tough to believe that we are winding down our first semester back in person! It feels like just yesterday that first year students were moving in, the sun was shining down on Locust Walk, and we had an entire …
Emily Barrale 
