Institute of Information Science, Academia Sinica

Following the (often very long) Ph.D. education, it is easy for Ph.D. holders to feel that the most important next step is Post-Doctoral training and thereafter seek opportunities for a tenured professorship position. While this is not necessarily bad, it is not guaranteed to be the best option either. Indeed, as the number of Ph.D. holders increases there is a steady decrease in the relative number of tenured professorship positions becoming available yearly thereby making the post-doctoral training plus professorship career path less and less certain. Are there other prestigious and non-academic career options suitable for new Ph.D. holders? How does one start preparing himself/herself (right from during one's Ph.D. training) for a smooth transition into the industries immediately after the degree is earned? What are some of the most important attributes that companies often look for in job candidates when trying to hire Ph.D. holders? Does holding a Ph.D. help or hurt in the short-run and in the long-run when pursuing non-academic careers paths in the industries? These and similar questions would be addressed in the talk, and further discussed in the conversation that will follow the talk.