Professional Development

Here in UCC we encourage our Postdoctoral Researchers to ask themselves questions about their future career goals long before the end of the Postdoctoral phase of their career.  This is important as traditional career trajectories into academia are becoming increasingly competitive and rare. It is likely that your dream job will not just materialise magically.  However, the good news is that the odds of gaining entry into any career dramatically improve if you have a plan!

Identifying and developing your transferable skills is a very important start in preparing for your future career. Completing a training needs analysis follows this and leads you to the preparation of your Professional Development Plan (PDP) .    Regular professional training is important, but it is critical that postdoctoral researchers in UCC also develop a career-development dialogue with their PI or supervisor. Reviewing progress and discussing career goals is a necessary part of career development.

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Take a look at UCC's Guidelines for Career Planning for Research Staff - Career Planning

Also, an article in Nature entitled: The Future of the Post Doc or  Lift off: How to launch your career after a postdoc in New Scientist

See Charting a Course for a Successful Reseach Career by Professor Alan M Johnson published by Elsevier Charting a Course for a Successful Research Career

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For information regarding the content of any of the training sessions please contact  marykate.oregan@ucc.ie

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