Career Planning
Careers don't just happen – they are planned! Setting goals, and creating and evaluating strategies to meet those goals are foundational steps you can make to catalyze your success. We recommend that any plans include meeting some core competencies during your postdoctoral training, including:
- Discipline-specific conceptual knowledge
- Research skill development
- Communication skills
- Professionalism
- Leadership and management skills
- Responsible conduct of research
Read more to learn about how to catalyze your career planning!
Make A Plan
Create Your Own Individual Development Plan (IDP)
Ramp up your career planning with the award-winning "myIDP," an online tool that will guide you through a revealing examination of your personal and professional goals, and an exploration of career options.
Get Support from Experts
There are many possible career paths for postdocs, so be sure to tap into campus resources to optimize your time and training at UCSF with your long-term goals in mind. Some key resources are:
The Office of Career and Professional Development (OCPD)
The innovative and forward-thinking staff in UCSF's OCPD help prepare UCSF students and postdoctoral scholars for careers rich in scholarship, leadership and discovery. OCPD provides programs, services, individual assistance, and web and print resources designed to enhance your academic, professional, and career development.
Career Exploration
Part of OCPD's offerings, MIND is a career exploration program – based on best practices emerging from five years of experimentation – that challenges the current perceptions of PhD and postdoctoral training. It brings interactive programming to UCSF students and postdocs, links them with professionals in a wide variety of careers, and provides the tools and resources to support them through their career exploration journey.
Diverse Careers
Looking to launch yourself into a career beyond academia? Check out OCPD's Every Month Series! Read about career paths, hear employers and alumni talk about their positions, learn new skills like informational interviewing and reflecting on whether a career path is right for you.
Faculty Careers
Whether you're a biomedical or social scientist, OCPD has built out a complete curriculum to help you prepare, apply, interview, and negotiate for an academic faculty position. They offer videos, resources, workshops, and 1:1 counseling all based on what hiring committees really look for in faculty candidates.
Connect with Former UCSF Postdocs
Curious where UCSF postdoc alumni are working now?
See the data - we provide annually-updated statistics on our postdoc population, including career outcomes and time in postdoc.
Connect with UCSF postdoc alumni
Join USCF Connect to connect with USCF alums for informational interviews, and others networking support.
Learn about other ways to connect with the USCF postdoc alumni community.