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Career Development

Northwestern University and its training grant-funded programs can take advantage of a wide array of activities and resources to help trainees explore, plan for, and succeed in a range of careers. This section highlights resources available to support trainees as they plan for the next steps of their professional journey.

  • Northwestern Career Advancement
    Northwestern Career Advancement (NCA) is the centralized career office on campus serving undergraduate and graduate students, and alumni. Services include one-on-one career advising and counseling appointments, employment databases, workshops, events, and career fairs.

  • The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
    The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) in The Graduate School provides one-on-one career advising for postdocs and regularly organizes professional development workshops tailored to the needs and interests of Northwestern's postdoctoral community.

  • BioProfessionals Program
    The BioProfessionals program is a collaborative effort currently directed by staff from the biology graduate programs (DGP, IBiS, and NUIN) and the Department of Molecular Biosciences.  Three, yet interconnected, programs, open to all students and postdocs, promote learning about potential career paths and developing the skills necessary to succeed in them:  BioOpportunites, BioSurvival Skills, and Pathway to the Professoriate.

  • MyIDP Science Careers Individual Development Plan
    MyIDP is a unique, web-based career-planning tool tailored to meet the needs of PhD students and postdocs in the sciences.

  • Beyond the Professoriate
    Beyond the Professoriate is a career exploration platform available to graduate students and postdocs providing resources to explore careers in both industry and academia.

  • Picking a Postdoc
    The National Institutes of Health’s Office of Intramural Training & Education document on how to select a postdoc based on the advisor, research group, institution, location and more. See Picking a Postdoc.