Workshop: Non-Academic Careers for STS Scholars

Suny At Stony Brook, Stony Brook NY

Investigators

Abstract

This workshop will be a pre-conference event at the 2017 Society for the Social Studies of Science (4S) meeting in Boston, MA. It will help prepare Science, Technology and Society (STS) graduate students to consider, apply and succeed in non-academic jobs. Traditionally, graduate students receive minimal mentoring for careers outside of academia and this workshop is designed to broaden the mentoring opportunities beyond the university environment. This workshop will expose students to alternative careers outside of tenure-track jobs. By providing skills and strategies to STS graduate students this workshop will help STS maximize its societal impact by expanding STS graduates pathways into work in industry, government and the nonprofit sector. The one day workshop will provide STS graduate students and faculty the opportunity to interact and network with STS scholars that have successfully transitioned into non-Academic careers. It will feature a series of panels with speakers from government, industry, and non-profit sectors. The speakers will discuss non-academic resumes, interviewing, networking, job opportunities and the skill sets necessary to have successful non-academic careers. The workshop will address how STS scholars have made the transition to careers outside of academia, and have become competitive in industry, government and non-profit sectors. Workshop participants: graduates students, faculty and non-academics will have the opportunity to explore how the current STS curriculum supports/hinders non-academic careers and suggest strategies to improve training for non-academic careers. The workshop will cultivate an environment of shared learning among these three groups in order to develop a report that reflects on the current and future curriculum needs of STS scholars.