Every graduate path looks different. You might decide to head into fields of academia, industry, government, nonprofit, or even somewhere in between. This section of the Grad Success Roadmap covers the essentials: exploring career options, building professional skills, and preparing for what's next your career.
From CV and resume workshops to advising, application support, interview prep, and networking events, you'll find plenty of ways to get ready. UCSB Career Services and other campus partners are also here to help along the way.
Maya Hargens is the Assistant Director of Graduate Career Services and a member of the Professional Development Unit. She assists students with job market materials from cover letters to resumes and hosts workshops to help students learn how to network and strategize for the job market. You can reach Maya at Maya.Hargens@sa.ucsb.edu or make an appointment with her on Handshake.
Exploring Career Pathways
- Career Services for Graduate Students: Delve into the various resources that Career Services can offer graduate students at any point in their master's or doctoral journeys. From practicing interviews to researching new career paths, Career Services is there every step of the way.
- Graduate Division LinkedIn: Get started on your professional networking by following Grad Div's LinkedIn page and define your career trajectory on your profile.
- Handshake: Make appointments with the Graduate Career Peer or the Assistant Director of Graduate Career Services to review job application materials or find upcoming career development workshops.
Career Questions
Maya's Tips
Tips coming soon!
FAQs
Career Services has an online job portal called Handshake that lists current on-campus jobs as well as opportunities for internships and on-campus interviews with outside employers. You can also visit UCSB’s Human Resources page to learn about part-time staff positions.
TA positions are assigned by each academic department. The staff graduate program assistant in your department can provide you with information about how TA positions are assigned in your department. If you have subject expertise outside your department, contact the staff graduate program assistant in the relevant department to see if there are open opportunities.
RA positions are more often available from specific professors or researchers. The best way to learn about these opportunities is to talk to your faculty advisor and other faculty in research areas of interest about open opportunities for now and in the future. These positions can open up at any time in the year.
Depending on your visa status, it may be possible to work off campus after you have been enrolled as a full-time student at the university for 9 months. The Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) has extensive information on their website for currently enrolled students regarding working in the U.S. as a student. Head to their website here and read more about the rules based on your visa status.
Prospective Postdocs
Applications for a postdoctoral position at UC Santa Barbara is tied to a specific faculty member or members in an academic department or research unit. Many positions are also posted on UCSB’s Recruit system for academic job openings. All correspondence regarding any potential openings, the application for any such openings, and one's status must be directed to the faculty member or department in question. The faculty member and the department are solely responsible for determining if there is a match with the applicant and area of interest and for facilitating the appointment in regard to space and financial resource allocations. Postdoc appointment titles vary in compensation, benefits, and taxation and are determined by the source of support.
Yes, and you can learn more here.
You can read Philip E. Bourne's "Ten Simple Rules for Selecting a Postdoctoral Position" here.
You can also read about becoming a successful postdoc by reading Mika Ono's article.