"I Had No Idea Until Now": Preparing Doctoral Students in Education for the Job Market

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 1
  In Roundtable Session: Academic, Professional, and Scholarly Development in Graduate Education

Abstract

With doctoral degrees awarded increasing and full-time and tenure-track jobs decreasing, doctoral graduates are entering a fierce job market. Lack of knowledge and support about navigating the job market can impact graduates’ mental health and chances of securing long-term employment, but many graduates claim their programs provide little professional development in this area. The current mixed methods, single case study investigated students’ perceptions following a year-long seminar in job market navigation. Students attending the seminar (n = 7) did not differ from those who did not attend (n = 14) on feelings of preparedness, number of application documents completed, or curriculum vita quality scores. The results suggest informal seminars may not be enough to support doctoral students’ job market skills.

Authors

• Tracey Nicole Sulak, Baylor University

• David Rehfeld, Baylor University

• Rachel L Renbarger, Western Michigan University