Session 2: Career Trajectories

Overview/Summary

This session will consist of a panel of leaders on their different career paths. The key message behind the TRELIS workshops is that careers are not (and do not need to be) the ladders they are often portrayed as. Progression throughout a career may instead be depicted as a trellis, less linear with broader ranges in the movement between jobs and opportunities. Panelists will answer a set of starter questions (see below) with time reserved for participant-driven questions and conversation.

Notes: Materials for this session were originally collated and presented by Kate Beard-Tisdale and Sarah Battersby.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this session, participants will be able to…

• Gain useful insight to their career progression through the stories and advice of others.
• Visualize the progression of a career as a trellis instead of a ladder.
• Understand fulfilling career paths outside those most often prescribed in academia.
• Ask questions to those who are farther along in similar (and different) career paths.

Materials Needed

In this session, you will need the following materials:

• A panel of leaders willing to candidly share their career progression and advise. Ideally, the leaders will have a mix of career paths (academia, industry, etc.)
• A moderator

Pre-Workshop Tasks

This session has no pre-workshop tasks.

Session Activity (Panel)

The panel will begin with the moderator posing 3-4 starter questions to all of the panelists to get conversation going:

• What do you do? What is the short story on how you have ended up in this position? Why do you like it?
• What advice do you have for people that are interested in similar trajectories? What skills are particularly useful?
• Tell a story about a challenge that cropped up along the way and how you addressed it
• Best advice you were given when you were starting out in an academic career (or, what would you tell yourself if you could go back in time and coach PhD you)
• If you could do one thing differently along the way, what would it be?

After the starter questions have been answered, the floor is opened for participant-driven questions and discussion.