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As a potential PhD student, if you have ever wondered if you will succeed in your PhD, rest assured that you are not alone. While every PhD path has its own set of challenges, there are some essential PhD skills that you can learn to help you navigate your way better. So what skills should a graduate student have? This short article will guide you through some of the key skills required for PhD students.
Can PhD students be used in any role?
A common misconception is that PhD graduates should pursue a career in science. This is usually due to the lack of industry work experience that doctoral students bring with them after their doctorate. However, this is not the case as one of the main benefits of a PhD is the transferable skills it brings.
By doing a doctorate, you have demonstrated some skills that make you desirable to employers. It is important to identify these skills and use them to sell yourself on your resume.
Expertise in a specialized field
With a doctorate, you are almost automatically an expert on certain subjects. The actual usefulness of this expertise depends on the field in which you originally decided to pursue your doctorate. So don’t expect your newfound expertise to be regularly sought out by friends, family, or even employers!
However, being an expert obviously helps when it can be applied in the workplace or exploited to help the world or earn money (take your pick). In science and engineering, this information is often valuable to companies. Consulting with these companies could be a way to share your valuable knowledge. We’ll cover other skills you’ll learn on a PhD soon, but I’ll mention them here too: Even if your PhD is in a crazy niche that employers don’t care about, I’m sure they’ll have plenty. other skills that are definitely useful in the market.
What are 10 transferable doctoral skills you can use in most jobs?
With an influx of STEM PhD jobs, recruiters are struggling to find talented candidates. You still need trained professionals who know how to create information from scratch, not just tinker.
Although your work experience and education during your PhD are an asset, you may be surprised to learn that employers in most industries pay close attention to your skills. According to a recent LinkedIn survey report, 57% of respondents rated transferable soft skills as more important than hard skills (technical knowledge).