2020 UCSB Beyond Academia Conference – Keynote Address

Keynote Address: Freeing the PhD, Our Way – Forging Our Professional Future
In a world where we don’t look like other job candidates, PhDs are often caught in a vicious cycle of being under-valued, misunderstood and passed over time and again for promising opportunities. How do we face the reality of our tough job hunt, and begin to change it for the better? This keynote will give examples of how academics are forging new futures and fighting to redefine what it means to have a PhD – to others, and to ourselves.

Inspired by the Beyond Academia conference at UC Berkeley, the Beyond Academia conference at UC Santa Barbara is an annual event for graduate students and post-docs of all disciplines. The conference strives to inform participants of career options within and outside of academia and to assemble an action plan that will guide them to prepare for their chosen career. We hope the conference inspires and motivates attendees to pursue their chosen careers, even if it is not a traditional route. UCSB Beyond Academia is planned and organized by a committee of graduate students and postdoc researchers across Social Sciences, Humanities, Education, and Fine Arts (SHEF) and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Check out each year’s conference organizer page to learn more about the team behind the event.