Beyond Academia Information

Beyond Academia is a career education conference that exposes UC Berkeley PhD students and postdocs to career options outside of academia. Panels on a variety of career tracks give attendees the opportunity to interact with successful and creative professionals, while workshops and networking events allow for discussion in an informal setting. The first Beyond Academia conference was held in March 2013. It focused primarily on the fields of Psychology, Neuroscience, Vision Science, and Education; the conference sold out at over 200 attendees and 40 speakers, and received nationwide media coverage. The high speaker/attendee ratio allowed for frank discussions and ensured that attendees could easily interact with the speakers. Beyond Academia 2014 will take place on February 20 and 21 - it aims to repeat the success of the last conference and bring it to an even wider audience: the conference will now be a two day event, and will include speakers from a broader variety of backgrounds. It is our mission to provide an experience that strongly prepares PhDs with relevant options and concrete examples for a career beyond academia in the sector that fits each person the best. The attendees will benefit from direct access to knowledge, communication, and networking opportunities with non-academic professionals who have themselves gone through the transition, including several UC Berkeley alumni.