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What does a Doctorate prepare me for professionally?

Ph.D. programs prepare students to dedicate their lives to research or to become specialized university professors in a particular subject. However, it is also true that the development of skills provided by a Doctorate program makes its former students very appealing profiles in the labor market due to their skills and abilities.

If you want to apply for a specific position, do some research on how your doctoral studies will fit in with that position. It's possible that academically, it won't refer to the same field, but that's when you should demonstrate the skills gained during your doctorate to be ready for the position.

In other words, if your intention after completing your doctorate is not to dedicate yourself to research or the academic world, there are many more options for achieving your goals, but they will be entirely dependent on your skills as a researcher, leader, project manager, speaker, and so on; that is, to the area of specialization of your doctorate, particularly if it is in a private company.

If you enjoy the academic world, a good option is to work in university management positions; with your background, it will be very easy for you to excel in the world of education as a teacher, researcher, or administrator.

If you prefer to distance yourself from academics, keep in mind that you will need to work on your personal marketing and present yourself as the ideal candidate for the position to which you aspire.

The strategy is to create the perfect story through storytelling, which allows you to demonstrate to your future employer that you are the right person to occupy a specific position, for example, regardless of whether your doctorate is in art and you are looking for a position as project manager of a cosmetics producer company.

The interesting part here is how you'll present and relate all of your impressive skills to the position you're applying for. Your Ph.D. will provide you with a unique skill set that will allow you to position yourself as an expert, giving you an advantage over other candidates with lower degrees.

Explaining situations that you have been through but were able to handle thanks to your skills is the best way to demonstrate the skills acquired during your doctorate. This can be accomplished through anecdotes that detail a challenge you faced during your Ph.D. research, the strategy you used to overcome it, and the outcome.

Remember to include specific details about your unique Ph.D. skills in your storytelling.

With these strategies added to your professional profile, you will be able to attain the position you desire, whether in research, academia, or private business.