I put this together for students in my “Writing for the Real World” class, but others might find some of these resources useful. A few favorites are asterisked.
LOCAL RESOURCES
*UM LinkedIn page, Alumni Search. A great resource for finding UM grads working in areas of interest (login required); filterable by field of study, workplace, location, year of graduation, etc.
*LSA Opportunity Hub. Designed specifically for LSA students; see in particular internship opportunities.
Sweetland Writing Center, In-Person Writing Support. Excellent on-campus resource for academic and extracurricular writing.
UM Alumni Association, Career Development (some free services for students, others for paid members; see also LinkedIn)
Wolverine Networking (LinkedIn)
UM Career Center, Upcoming Events
Center for the Education of Women. Offers career counseling to students of all genders.
CAREER RESEARCH
Career outlooks and statistics
*Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Outlook: 2010–2020. Search for individual careers through the Occupational Outlook Handbook; particularly helpful for learning whether your field of career interest is growing, stable, or shrinking.
*Center on Education and the Workforce, Georgetown University; many helpful reports on changing job market conditions for recent graduates.
*Liberal Arts Graduates and Employment: Setting the Record Straight, from the Association of American Colleges and Universities
NYT, “Six Myths about Choosing a College Major”
*The Art of Employment: How Liberal Arts Graduates Can Improve Their Labor Market Prospects, from the market analytics firm Burning Glass; details acquirable technical skills helpful for liberal arts majors.
US Census Bureau, “Where Do College Graduates Work?” (neat visualization showing who works in STEM)
News sources for professional issues
Google Alerts (allows you to create your own custom news feed)
Issues in Science and Technology
Mediabistro.com (writing, editing, design, advertising, etc.)
New York Times (see sections on business, science, health, technology, arts., etc.)
Publishers Weekly (industry news for publishers, agents, and writers)
Science journals, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Wired (technology)
Job search tools
UM Career Center, “Job Search Resources”
UM Career Center, Handshake (job and internship opportunities; student login required)
*LinkedIn job search (login required)
Monster.com (lots of spam and scams, but many legit jobs too; requires filtering)
Chronicle of Higher Education (university staff, administration, and faculty)
Idealist.org (non-profit; can be a bit much to wade through; filter for “jobs” to find paying opportunities)
Mediabistro.com (writing, editing, design, etc.)
Publishers Weekly Job Zone (media, publishing)
UM, Careers at the U (includes full-time, part-time, temporary, and student positions)
Career possibilities for non-careerist students
UM Public Service Internship Program (Early Oct. deadline)
Master of Public Policy/Administration (UM MPP/MPA program)
Master of Public Health (UM MPH; click through to dept. subprograms)
Master of Information Science (UM Faces of UMSI)
Master of Social Work (UM SSW)
Educational Certification (UM SOE MA programs)
US Foreign Service (career tracks)
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Applying to graduate school
“PhDs: The Tortuous Truth.” 2019 survey of PhD students by Nature.
US News, “Best Graduate Schools.” This is the one everyone goes to first, but it’s only a rough instrument at best (e.g., see Gladwell) and may not capture the strengths of particular programs well-regarded by those in the field. It’s not a bad place to start, but consult with your professors, especially if you have an interest in a particular sub-discipline or practice within your area of interest.
Purdue Online Writing Lab, ‘Writing the Statement of Purpose” and “Writing the Personal Statement.” No one site can can cover all the details—consult with professors and professionals in your specific field—but the advice on connecting professional experience to personal experience and finding a narrative angle is valuable.
“Leave Dr. Suess Out of It.” Advice on what not to say in a PhD admissions essay.
Johns Hopkins U Medical School, “Personal Statement.” Tone is a bit snarky, but suggestions are solid, and many would transfer to applying to law or business school or other professional programs.
Academic job market (if you’re thinking of a PhD)
*Academic Job Wiki. Yearly lists of jobs in various disciplines, salary discussions, universities to love/fear, etc.
Chronicle of Higher Education Joblist
*CHE, articles by career coach Karen Kelsky. Good advice for anyone considering a career in academia. See, e.g., “How Do You Get Hired by a SLAC?” (Small Liberal Arts College)
VanDeGrift and Davis, “The Journey to a Teaching-Oriented Faculty Position: A Handbook of Advice for Graduate Students.” Helpful advice for English PhDs, from two computer science faculty members.
MLA, Career Resources. Detailed reports on trends in the MLA job list and the profession, including the latest reports on job placement rates for English PhDs; essential reading for anyone thinking of getting a PhD in English.
GRE
Princeton Review, GRE Live Grader (fee site)
ETS, Overview of the Analytical Writing Measure
LSAT and law school
Todd Tolin, “The LSAT Writing Sample Matters: Advice from a Law School Admissions Insider”
LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools (includes admissions probability calculator based on GPA/LSAT).
NALP, Salary Distribution Curve. Valuable presentation of the profession’s bimodal salary distribution.