Looking for a side hustle as an academic or PhD student? Discover five profitable side hustles to help supplement your income whilst remaining connected to your research field.

At some point we all google or search ‘what can I do with my PhD?’, only to be met with unhelpful advice and non-specific guidance. To really understand what we can do with our PhD we need to think about our careers differently and break the mould of academia.

Academia often puts our lives on hold. We don’t usually get to think about or even choose where to live. As we approach the end of academia, we get to re-set and intentionally choose where to live based on our own happiness.

Historically, you should stay in a job for a minimum of 2 years. It’s becoming more common for people to move after 1 year. Changing jobs comes with both pros and cons, here we discuss them in detail.

Landing a promotion in the workplace is often seen as the benchmark for success. However, most academics don’t approach this in the right way. To help achieve a promotion it’s important to leave our feelings at the door, keep the conversation open, and to start the discussion as early as possible.

Freelancing is another career opportunity you could explore after your PhD. Being able to set up on your own can provide a different quality of life outside the 9-5, with significantly more flexibility on your working hours. This post breaks down how to get started with freelancing and what it consists of.

It’s easy to believe that non-academic and academic opportunities post PhD are scarce. However, this isn’t the full truth – it isn’t necessarily easy, but we can guarantee you it’s nowhere near as hard as you think. You just need the right ingredients.

Academia will equip you with a range of skills that are well suited to careers in start-ups. Similarly, they provide a host of new opportunities that academia can’t offer. This posts outlines whether working in start-ups could be exactly what you’re looking for.

Worrying if the first job after academia is the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ one can be crippling. Overall, what you do next isn’t too important. This post provides some encouragement and additional tips to consider.

Social mobility in your career pertains to obtaining new and exciting opportunities. Identifying your transferable skills is key to getting the ball rolling as it will help breed new opportunities and move you towards a career that is right and fulfilling to you.

Struggling to work out what your purpose is? Chances are you could have multiple things that could be your calling.

Post-doc positions are often seen as the next best step. However, they can be a revolving door, limit opportunities for growth and possibly prevent you from embarking on your new career journey sooner.