Welcome to University of Rochester, Masters students! With a one to two year time frame it takes to complete your masters degree, you’ll need to take a more aggressive stance on preparing your career development during your program of study. Luckily, you are not alone – you have many allies and resources at your disposal even before you arrive on campus!
Dave Cota-Buckhout, Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement & Career Support from AS&E GEPA and the Greene Center, has put together a targeted roadmap for career development that will assist you starting the summer prior to beginning your program up to graduation and beyond. See below for some immediate action items you can do this summer and the beginning of fall semester, and check Blackboard for more in-depth details, links and resources by navigating to “My Organizations”, selecting “CAS_grads.MstrCareer”, and reviewing the roadmap and associated content (if you do not see this content right away, don’t worry – connect with Dave via email at dcotabuc@ur.rochester.edu with any questions, all Masters students should be able to view this before start of classes in the fall semester).
Summer prior to start of your program and beyond: Identify and become familiar with career and professional development resources across campus and online
- Understanding what is available to you in terms of career and professional development resources is a great first step in the process. From the Greene Center’s website, resources and program offerings shared on Handshake and the CCC, to your academic department’s opportunities and connections, you can identify several ways to learn about career pathways, network with faculty and industry professionals, and create and refine application materials like resumes and cover letters.
Summer prior to start of your program and beyond: Identify & explore career paths you may be interested in
- Learn about different employment sectors, employers, and positions you may be interested in, especially what masters alumni have secured as their first destination outcome post-graduation. Check out the Greene Center’s Career Outcomes Dashboard when looking at employers who have hired masters graduates, job titles, salaries, and geographic locations across the globe. This can be where you start to apply for internship work, or try different projects to gain valuable experience.
