Professional Development
Developing as a scientist means not only mastering your research but also strengthening the professional skills that will shape your future as a leader, communicator and innovator. Your growth is an ongoing processes and your Professional Development Plan is a powerful way to guide it.
The Resources for Career Paths grid is designed to help you create, evaluate and maintain a plan tailored to your evolving career goals. By exploring the skills, experiences and opportunities aligned with different sectors, you can identify where you are now, where you want to go and the steps to take you there.
Carnegie Mellon provides many resources to support you along the way — from improving scientific writing and presentation skills to developing strengths in project design, management, collaboration and leadership. These essential skills translate across many career paths.
You also can explore the diverse directions our Chemistry Ph.D. alumni have taken. Graduates have gone on to meaningful careers in academia, industry, government labs, startups, science communication, consulting, and more. Their paths highlight the range of possibilities available to you and offer valuable points of connection as you shape your own journey.
Wherever you’re headed, you’ll find multiple ways to begin building and sustaining your professional network — connecting with mentors, peers, and alumni who can support your development, share insights, and help open doors to your future.
University Resources Department of Chemistry Resources Additional Resources
University Resources
Career and Professional Development Center
The CMU center provides resources to research companies, make connections and network with others, and apply and interview for jobs.
Skills: Networking, Job Search
Career paths:
All Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence
The Eberly Center provides seminars and individual consultations to help graduate students who wish to improve their teaching or prepare for future careers as faculty members. For students who may wish to pursue academic careers, particularly at four-year colleges or teaching-intensive universities, this is an invaluable opportunity to prepare for those positions.
Skills: Teaching
Career paths: Academic, Teaching; Other Careers
Language and Cross-cultural Support
The student academic success center offers language training and testing for non-native speakers of English at Carnegie Mellon. It is designed to help students achieve the robust English fluency needed for teaching in the American classroom and giving professional-quality presentations. Students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this resource even after passing the ITA test at the level required by the department in order to make their English fluency an asset in teaching, research communications, and their future careers.
Skills: Communication
Career paths: All
Communication Support
Communication Support through the student academic success center has trained consultants who are ready to help you with any kind of written, verbal, or visual project. If you're conveying ideas to another person, we'll help you make sure those ideas are clear and communicated effectively. They offer free communication consulting and free workshops regularly throughout the semester.
Skills: Communication
Career paths: All
Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship
The Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship works with its partners to serve the entire CMU community to accelerate bringing research innovations and promising ideas to the global marketplace and helping all entrepreneurial students, faculty, staff and alumni tap into the “innovation ecosystem.”
Skills: Leadership, Management
Career paths: Academic, Research; Industry, Management; Other Careers
Public Communication for Researchers
Public Communication for Researchers (PCR) is a student organization whose mission is to help graduate students hone their communication skills. PCR was founded by three Ph.D. students at Carnegie Mellon who wanted to raise the level of public discourse on issues related to science and technology.
Skills: Communication
Career paths: All
Office of the Assistant Vice Provost for Graduate Education Outreach (AVPGEO)
The Office of the Assistant Vice Provost for Graduate Education Outreach supports graduate students and postdocs in their quest to have a transformative impact on society through continual innovation in education, research, creativity and entrepreneurship.
Skills: Communication
Career paths: Academic, Research; Industry, Research
Graduate Women's Gatherings
The Graduate Women’s Gatherings are opportunities for women of the graduate student, postdoctoral fellows, faculty and administrator communities to network, share ideas and experiences, gather resources.
Skills: Networking
Career paths: All
Department of Chemistry Resources
Chemistry Summer Seminar Committee
This ad hoc committee of graduate students helps coordinates Summer Seminar Series that runs from June - August. During the series graduate students in the Chemistry Department host seminars delivered by peers. The seminars are a great opportunity to practice delivering professional seminars and serving on the organizing committee develops valuable organizational skills for organizing future professional meetings. Information is shared by the department at the end of the spring semester.
If you are interested in the Chemistry Summer Seminar Committee, please contact Lorna Williams-Rolley (lornaw@andrew.cmu.edu).
Skills: Communication, Leadership
Career paths: All
American Chemical Society: Graduate Student Organization
In Fall 2024, several members of the CMU Chemistry Department started a Graduate Student Organization (GSO) through the American Chemical Society. The GSO is open to all Chemistry graduate students, especially those who are interested in networking, career preparation, outreach, and professional development. Active GSOs are eligible for funding for travel, engagement events, and more.
Through the GSO, we help organize talks, seminars, career panels, and meet-and-greets. The CMU GSO has an executive committee composed of a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and organization officers. Each November, the executive committee is democratically selected. We are looking for new members to join the organization and take on active roles. This would serve as a great opportunity for you to take on leadership positions and gain valuable experience with promoting, organizing, and advertising events. If you are interested in participating in the CMU Chemistry GSO or taking on an active leadership position, please contact the GSO Chair for 2025-‘26, Medha Gangopadhyay (mgangopa@andrew.cmu.edu). Participants do not have to have a Premium ACS membership to be members; participants need this only if they want to stand in the elections.
Additional Resources
American Chemical Society Pittsburgh Section
The Pittsburgh ACS is a very active section with regular meetings held by the Energy and Technology committee, the Environmental Committee, and the Younger Chemists Committee. The ACS also has a strong outreach and networking program, not to mention the ACS National Meetings (largest scientific conference in the world) held twice a year.
Skills: Networking
Career paths: All
AAAS Fellowships
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) offers postgraduate fellowships in public service, government and policy-related organization. Most if not all of them are for US citizens or green card holders.
Skills: Job Search
Career paths: All
National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers Pittsburgh Student Chapter
The Pittsburgh chapter of the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) was started in 2010, led by a CMU graduate student. The chapter includes undergraduate and graduate students, as well as postdoctoral fellows, from University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, and Duquesne University. NOBCChE’s primary goal is to increase underrepresented minority participation in science, math, engineering, and technology (STEM) disciplines. Members attend scientific seminars, regional and national conferences, chapter meetings, community outreach events for students grades K through 12, and professional development activities. The chapter also hosts social events throughout the academic year. Contact: Professor Subha Das, srdas@andrew.cmu.edu
Skills: Networking
Career paths: All
Society of Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh (SACP) + Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh (SSP)
The Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh (SACP), and the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh (SSP), are nonprofit organizations dedicated to furthering science education, locally, nationally and internationally. To that end, with proceeds from Pittcon, the largest analytical chemistry conference in the U.S., we provide financial and administrative support for various science outreach activities including equipment grants, research grants, scholarships, internships and awards for teachers, professors and students.
Skills: Networking
Career paths: Academic, Research; Industry, Research
ACS Career Services
The American Chemical Society uses this site to offer links to many job listings as well as to resources for the learning of professional skills.
Skills: Job Search
Career paths: All
Cornell Searchable Database of Postdoctoral Funding Opportunities
A searchable database of current funding opportunities for postdoctoral positions. It includes opportunities for non-US citizens and opportunities not funded by US-based organizations.
Skills: Job Search
Career paths: Academic, Research; Industry, Research
Chemjobber
A blog that presents up to date information on open academic and industry positions for Chemistry Ph.D.s, as well as information on the chemistry job market.
Skills: Job Search
Career paths: All
The Versatile Ph.D.
The Versatile PhD is a web-based, socially positive business that helps universities provide graduate students with non-academic professional development. Their mission is to help graduate students and PhDs envision, prepare for, and excel in non-academic careers.
Skills: Job Search
Career paths: Other Careers