Holly Prescott

@holby83.bsky.social

Researcher careers and development devotee. Helping PhD and postdoc researchers make career transitions, especially beyond academia. Trainer and PhD careers blogger at: https://phd-careers.co.uk Living with #AZOOR 👁

The free online launch for ‘Navigating Careers Beyond Academia: A Practical Handbook for Doctoral & Postdoctoral Researchers’ on 14 Sept is live: events.humanitix.com/navigating-c... All PhDs, postdocs & staff who support these groups are welcome to find out more about the book & pick up top tips!

Launching 'Navigating Careers Beyond Academia': Author Conversation & Q&A

Join our discussion on navigating careers beyond academia with author insights, tools from the book, and Q&A for PhDs, postdocs & staff who support researchers

events.humanitix.com

*NEW POST* What can a research career outside academia look like if you’re not from the ‘hard’ sciences? In this post we explore types & levels of roles, recruitment tips & more, with the help of 2 former postdocs who pivoted their research careers beyond academia: phd-careers.co.uk/2026/04/20/r...

Research Careers Beyond Academia: A Guide for PhDs outside the ‘hard’ sciences - PostGradual: The PhD Careers Blog

A guide to research careers outside academia with case studies from two former PhDs/postdocs in research roles outside academia.

phd-careers.co.uk

*It’s real! It has a web page! It’s coming out this summer!* It’s felt very abstract for a while but starting to feel more real; my book ‘Navigating Careers Beyond Academia: A Practical Handbook for Doctoral & Postdoctoral Researchers’ will be released in August. www.routledge.com/Navigating-C...

Navigating Careers Beyond Academia: A Practical Handbook for Doctoral and Postdoctoral Researchers

Navigating Careers Beyond Academia offers an evidence-based, step-by-step guide to successful career transition beyond academia. It provides an accessible overview of scholarship in the field of caree...

routledge.com

I’ve never been fond of the phrase ‘career planning.’ I spoke to Julie Gould for @natureportfolio.nature.com Nature Careers Podcast about why this is, including the ‘keep/ lose/add’ framework I use to help researchers with their next steps: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Keep, lose, add: a checklist for plotting your next career move in science

Julie Gould learns of a career-planning framework that can help pinpoint what you love about your current role, and how that can influence future job moves.

nature.com

New blog post on moving from PhD to consulting! ⭐ An overview of the day-to-day work ⭐ Example projects to give an idea of the type of tasks ⭐ What consulting employers look for in PhDs ⭐ The imposter feelings that can come with getting to grips in a new industry phd-careers.co.uk/2025/09/01/f...

From PhD to Consulting: An Insider’s Guide - PostGradual: The PhD Careers Blog

‘The key is that you are not selling your subject knowledge, you’re selling your methodology.’ – Pierbruno Ricci, author of From Science to Consulting Whenever I talk to PhD researchers one-on-one abo...

phd-careers.co.uk

Ok folks, that’s the last bit (the acknowledgements) of full draft DONE to submit in August! ‘Navigating Careers Beyond Academia: A Practical Handbook for Doctoral & Postdoctoral Researchers’ - coming in 2026, published by Routledge! 🥳

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*What does ‘industry’ mean for humanities PhDs?* Academia to ‘industry’ chat has grown a lot recently…but just doesn’t resonate with many from the humanities. So here’s my attempt at mapping what ‘industry’ might mean if you’re coming from the humanities: phd-careers.co.uk/2025/05/19/w...

What does 'industry' mean if you're a humanities PhD? - PostGradual: The PhD Careers Blog

‘Society needs more, not fewer, people […] who can read, critique, and synthesise complex and competing arguments.’ – Katina L. Rogers, Putting the Humanities PhD to Work When I was coming towards the...

phd-careers.co.uk

*Free post-PhD careers webinar open to all* Got questions about careers and next steps post-PhD? Want some solidarity and to feel less alone in the process? Join us for a free webinar chat on 29th April, 2 time slots available! www.brainproducts.com/registration...

Registration for new Brain Products Academy webinar

Registration is open for the next Brain Products Academy webinar: Life beyond your PhD: Navigating your next career steps

brainproducts.com

*NEW POST* what if your post-PhD career move doesn’t go to plan? Remember: ⭐ You are not alone ⭐ You are not to blame for things outside of your control ⭐ Many 'success stories' are more nuanced than they may appear Thank you, Tabujong, for sharing your story. phd-careers.co.uk/2025/03/03/w...

'What if I hate life beyond academia?' When the move doesn't go to plan - PostGradual: The PhD Careers Blog

I’ve never been much of a fan of romantic comedies. I mean, even before spending 8 years as a humanities student analysing and deconstructing narrative tropes and gender stereotypes (!), I never bough...

phd-careers.co.uk

I’ve been a fan of @researchadjacent.bsky.social podcast for ages now, so it was brill to be interviewed by Sarah for this episode! We chat managing work with health conditions, careers that span both academia and beyond, magic wands… and more! 🪄

Research Adjacent / Sarah McLusky@researchadjacent.bsky.social · 2y ago

It's new epiode day 🥳 with @holby83.bsky.social a #PhDcareers specialist at the University of Birmingham. We talk about her career and book, living/working with a disability, and why we need better language to define roles in #research and #highereducation Listen researchadjacent.com/holly-presco...

My PhD looked at how liminal (eg underground & abandoned) spaces in literature affect protagonists’ identities. Several novels I’ve read recently also present the post-PhD phase a liminal space. It’s not easy, but it’s normal to feel ‘in-between’, and like you don’t know who or what you are yet.

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Over on LinkedIn I jumped on the ‘2024 Rewind’ summary bandwagon. For BlueSky, I thought I’d try something different, so here it is… my 2024 ‘Roast.’ Think ‘letting your imposter gremlins write your annual progress review feedback for you.’ But I do LOVE a semi-colon. Merry Christmas! 😂

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*THROWBACK POST* In July, my colleague Alice & I looked into: ✅ How to identify employers who value PhDs ✅ How to convince employers who aren’t specifically looking for PhDs ✅ Managing conversations with employers who don’t fully ‘get’ PhDs Find our tips here 👇 phd-careers.co.uk/2024/07/29/u...

Understanding employers beyond academia: tips for PhDs - PostGradual: The PhD Careers Blog

How to identify 'PhD-friendly' employers, and manage conversations with those less likely to understand the value of a PhD.

phd-careers.co.uk