What Can You Be With a PhD?

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WCUB2025 is coming back to New York City!

The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) of SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is a proud sponsor of this year's WCUB2025 symposium.

Click on these links for answers to FAQs:

What is the What Can You Be With A PhD? Symposium?

Why should I attend WCUB?

Who is WCUB intended for? Postdocs or Grad Students?

How frequently does WCUB take place? Every two years?

Is there a discount for Postdocs and Students?

What is the WCUB2025 symposium's agenda?

How do I get a discount code?

What is the What Can You Be With a PhD? (WCUB PhD) Symposium? - A Note from the Organizers

Every other year, Postdoctoral Affairs at NYU Grossman School of Medicine organizes and hosts What Can You Be With a PhD? (WCUB PhD), the largest career symposium in the country, and we are excited to announce that we are returning to an in-person format for 2025!

We will have around 20 career panels and 10 workshops scheduled over two days, Saturday, October 25 and Sunday, October 26, and the symposium will be held at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in Midtown Manhattan. 

Registration opens on August 4 and will be $20 per person (with SUNY Downstate discount code; $100 is regular registration fee) . It includes admission on both days and lunch. It’s the best deal in the city and you get the chance to discover an array of exciting career paths and meet approximately 100 PhD STEM professional speakers representing diverse career sectors. We are proudly supported by a consortium of NYC-metro research institutions as well as exhibitors and industry representatives, making this a valuable opportunity to network with connections that will shape your future.

Take a sneak peek at the agenda at whatcanyoubewithaphd.com

The full schedule is still in progress, so check back regularly. On behalf of all the organizers, exhibitors, and co-sponsors, I look forward to a fantastic event and hope to see you there!

Arthee Jahangir, PhD
Director, Postdoctoral Affairs and Research Community Development
WCUB PhD 2025 Planning Committee

Reasons to attend WCUB2025

• • WCUB does a fantastic job of introducing the wide range of career choices outside of academic research.
  • Attendees often leave the symposium feeling relieved and empowered with the knowledge of how many non-traditional career trajectories exist and how to confidently pivot into non-academic roles.
  • WCUB is held only once every two years, which is why the SGS Career and Professional Development Office encourages all SGS students and Postdocs to attend.
  • Your SUNY Downstate affiliation makes you eligible for a discount code that reduces the $100 registration fee to $20.
  • For those of you who will go on to become tenured faculty, I still urge you to attend this career symposium. Currently most faculty are at a loss when advising students on non-traditional careers. When you mentor your own PhD students in their career choices, it would behoove you to be prepared and well-versed in non-traditional careers.
  • The intended audience is:

• • • • PhD students (in any year in any program within SGS)
      • Postdocs (any year)

A Note from your Manager of Career and Professional Development, Dr. Justine Lottermoser:

Do yourself a favor and attend the symposium this year. Exploring your career options sooner rather than later saves you the headache of doing this personal career development work at the same time as your thesis defense or when your Postdoc contract is expiring. Because the WCUB symposium has been instrumental to many a scientist's career exploration, I have secured a limited number of discounted tickets. Starting August 4th, SGS students and Postdocs may reach out to me directly for the discount code.