Career Resources for STEM Students
So you love science, now what?
STEP 1: Find a STEM career coach or career coach with a scientific or medical background.
STEP 2: Work with your career coach to clarify your values, interests, and skills to guide your search and identify science career options or medical career options that would be most fulfilling for you.
STEP 3: Research your STEM career options, hiring institutions, and how your scientific or medical contributions will be used in our society (e.g. technological advances, development of new pharmaceuticals, biological conservation, etc.).
STEP 4: Work with your science career coach to strategize a path to reach your desired career destination.
STEP 5: Prepare strong application packets (e.g. college applications, graduate school applications, medical school applications, postdoctoral fellowship applications, or job applications) that get you an interview opportunity, then ace your interview (college visit, graduate school visit, medical school interview, or job interview), ultimately landing your dream job in science or medicine!
General STEM Resources
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Podcast featuring career journey stories of career professionals in science & medicine: Diverse Routes
Take a science-specific career assessment: https://myidp.sciencecareers.org/
Browse a STEM careers list: https://www.bls.gov/k12/students/careers/stem-table.htm
Podcast for medical careers: https://medicalschoolhq.net/specialty-stories-podcast/
Podcast for undergraduates: Your Career GPS
Podcast that specifically highlights career journeys of people of color in STEM: Win in STEM
Top 60 Women in STEM podcasts: 2022 List
Podcast revealing the people behind the famous scientists and inventors: Smart Tea
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College application checklist: https://www.khanacademy.org/college-careers-more/college-admissions/applying-to-college/college-application-process/a/college-application-checklist
Find scholarships: https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/scholarships
Information about the Common App: https://www.commonapp.org/
Is college worth it?: First Destinations for the College Class of 2021 Report; Interactive Dashboard
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Graduate school application timeline: https://www.princetonreview.com/grad-school-advice/application-timeline
Learn about the medical school application process (DO): https://choosedo.org/choose-do-explorer-registration/ (MD): https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/applying-medical-school-process/applying-medical-school-amcas/
Learn about becoming a Physician Assistant: https://www.aapa.org/career-central/become-a-pa/
Learn about the dental school application process: https://www.ada.org/en/education-careers/careers-in-dentistry/be-a-dentist/applying-for-dental-school
Learn about applying to physical therapy programs: http://www.ptcas.org
Learn how to apply to vet school: https://www.aavmc.org/becoming-a-veterinarian/how-to-apply/
Is grad school worth it?: First Destinations for the College Class of 2021 Report; Interactive Dashboard
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Popular job boards
AAB (bioanalysis) www.arb.org
AAWV (wildlife veterinary medicine) https://aawv.net/resources/career/
ABSA (biosafety and biosecurity) www.absa.org
ASBMB (biochemistry and molecular biology) www.asbmb.org
BioOne (biology, ecology, and environmental science) www.bioone.org
C&EN Jobs (chemistry) chemistryjobs.acs.org
GeoScience (geotechnical and environmental science) www.geosciencejobs.com
Physics Today (science, engineering, and computing) jobs.physicstoday.org
Saber (biology education jobs) www.saberbio.org
Science Careers (general) sciencecareers.org
USA Jobs (government jobs) https://www.usajobs.gov/
Texas A&M Job Board (natural resources jobs) https://wfscjobs.tamu.edu/job-board/
Also consider looking at Google Job Search, LinkedIn Jobs, individual universities, and professional societies for job opportunities.
Subject-Specific Resources
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Royal Society of Chemistry Careers and Resources: https://www.rsc.org/funding-and-support/careers
A global chemistry career resource hub offering career advice, employability tools, professional recognition, networking opportunities, and job resources.
Beyond Benign Green Chemistry Education Resources: http://beyondbenign.org/
A nonprofit platform focused on green chemistry education, sustainability, and environmentally responsible chemical innovation.
American Chemical Society (ACS) Careers: https://www.acs.org/careers.html
A comprehensive chemistry career hub offering job resources, salary information, webinars, career advice, résumé support, and networking opportunities.
ACS Younger Chemists Committee (YCC): https://www.acs.org/about/governance/committees/younger-chemists.html
A professional community within ACS focused on supporting students, graduate students, postdocs, and early-career chemists.
ACS Women’s Chemists Committee (WCC): https://www.acs.org/about/governance/committees/women-chemists.html
An ACS committee dedicated to advancing women in the chemical sciences through advocacy, networking, leadership development, and recognition programs.
ACS Graduate Student Organizations (GSOs): https://www.acs.org/education/student-communities/graduate-student-organizations.html
ACS-supported graduate student communities at universities that promote professional development, networking, outreach, and peer support.
ACS Division of Chemical Education (DivCHED): https://www.divched.org/
A professional division of ACS focused on chemistry teaching, curriculum innovation, educational research, and outreach.
ACS Green Chemistry Institute (GCI): https://www.acs.org/green-chemistry-sustainability/acs-green-chemistry-institute.html
An ACS initiative promoting sustainable chemistry and environmentally responsible chemical innovation.