Development Resources

There are several resources that can be used as development opportunities during and after your doctoral research period. This will be an overview about some options that provide additional qualifications helping you with your career, as well as some resources for career orientation and personal development.

Career Orientation and Personal Development

Arbeitsagentur

The Arbeitsagentur (federal employment agency) is a good source of information for German and International applicants with regards to labour market services. They provide you, among others, with regulatory information about working in Germany, job opportunities, and career guidance.

Career Centre Plus

As part of the ZfbK of the JLU, the Career Centre Plus prepares you during and after your studies for your job entry. They provide a variety of workshops free of charge for students at the university. They will also give you guidance for your career in case you have not figured out yet where your career is going. Specifically, they offer

• Individual career consulting
• Workshops around career development and job applications
• Job application training
• Career events and presentations

careerloft

careerloft is a website designed for ambitious students who would like to get in touch with the industry during their studies and inform themselves about career-relevant information. It is a great resource for job-related company recommendations, experience reports, as well as career events by companies from different industries. careerloft also offers an online scholarship providing resources such as magazine or newspaper subscriptions.

Dual Career Network Deutschland (DCND)

The Dual Career Network is specifically designed to help highly qualified couples find work in the same area. If you find a job in a certain area, you can try to find a job for your partner through the DCN. Most universities in Germany are part of the network and will assist you and your partner with your job search.

e-fellows

e-fellows is a website mainly offering scholarships for talented students and researchers. The online scholarship offers additional resources that can be used during your studies such as magazine subscriptions or specific literature. Being a scholar at e-fellows additionally provides access to potential employers. Furthermore, the website offers information about career events, job search, and other career-related topics.

Vitae

Vitae is a UK website supporting researchers in their professional development. They have plenty information about job orientation and development opportunities.

Training and Further Education Opportunities

Here you can find an overview about further training that will make life scientists more attractive to industrial employers for certain job profiles. For every opportunity, there are multiple training providers that you can research on the internet.

MBA

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a master's degree targeted at young professionals with any background. The usual requirements are an undergraduate degree and 2 years of work experience. However, these requirements vary based on the program. It is usually very well accepted by companies and offers a great opportunity for career development if you would like to work in business administration related departments and leadership. Nonetheless, its costs (approx. 10.000€) and time requirements (approx. 2 years) are not suited for everyone.

EBCL

The European Business Competence Licence (EBCL) was an initiative started in 2002 to spread business knowledge and create an internationally standardized business test and licence. It is an alternative to an MBA and will provide knowledge in a timely and less costly manner.

GMP

Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) refers to the practices required to conform to the guidelines necessary to produce safe food, drugs, or pharmaceuticals for the public. There are workshops and trainings on GMP which are usually seen as positive by pharmaceutical or food manufacturers. Knowledge in GMP can be useful for careers in e.g. quality assurance and management of pharmaceutical manufacturers.

GLP

Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) refers to the quality system concerning laboratory non-clinical chemical safety tests. Guidelines exist to ensure the consistency and conformity of these tests. Workshops and trainings are available and can be advantageous when planning for a career in e.g. quality management of pharmaceutical service companies.

Project Management

Project Management (PM) refers to the management of projects from start to finish. It includes initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and finishing projects under constraints such as time, budget, and resources. As skills in PM are an advantage in almost all companies, project management training is favored by most employers. There are several licensed and unlicensed providers of project management training. A few notable licenses providers include the CAPM, TÜV, or IHK.

Regulatory Affairs

Regulatory Affairs (RA) refers to a profession in regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals and includes tasks such as law compliance. It usually requires training to learn about the relevant laws and regulations. For those interested in working in the field, appropriate training is recommended.

Quality Management

Quality Management (QM) refers to ensuring a standardized output or process in a company. There are several ISO guidelines as well as other important information relevant to working in quality management. For those interested in working in the field, training in QM might be an interesting development opportunity.

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials refers to experiments conducted in clinical research in order to test efficacy and safety of new treatments for humans. Clinical trials are affected by law and regulations and usually follow certain methods. Training for interested parties who would like to work in clinical research can be very advantageous.

IT Knowledge

Depending on where you would like to work, there might be certain IT knowledge that will increase your chances of finding a job. For example, if you would like to work in marketing research, being familiar with statistical programmes is extremely helpful. Generally, it is recommended to find out specific IT knowledge required for job profiles. Requirements or recommendations for job profiles can often be found in their respective job offers.

Language Courses

If you would like to work in the German job market, you might be able to find some jobs where fluency in German is not required, but decent German skills or fluency will open a much wider job market for you.

English is often the company language in large corporations and most of the time the transnationally used business language. Taking courses in business English can therefore also be very advantageous.

Speaking a language with a large international relevance such as Mandarin (Chinese) or Spanish can be extremely helpful, but also languages less commonly spoken can certainly be a plus. Various language course offers are also available through the ZfbK.