1. Resources
  2. Exploring Graduate School and Further Education
  3. Personalized Grad Maps

Personalized Grad Maps

Looking to take your degree and career plans to the next level? Use this MyGradMap tool to make your own customized major map:

MyGradMap (PDF, 127 kB)  | MyGradMap (Accessible MS Word, 243 kB)

How to Use this Map:

Note: These instructions are also included on the PDF/Word file.

  1. Note careers of interest and skills/qualifications needed.

With some potential long-term goals in place, it will be easier to figure out what steps you need to take to get there!  Need help figuring this out? Look at the Grad Maps for ideas and then stop by Career Services to find out about all kinds of careers, what skills they need, and next steps.

  1. Keep track of ideas and possible short-term goals

Note any interesting courses, workshops, clubs, conferences, and other ideas that you come across on the map in the appropriate boxes. Look at the Grad Maps to get some ideas. Get more ideas by talking to friends, profs, advisors or looking at websites like:

  1. Track your accomplishments for future resumes and interviews

When you’ve accomplished one of your goals, this can be a great place to track all those little details you might otherwise forget. You can include key skills you learned or evidence of success. Check out the Skills and Experience workshop for ideas. 

Change can be tough. Many students feel confused and overwhelmed trying to figure out where to go and how to get there. The key is using this energy to take action earlier instead of letting it paralyze you. Start by breaking things into smaller steps with the year by year plan. You don’t have to figure it out all at once – just start at the beginning with a few ideas… You don’t have to have it all figured out at once.

Good question. With much less than 50% of graduate students ending up in academic careers (varying by discipline), it is important to consider ALL of your options. The Grad Maps will suggest some ideas to get you started. To take it further, stop by Career Services for drop-in advising, a career workshop, or a career coaching appointment.

Besides taking advantage of things like professional associations, conferences, and LinkedIn that are mentioned on the Grad Maps, you can get help with the basics of networking by signing up for an Effective Networking workshop from Career Services.

The skills you get from your grad degree are valued by employers, but your job is to make it easy for them to see what you have to offer. Start by getting a sense of your skills from the Skills and Experience workshop. From there you can get help in resumes, cover letters, and interviews through workshops or appointments at Career Services.