You have put a lot of time and effort into pursuing your PhD degree. Now it’s time to focus on how to leverage your expertise into a satisfying and productive career. The Individual Development Plan (IDP) concept is commonly used in industry to help employees define and pursue their career goals. In 2003, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) proposed an IDP framework for postdoctoral fellows in the sciences. AAAS/Science joined forces with FASEB and experts from several universities (see authors below) to expand on that framework. The result is myIDP - a unique, web-based career-planning tool tailored to meet the needs of PhD students and postdocs in the sciences.

myIDP provides:

Exercises to help you examine your skills, interests, and values

A list of 20 scientific career paths with a prediction of which ones best fit your skills and interests

A tool for setting strategic goals for the coming year, with optional reminders to keep you on track

Articles and resources to guide you through the process

There is no charge to use this site and we encourage you to return as often as you wish. To learn more about the value of IDPs for scientists, read the first article in our myIDP series.

Click below to get started.