About Exploring Career Ladders Program

What is ECLP?

The Stony Brook University Exploring Career Ladders Program (ECLP)  is a virtual career mentoring group led by grad students, for grad students. The program was originally founded by molecular and cell biology graduate students as the "PhD Career Ladder Program" with National Science Foundation funding.

During the group meetings, students climb "up the ladder" of career development by reflecting on the type of careers that match their training and are interesting to them; the sessions serve as weekly time focused on learning more about potential careers and how they might suit their future plans. Ideally, students will be able to replicate this process independently and be a prepared candidate when they hit the job market. 

Who should participate?

ECLP is open to all Stony Brook graduate students and postdocs. It is best suited for doctoral students in their second to fourth years and master's students in their second or third semester, though graduate students at any stage are welcome. For postdocs, we recommend as early as possible.

ECLP can help you plan for any career field you might be considering, whether inside or outside of academia, and can help you add career development goals to your annual IDP. Several ECLP groups run each semester and one during the summer.

When does ECLP start?

ECLP runs as GRD 510 every Fall, Spring and Summer as a 0 or 1 credit course and meets for eight sessions that are 1.5 hours each. In Fall and Spring the sessions occur biweekly and in the summer meetings occur weekly.

Enroll directly in SOLAR for GRD 510, and to join in the summer, contact us.

What are the seven steps of ECLP?

ECLP begins with a "Step Zero" to help participants connect with their learning community, then follows the Seven-Step Curriculum structure below:

1. Self-Assessment: Identify interests, skills, and values, and use them to focus on careers that fit with your assessment.
2. Career Match Research: Investigate careers compatible with your self-assessment to promote the greatest satisfaction.
3. Informational Interviews: Gain first-hand knowledge about a career of interest by interviewing real people with that job.
4. Skills Identification and Building: Identify core skills required in a career of interest, use transferable skills from graduate training, and enhance technical skills.
5. CV and Resume Crafting: Update your CV and customize a resume for a target job, aided by peer review and feedback from industry experts.
6. Networking: Learn strategies to engage new networks, to control your online presence, and to create your personal branding.
7. Career Goals Planning: Develop a plan with concrete next steps to continue your career development.

How can I learn more?

If you have further questions, contact us. You are also invited to attend our information sessions before the start of each semester.