On March 28, 2019, the German and Dutch Graduate Student Association (GDGSA) hosted a professional development event on “Alt-Ac Careers” for graduate students in the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic. The GDGSA received a Professional Development Grant from the UW-Madison Graduate School to organize a 90-minute roundtable with alumni from the German Program. Following a survey distributed to a larger selection of alumni in alternate academic careers, Clinton Otte-Ford, Alyson Sewell, Ragner Svare, and Lisa Yager discussed their job search strategies and careers outside of academia with graduate students. They explained how the skills acquired in graduate school are valuable and transferable, and described how to showcase these skills in job interviews and beyond.
Many thanks to the GDGSA Events Committee, led by Mélanie Yoeurp and Richard Hronek, for organizing this event and to our alumni for sharing their insights with the GNS graduate students.