Pursuing a Ph.D. can be a challenging endeavor. Rigorous coursework, extensive research, and pressure to publish can affect even the most dedicated students. It is not enough to just survive being a Ph.D. student. It is also possible to thrive and build the foundations for a sustainable, satisfying, and rewarding career path.

Since 2021, TU Wien Informatics Doctoral School has offered the course “From surviving to thriving: crafting your good professional life” for Ph.D. students in the winter semester. Held by Geraldine Fitzpatrick, it focuses on two foundational sets of personal skills towards thriving as an academic, researcher, and professional. One is understanding who you are in your professional role and shaping your choices to align with your values and strengths. The other is about bringing your best self to work by taking well-being seriously. The scientific evidence is clear that “well-being is a critical enabling condition for academic success [where] balanced, happy people are more productive, more creative, more collaborative.” (Graduate Happiness and Wellbeing Report, University of Berkeley, 2014).

Many Ph.D. students will end up working in sectors outside of universities, and there are multiple paths to navigate their future careers. But how to make good career decisions can be challenging. To help with this, the course guides students in finding a career path aligning with their values, looking closer at what ‘doing well’ in professional life means to them, and projecting their future career paths.