Industry Careers

Are you interested in a career in industry or the business sector?

Investigate Different Types of Jobs

Learn as much as possible about the skills and qualifications required for job titles that interest you. The University Career Center & The President's Promise has developed several Industry guides that offer valuable information on industry trends and hiring timelines, as well as tips on resumes, internships and interviewing for specific industries.

Leverage Programming at UMD: Accelerate to Industry (A2i)

About A2i

A2i is a bold, new approach to workforce training for graduate students and postdocs. The Program is funded through a National Science Foundation Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) grant. If you want to learn more about this initiative, please visit NC State's A2i page. 

As of May 2023, University of Maryland, College Park has officially joined the Accelerate to Industry (A2i) Program founded by the North Carolina State University Graduate School. As an academic partner, UMD Graduate School is excited to leverage this innovative network to support graduate students and postdocs at UMD to prepare for industry careers. With A2i, graduate students and postdocs can explore employment opportunities with industry companies; develop the business, leadership, and communication skills that companies seek.

As an academic partner, graduate students and postdocs at UMD have access to professional development opportunities hosted by NC State and local here at UMD. See past programming on the left menu.        

Join Professional Associations in Your Field

If you are interested in a career in Industry, joining a professional association is a good start. There are associations for nearly every profession or area of interest and many have national, state and regional chapters that you can join. A professional association can help you to enhance your network, by putting you in close contact with others in your field, and allow you to find a mentor to help you with your professional goals. Most associations have national or local conferences where you can have the opportunity to learn about breaking news in your career, learn "best practices" or new ideas, hear about key achievers in your field and also meet and brainstorm with others who are also looking to share and learn new information. Another important reason to consider membership to a professional organization is to take advantage of their career resources. Associations often have job listings online or in print available only to their members, which is a great way to find targeted job postings for your area of interest.

Some of the largest and most popular professional organizations include:

• The American Psychological Association
• The Modern Language Association
• The American Historical Association
• Association of American Educators
• The American Chemical Society
• The American Society for Microbiology
• National Society of Professional Engineers
• The American Public Health Association
• The American Physical Society 
• National Council of Nonprofits

This list is by no means exhaustive, so do some research in your field to find out which association is right for you. Many of the associations listed above have offices and/or chapters in the Washington DC metro area, making it easy to visit them and participate in meetings throughout the year. Most associations have reduced membership rates for students and recent graduates, and discounted conference attendance fees. Don't wait, join a professional association in your field and start taking advantage of their resources!