Resources for Early-Career Astronomers

Job Applications

Internships & Post-Baccalaureate Programs

• AstroBetter — Summer internships wiki
• Post-BSc research opportunities guide
• Summer internship list (Twitter thread)
• Masters & Bridge programs (AstroBetter)

PhD Programs — General

• STEM PhD guide by George Iskander
• Undergrad-to-PhD guide by Eric Gagliano
• Women+ of Color Project resources
• PhD timeline & expectations (Mia de los Reyes)
• Logan Pearce's resource hub — reference letters, fellowships, writing
• EU-focused PhD application guide
• Questions to ask graduate programs

PhD Programs — Fellowships & Funding

• NSF GRFP examples (Alex Lang)
• NSF GRFP common feedback (Logan Pearce)
• US fellowships guide — Ford, NSF, NDSEG, DOE CSGF, Hertz (DJ Strouse)
• Major US fellowships list (Astrobites)
• STEAM funding spreadsheet

PhD Programs — Video Workshops

• Grad school applications overview (Women+ of Color Project)
• Writing a Statement of Purpose (Women+ of Color Project)
• Recommendation letters (Women+ of Color Project)
• Fellowships & Funding (Women+ of Color Project)

PhD Programs — Finding Programs & Interviews

• Exoplanet-focused PhD programs list (Jennifer Burt)
• Gravitational-wave host institutes list
• AAS Job Register
• Grad program interview tips (Mia de los Reyes)
• Master list of interview questions
• Reference letters advice (Arianna Long)

Postdoc Positions — Overviews & Guides

• Guide to postdoc applications, Part 1 (Astrobites)
• Guide to postdoc applications, Part 2 (Astrobites)
• Postdoc applications workshop (David Charbonneau, Harvard) — [slides]
• Comprehensive postdoc job cycle guide (Taylor Hitchison) — spreadsheets, draft emails, templates
• Postdoc application guide (Ubadah Sabbagh)
• PhD/Postdoc guide slides (Sera Markoff)
• Job application resources (Richard Alexander)
• Job applications guide (Gaensler & Maddison)
• Postdoc advice thread (Malena Rice)

Postdoc Positions — Application Materials

• Resume & cover letter guide (Harvard OCS)
• CV & cover letter samples by institution type (UCSF)
• How to write a postdoc cover letter
• Common feedback on research statements (Logan Pearce)
• Writing personal statements (Logan Pearce)
• Hubble Fellowship guide (AstroBetter)

Postdoc Positions — Country-Specific Fellowships

• USA: NASA Hubble Fellowship Program resources · Carnegie Science tips
• Canada: Banting Fellowships · CITA National Fellowships
• Netherlands: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions · NWO Veni & Vidi fellowships
• Spain: Juan de la Cierva-Formación · Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación · Beatriu de Pinós (Catalunya)
• GW-specific: GW fellowships & grants spreadsheet
• AAS postdoc application guidelines

Faculty Positions

• Faculty applications overview (Lisa Kewley) — [slides]
• Application materials & finding jobs (Katja Poppenhaeger, Part I)
• Interviewing, offers & rejections (Katja Poppenhaeger, Part II)
• Navigating the faculty job search (AstroBetter)
• Demystifying faculty hiring (Astrobites)
• Becoming an astronomy professor (Astrobites)
• Interview advice (AstroBetter)
• Negotiation guide (AstroBetter)
• Tenure-track negotiation advice (Women in Astronomy)

Faculty Positions — DEI Statements

• DEI statement resources with examples (Carnegie Observatories)
• DEI statement workshop slides
• DEI statement resource list
• DEI statement guidelines (UC Berkeley)
• DEI statement examples (UC San Diego)

Simons Society of Fellows

• My shared Simons Society application materials — tip: write at a high level but hone why your research matters to an interdisciplinary audience

Academic Writing & Reading

• Academic Phrasebank (University of Manchester)
• Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
• UNC Writing Center tips & tools
• Free Coursera scientific writing course
• Template for paper abstracts
• Useful academic phrases (Springer)
• Finding and reading arXiv papers (my Twitter thread)
• Writing abstracts (Victoria Grinberg)

Talks & Presentations

• "The Art of Public Speaking for Scientists" (Heloise Stevance)
• Presentation skills (AstroBetter)
• Talk series for early-career researchers (AstroBetter)

Posters

• Better research posters, Part 1 (Mike Morrison)
• Better research posters, Part 2 (Mike Morrison)
• Better Posters blog
• Making award-winning posters
• Caltech poster resources
• Best examples of scientific posters
• Academic posters in PowerPoint (Emily Pinch)

Personal Websites

• Creating a website to promote your scientific work (AstroBetter)
• arXiv article on academic personal websites
• BAAS article on personal websites
• Website workshop (Logan Pearce)

Mental Health & Wellbeing

• Mental health in grad school (Astrobites)
• Mental wellbeing in academia (Abbie Stevens)
• Mental health posters (Zoe J Ayres)
• Voices of Academia
• Imposter Syndrome talk (Sarah Rugheimer)
• Mental health among PhDs in Germany (Lea Heckmann)
• Crafting resources spreadsheet (Soheb Mandhai)
• Yoga with Adriene (YouTube)

Mentoring

Mentoring Networks

• Supernova Foundation (SN Network)
• LUMA — mentoring for Black, Indigenous, and Latinx women
• Women+ of Color Project
• Gravitational Waves Early Career Scientists (GWECS)
• Astronomy Allies

Mentoring Resources

• CSWA mentoring resources (AAS)
• National resource on effective mentoring in STEMM (NAP)
• Effective mentoring practices (Brown University)
• Mentoring in astronomy (AstroBetter)
• "How to get the mentoring you want" (University of Michigan)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

• Comprehensive DEI resources (Kevin Flaherty)
• Equity & Inclusion Journal Club (Harvard CfA) — resources page
• Equal Opportunity Astronomy (AstroBetter)
• Accessibility resources (AstroBetter)
• LUMA materials for learning
• TAMI astronomy resources & definitions
• Black Lives in Astronomy resource guide (Andrew Fraknoi)
• Suggested teaching syllabus statements
• "Impact of astronomy on our society: examples from Africa" (Mirjana Povic)
• "Equitable hiring at ESO" (Francesca Primas)
• "Present and future of diversity in astronomy" (Abigail J. Frost)
• "The culture of astronomy and its scientists" (Hannah Dalgleish)
• Ten ways to improve support resources for workplace incivility in astronomy (Broekgaarden 2023)

How to Become an Astronomer

• "So you want to become an astronomer" (Yvette Cendes)
• "How to become an Astrophysicist" (Dr Becky, UK-focused)
• "How to become an Astrophysicist" (PBS Space Time)
• "Getting a Career in Astronomy/Astrophysics" (Zach Star)
• "How to become an Astrophysicist" (Neil deGrasse Tyson)
• "What does success mean to you?" (Astrobites)

Data Visualization

• Color as a design tool in science presentations (Logan Pearce)

Recordings

Job Applications

• How to apply for faculty jobs (Lisa Kewley) — [slides]
• How to apply for postdoc positions (Dave Charbonneau) — [slides]
• Your personal statement sucks (Angela Collier, 2023)
• Applying to graduate school (Women+ of Color Project)
• Statement of Purpose & demystifying graduate admissions (Women+ of Color Project)
• Recommendation letters (Osase Omoruyi, Women+ of Color Project)
• Fellowships & funding (Women+ of Color Project)
• Grad school: what to expect & finding URM+ support (Malika Grayson, Women+ of Color Project, 2021)

Thriving in Graduate School

• How to thrive in graduate school (VanguardSTEM — Anicca Harriot, Geraldine Ezeka, Arianna Long)

Postdoc Life

• Meet the Hubble fellows panel (Black in Astro — Dr. Arianna Long, Dr. Sinclaire Manning, Dr. Kiersten Boley)

Imposter Syndrome

• Talk on imposter syndrome (Sarah Rugheimer, EAS 2021)
• Overcoming imposter syndrome (Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Google Zeitgeist 2019)
• On imposter syndrome and how to fight it (Dr. Simone Hyater-Adams, Women+ of Color Project 2021)

Non-Academic Careers

• Leveraging your astronomy-powered experience (Alaina G. Levine, AAS 2022)
• All things aerospace with Sonya Smith (Black in Astro, 2024)
• Launching a career in space panel (Black in Astro, 2021)
• Space humanities panel: what it means to be a human studying space (Black in Astro, 2024)
• Pursuing careers in instrumentation (Black in Astro, 2023)

First-Generation Astronomers

• First generation graduate students (Angela Collier, 2021)

Research Skills

• Research tools: Overleaf, Zenodo, arXiv (Logan Pearce, 2022)
• Workshop on reading articles (Logan Pearce, 2022)

Presentations & Communication

• Talking about your research (Steven B. Torrisi, Women+ of Color Project 2022)

Mentoring

• Decolonize your mentoring relationships (Dr. Arianna Long, VanguardSTEM 2024)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

• The inclusion revolution (Dara J. Norman, AAS 236 2020)
• The stars belong to everyone: fostering diversity and inclusion in astronomy (RASC DDO panel, 2020)
• Understanding diversity and promoting equity in astronomy (Dr. Stefania Varano, SciAccess — ASL interpreted)
• Black Space Week 2024 For The Culture panel (Black in Astro — Dr. Moiya McTier, Dr. Tana Joseph, Dr. Tshiamiso Makwela)

Additional Topics

• Reflecting on reproductive health and trans rights (Marie Sgouros, VanguardSTEM 2023)
• The history, politics, and science of Black hair (VanguardSTEM — Drs. Anicca Harriot, Arianna Long, Geraldine Ezeka)
• The impact of citizen science efforts (Black in Astro, 2023)

Podcasts

• Self-care with Drs. Sarah (Sarah Rugheimer & Sarah Ballard) — mental health and navigating academia
• Astro[Sound]Bites — cutting-edge astronomy research
• Voices of Academia podcast

Other Useful Links

• AstroBetter — community blog for professional astronomers
• Early-career astronomers community (Facebook group)
• Women in STEM resources (Sarah Rugheimer)
• Logan Pearce's resources page
• Astronomy conference finder
• Computing resources (AstroBetter)
• Data science in astronomy
• "Astronomy and the Climate Crisis" (Leonard Burtscher)