Startups, Entrepreneurship & Freelance Work

Welcome!

Working at an early-stage startup, at a startup that is rapidly growing, or at an established company with a culture of innovation are all excellent professional opportunities that are possible for you after graduation. While the settings and work cultures may vary based on the size or type of company, what these opportunities have in common is that they place a high value on innovative thinking, encourage independent work, and are focused on problem-solving.

For more information on the ins and outs of becoming an entrepreneur, working at a startup or early stage non-profit, or becoming a freelancer, check out the many articles and companies within the Vault resource, or the Latest News curated for this community.

Below are valuable sources available for those at Yale interested in creating innovative solutions to challenges. The Office of Career Strategy also provides many external Career Resources for entrepreneurship, innovation, and startups towards the bottom of this page.

 

PhD Pathways in Entrepreneurship, Startups, and VCs

Interested in entrepreneurship, venture capital (VC), or startups? Explore the following resources to learn more about these career paths after a Ph.D. in STEM! 

Learn from GSAS Alums

Colleen Cuffaro
Partner at Canaan Ventures
PhD ’14, Cellular and Molecular Physiology

…

By Jacob Gonzalez
Jacob Gonzalez Senior Associate Director, Graduate and Postdoctoral Career Services
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By Stephanie DelVento
Stephanie DelVento Senior Administrative Assistant, Health Professions Advising/STEM Connect
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Craft & Career: Zoe Hunter, Yale Tsai CITY – Part 1 & 2

The Craft & Career series connects with professional creatives from the arts, entertainment, and media industries, to discuss the nuances of their craft, the reality of their careers, and how, in often surprising ways, these two concerns can work together.

…

By Derek I. Webster
Derek I. Webster Senior Associate Director for Creative Careers
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10,000 Entrepreneurs (10KE), a scholarship initiative

10,000 Entrepreneurs (10KE) is a scholarship initiative created by Alumni Ventures, a network -powered venture capital firm.  10KE awards scholarships to undergraduate students to encourage their pursuit of entrepreneurial projects and careers.  In 2022, 10KE will award a $2,000 scholarship …

By Julia Coppola
Julia Coppola Recruiting Coordinator
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Yale Grad Student finds success at 8VC Bio-IT Fellowship

Elias Quijano (MD-PhD student at Yale) served as a 2021 Fellow in 8VC’s Bio-IT Fellowship. A program, started just last year, that identifies entrepreneurial graduate students with passion for “pushing forward new science and its translation into innovative biotechs”. Only …

By Kelly McSergi
Kelly McSergi Assistant Director of Employer Relations
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Alumni Spotlights

Pianpian Guthrie (MPhil ’13, Sociology)

Masters, PhD, Postdoc, Social Sciences
  • CEO Amotions Inc.
Meet Pianpian >

Ramona Liberoff (MA ’93, Art History)

Humanities, Masters
  • Senior Impact Investing Advisor
Meet Ramona >
View More

Featured Resources

Forage (Virtual Work Experiences)

Forage offers virtual work experiences, which are online programs built and endorsed by leading companies. Each virtual work experience contains …

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View All Resources

Explore Job Market InsightsIn partnership withLightcast logo

Search continually updated U.S. market trends to learn about job types (job functions), growth trends, and desired skills. The results will include general information about each job (functional area), employment trends from the past two years and projections for the next 10 years, employers that have that role, desired education level, skills for the position, and more!

TWO WAYS TO SEARCH:

  1. Find Career Data by Selecting Keywords: Enter keywords of various job titles and choose a state or search nationwide to learn more about that job.
  2. Filter by Industry and Occupation: Search by industry and choose among popular occupations/job titles within that industry.

First, choose an industry of interest, then filter for occupation. (If you'd like to see data for a specific location only, filter by state.)

Type in a keyword to select a relevant occupation. (If you'd like to see data for a specific location only, filter by state.)

YC Career Outcomes

The Office of Career Strategy collects information about Yale College graduates. This tool allows users to search outcomes by year and major. Please visit Statistics & Reports for detailed reports.

Helpful Tips on using the Interactive Tool:

  • There is no Enter or Submit Button – Results will appear automatically with your selections
  • Choose ‘All Years’ or ‘All Majors’- For results across years and majors or check one for more granular results.
    • Default results will show the most recent Class Year.
    • Uncheck the selected major(s) to reset your search.
    • To ensure student confidentiality, results are only reported in the aggregate and more granular data is not available through this public tool.
    • The tool will return results with at least five responses. If you require additional information contact the Office of Career Strategy
    • First Destination Summaries are based on the knowledge rate of graduate outcomes six months after graduation under the guidelines set by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Most Recent Class Overview

Knowledge Rate Success Rate Mean Starting Salary Top Five Industries
86.8% of those graduating between July 1, 2020-June 30, 2021 96.9% employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation $76,359 among graduates employed in the United States. Financial Services, Education, Technology, Consulting, and Healthcare

 

  • First Destination
  • Top Employers
  • Employment Industry and Function
  • Size of the Organization
  • Starting Salary
  • Time of Year Offer Received
  • Internships, Research, and Study Abroad Experiences
  • First Destination Locations
  • Top Universities
  • Advanced Degrees Pursued

First Destination

First Destination refers to the postgraduate plans of Yale College graduates six months after graduation. The pursuits of Yale graduates include employment, graduate school, independent research, military service, and more.

CONTACT & LOCATION

Phone
(203) 432-0803
Email
careerstrategy@yale.edu
Website
http://ocs.yale.edu
Address

55 Whitney Avenue, 3rd Fl.
New Haven, CT 06510

SERVICE HOURS

Day of the week
 Academic Year Summer Hours
Monday 8:30am - 5pm 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm 8:30am - 4:30pm

The office is closed weekends, holidays, and recess days.