Explore a curated selection of books that are useful for PhDs making a pivot into fields like UX, Data Science, and Product Management. The books recommended are meant to be educational, practical, and written by experts. Being able to know the lexicon, history, and technical knowledge associated with your future field is crucial to success.

Do you have any other career fields not shown in the list below, email me at afteryourphd@gmail.com and I can add them below. Additionally, please reach out if you wrote a book that may fit in with the current categories.

Note: As an Amazon Affiliate, I may receive a small commission on purchased books.

Biotechnology Books

Many PhDs in life sciences, such as biology, biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, or related fields, find careers in biotechnology. The skills and knowledge acquired during a life sciences PhD, such as research experience, experimental design, data analysis, and critical thinking, are highly valuable in biotechnology industries.

• Building Backwards to Biotech: The Power of Entrepreneurship to Drive Cutting-Edge Science to Market

• The Sales Interview: An Insider’s Guide for Pharmaceutical, Biotech, and Medical Device Sales Candidates
• Biotechnology Entrepreneurship: Leading, Managing and Commercializing Innovative Technologies

Content Strategy and Design Books

Content strategy involves planning, creating, delivering, and governing content across various channels and platforms. It encompasses defining the goals and objectives of content, identifying target audiences, conducting research, and developing plans to create and distribute content that resonates with users and aligns with business objectives.

• Designing Connected Content: Plan and Model Digital Products for Today and Tomorrow (Voices That Matter)
• Content Strategy for the Web, 2nd Edition
• Strategic Writing for UX: Drive Engagement, Conversion, and Retention with Every Word
• Design Is Storytelling

Data Science Books

Data science is an interdisciplinary field that combines techniques from statistics, mathematics, computer science, and domain-specific knowledge to extract insights and knowledge from data.

• Essential Math for Data Science: Take Control of Your Data with Fundamental Linear Algebra, Probability, and Statistics
• Python for Data Analysis: Data Wrangling with pandas, NumPy, and Jupyter
• Practical Statistics for Data Scientists: 50+ Essential Concepts Using R and Python
• Learning SQL: Generate, Manipulate, and Retrieve Data

Digital Marketing Books

Digital marketing refers to the use of digital channels, platforms, and technologies to promote products, services, or brands to target audiences.

• Becoming A Digital Marketer: Gaining the Hard & Soft Skills for a Tech-Driven Marketing Career
• Digital Marketing Strategy: An Integrated Approach to Online Marketing
• Building A Successful Micro-Agency: A Guide to Starting Profitable & Sustainable Digital Marketing Agencies

Finance Books

PhDs with backgrounds in economics, finance, or quantitative disciplines can pursue careers as quantitative analysts or financial analysts. They analyze financial data, develop mathematical models, and make investment decisions based on quantitative research and analysis.

• How I Became a Quant: Insights from 25 of Wall Street’s Elite
• Quant_Py: Python for Quantitative Finance
• Python for Finance Cookbook – Second Edition: Over 80 powerful recipes for effective financial data analysis
• Quantitative Trading: How to Build Your Own Algorithmic Trading Business

Product Management Books

Product management is a discipline that focuses on the planning, development, and marketing of a product or service throughout its lifecycle. Product managers are responsible for defining the product vision, strategy, and roadmap, as well as overseeing its execution to ensure that it meets the needs of customers and achieves business objectives.

• Hypothesis-Driven Development: A Guide to Smarter Product Management (Advanced Product Management Series)
• The Lean Product Playbook: How to Innovate with Minimum Viable Products and Rapid Customer Feedback
• Cracking the PM Interview: How to Land a Product Manager Job in Technology (Cracking the Interview & Career)
• The Epic Guide to Agile: More Business Value on a Predictable Schedule with Scrum

Project Management Books

Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals within a specified timeframe and budget. It involves overseeing all aspects of a project from initiation to closure, ensuring that objectives are met efficiently and effectively.

• Project Management Mastery
• Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook: How to Launch, Lead, and Sponsor Successful Projects
• Project Management All-in-One For Dummies

SEO – Search Engine Optimization Books

SEO refers to the practice of optimizing (or updating) a website to improve it’s position in search results like Google and Bing. SEO includes research, analysis, and critical thinking to have success in the field.

• Product-Led SEO: The Why Behind Building Your Organic Growth Strategy
• The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization
• Honest SEO: Demystifying the Google Algorithm To Help You Get More Traffic and Revenue

UX (User Experience) Books

UX research is a crucial aspect of the UX design process. It involves studying and understanding the behaviors, needs, and motivations of users through various methods. The main goal of UX research is to gather insights that inform the design and development of products or services, ensuring that they meet user needs effectively. Understandably, this field attract academics and PhDs quite commonly.

• Laws of UX: Using Psychology to Design Better Products & Services 
• Universal Principles of UX: 100 Timeless Strategies to Create Positive Interactions between People and Technology
• Strategic Writing for UX: Drive Engagement, Conversion, and Retention with Every Word
• 97 Things Every UX Practitioner Should Know: Collective Wisdom from the Experts
• Introduction to User Research for UX Beginners: Learn How to Conduct Usability Testing, User Interviews and More That Make User-Engaging, Delightful Products. Land Your Dream UX Job