How to approach a PhD if I want to have a career in academia? I am towards the end of the first year of my PhD where most of my time went towards doing courses and a small research project in our lab. I plan to continue in academia after my PhD and aspire to get a good faculty position sometime in the future. Is there a stark difference in the way one should approach a PhD if they want to go in academia versus if they aspire for an industry research position ? What do universities look for in a PhD which might be very different from what a company looks for in the same candidate and what can I do at my level to tailor my PhD research towards the direction I want to go in.
If you want to stay in academia, these are some of the elements that prospective PIs/Institutions will be looking for: 1) published material; 2) conference participation; 3) ability to attract funding; 4) prizes/awards (although this should be of low priority if you are an early-career researcher, given how unlikely it is to get a prize at that stage). You should also focus on showing that you can have original ideas and that your PhD wasn't simply doing what you have been told to do. Other thing that is important, and I cannot stress this enough, is networking. No matter how ridiculous or incorrect it may seem, the people that you know will make a difference in getting jobs and positions.