How do I get a job that isn’t in academia? No one in academia seems to know, and the decision seems to be coded as “failing”. But I don’t really want an academic job. And there aren’t really any resources within most programs to figure out how to do other things.
UPDATE: A very good friend asked, “are you really publicly announcing your departure from academia?!” The answer: NO. Rather, as usual, this is a question taken from a graduate student.
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I went to a talk recently by the author of “So What Are You Going to Do with That?”: Finding Careers Outside Academia. She seemed to have good, practical advice (although one of the people who’d invited her said it was better than she’d expected based on the book). She recommended going to the university’s general career services office for resources and advice.
As a holder of a non-academic job and occasional interviewer of PhD candidates for non-academic jobs, I feel more qualified than usual to comment! A couple initial thoughts…
1. Troll sources such as the AEA’s Job Openings for Economists, which has listing categories for non-academic jobs. Some of those are geared to particular econ fields (esp. “elite” jobs such as those with the Federal Reserve), but others definitely aren’t.
2. Hone (or obtain) and advertise your quantitative skills, or at least research skills. A lot of non-academic “econ” work isn’t rocket science — it’s applied empirical social science and/or qualitative data mining. (Litigation research is a lot of the latter.) Someone who understands basic statistics or regression analysis, can leapfrog someone who’s pedigreed but short on practical skills.
3. Academic pedigree and personal suitability for non-academic work are weakly correlated; some big-name academics are excellent consultants and others are fun punching bags in adversarial settings. Many profs do consult on the side, and it isn’t a bad idea to identify profs who might be good at it in one’s department — that’s how a bunch of my senior colleagues got their starts.
I’m another PhD holder with a non-academic job. Basically, no resources were available in my department. I got my start at my government job because a friend forwarded me an email asking for interns…that was my foot in the door.
I would check out panels at the ASA or your regional association that are about non-academic jobs. I’ve been invited to be a panelist at least twice, so that would be a good place to get information.
Or, you can email me: jamy dot barab at gmail dot com.
Well I’m an academic so I don’t know how to get such jobs, but I think the first step would be to learn more about where such jobs are and what people do in them. (I thought about this a lot when I was untenured, as I coped with stress by having a plan for what I would do if I did not get tenure.) The big categories of jobs I know about are: (1) in social research firms, (2) in government agencies where statistical reports are generated or social research is conducted, (3) in intelligence agencies (including both government agencies such as the CIA and the FBI but also private contractors working for the government), (4) in private firms that have market research branches, (5) in human factors research in some engineering applications. Seems like you’d probably rule some of the categories out a priori depending on your politics and interests and want to investigate further to learn more about others. Once you have an idea of what is out there, it would be easier to focus more. If my goal were a non-academic job, I’d start as early as possible to learn about the different kinds of jobs (”non-academic” is what it isn’t, not what it is) how they are organized, i.e. their trade journals, trade associations, etc. The first step of this process can be done on the internet and in libraries. From there you have the harder problem of figuring out how to find the networks so you can meet such people and learn more about what they do and what credentials you need to look like an attractive candidate. But it seems like one’s skills as a researcher could be put to use in gaining the necessary information.
FYI while I am not a good source about non-academic jobs, I have over my life had bits of experience with all of the categories I mentioned above and would have some ideas about how to start learning more about them. I’m not hostile to my students aiming toward them and would be happy to talk over strategies with my advisees if they asked. I suspect that there are other advisor-types who would be in the same situation.
Check out these folks - http://www.aacsnet.org/wp/
Also, I understand Baylor University places most of their Pd.D. graduates in non-academic jobs. Several years ago I was talking to one of their new grads - she was starting out at $75,000 when we were paying our new faculty something like $40,000.
I think the ASA Employment Service (at the annual meeting) includes non-academic employers, so that would be a venue to explore, as well.
This site is a good resource for exploring government jobs:
http://www.usajobs.gov/
In job search engines like monster or career builder or whatever use search terms like “stata” “spss” “arcgis” - you’ll find many non-academic employers.
I hear nepotism work wonders.
I second jamybarab’s foot-in-the-door approach. Most schools forward intern/fellow/post-doc opportunities. Take them.
I know that the ASA has publications on this. I bought one at ASA last year (figuring that someday I too would have graduate students who asked me this question). I haven’t actually looked at it and can’t now cause I lent it out to a student in my department.
Mastering the Job Market with a Graduate Degree in Sociology
By Janet Mancini Billson. This 92-page booklet is an excellent resource for sociologists with graduate degrees who are looking for careers in the field of sociology. The book is divided into five sections: (1) Sociology: A Path to Diverse Careers, (2) The Five Phases of the Job Search, (3) Careers in Academic Settings, (4) Careers in Applied Settings, and (5) Becoming a Professional Sociologist. 96 pp., 1996.
http://www.e-noah.net/asa/asashoponlineservice/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=ASAOE507M96
Also may be helpful for job interviews:
The Sociological Advantage
A brochure for prospective employers and clients who seek information on the expertise and skills applied sociologists bring to organizations, especially advanced scientific principles and procedures to understand individuals, groups, work units, and organizations. Single copies free; multiple copies (2-99), 25 cents each; bulk orders, $20/100 copies. Three-fold brochure, 1995. Only standard shipping is available when ordering multiple copies of this item.
http://www.e-noah.net/asa/asashoponlineservice/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=ASAOE510S95
ASA also has a lot of different surveys–they may have one on what people with graduate degrees in sociology have done outside of academia. It would be worth a look.
It’s really interesting (as a non-academic) to read your thoughts about getting a no-academic job.
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