GSIS meeting – April 8, 2014: Non-academic vs. academic careers
Cat Frock
***Handout posted at: http://www.zoology.wisc.edu/grad/ZooGSO/index.html
1. Quick poll
a. Leaning towards: (1) academic or non-academic, (2) academic teaching, academic
research, government, other non-academic (e.g., non-profit, policy, consulting), really
undecided We had about 7 leaning towards academic, 4 non-academic, 5 undecided
b. Has that changed since you started graduate school? Why?
2. Why you should at least consider a non-academic job
Figure 1: New faculty positions versus new PhDs.
Since 1982, almost 800,000 PhDs were awarded in science and engineering (S&E) fields, whereas only
about 100,000 academic faculty positions were created in those fields within the same time frame. The
number of S&E PhDs awarded annually has also increased over this time frame, from ~19,000 in 1982 to
~36,000 in 2011. The number of faculty positions created each year, however, has not changed, with
roughly 3,000 new positions created annually2, 10.
From http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v31/n10/fig_tab/nbt.2706_F1.html
3. Possible pros and cons, myths, fears
a. Academia
i. Pros: belong to an intellectual community, freedom to pursue research interests
ii. Cons: tight job market (probably need to have geographic flexibility), quality of life
while on tenure track
b. Non-academia
i. Pros: better pay, psychological rewards (e.g., management application), greater
variety of personal backgrounds and interaction
ii. Cons: bureaucracy, sacrifice research flexibility/autonomy
c.
Myths about post-academic careers (adapted from Basalla and Debelius book)
i. Jobs in the academic world are stupid and boring.
An academic job is not better than a non-academic job. Non-academics are not
greedy and materialistic just because they’re not academics. Academic jobs are
just one out of a million possible careers. Another career could be right for you.
ii. No one would hire me for a non-academic job. I have no useful skills.
You have to convince your new industry that your skills are relevant.
iii. Your dissertation is your most valuable asset.
Outside of academia, few may care about your dissertation topic. The process of
writing it and skills gained along the way were probably more important.
iv. People not in academia are stupid and boring and I would become one of them.
You can get over your elitist sensibility and can relate to other people outside of
academia. Grad school teaches us to simultaneously overestimate and
underestimate our abilities.
v. It’s too late to change careers/I’m too old.
The job market is full of people starting over. Workers have an average of 10
jobs before they’re 40. People today don’t have the same job for life.
4. How to prepare for an academic vs. non-academic career
i. Academic
1. Publish, mentor, teach, etc.
ii. Non-academic
1. Test out the waters with volunteering, extra-curricular involvement, etc.
iii. Value of a post-doc for academic vs. non-academic careers
5. UW-Madison professional development resources
a. The Individual Development Plan (read about at https://grad.wisc.edu/pd/idp/) and
personal assessment: http://myidp.sciencecareers.org
b. Versatile PhD: http://grad.wisc.edu/pd/versatilephd/
The Versatile PhD is a web-based resource for graduate students, PhDs, alumni, and
postdoctoral fellows interested in exploring non-academic careers.
c. Beyond the Tenure Track: Career Preparation for Grad Students and Postdocs events:
http://grad.wisc.edu/pd/beyondtenure
i. Apr. 10: Career panels: non-faculty careers in the academy
ii. Apr. 22: Demystifying the job interview (for jobs outside the academy
iii. May 3: Life Sciences Careers Day (LSCD):
https://sites.google.com/site/2014lscd/
6. Career seminars
a. This semester: Geog 920 Career Seminar led by Dr. Erika Marín-Spiotta
1:15 to 2:15 on Tuesdays in Grainger Hall (Business School) Room 1195
b. Professional development seminar - led by Tony Ives – Fall 2014
7. Books
a. "So What Are You Going to Do with That?": Finding Careers Outside Academia
by Susan Basalla, Maggie Debelius
b. Alternative Careers in Science: Leaving the Ivory Tower
by Cynthia Robbins-Roth (Editor)
8. Website resources/articles
a. Traning students for non-academic careers
http://dynamicecology.wordpress.com/2014/01/06/training-students-for-non-academiccareers/
b. Is It Time to Redefine the “Alternative” Career Path for Ecologists?
by G. Hansen, S. Sadro, M. Baustian, B. Stauffer
“The Hansen et al. article in this ASLO bulletin
(http://www.aslo.org/bulletin/issues/14_v23_i1.pdf) has ecology specific data…The brief
summary: 1) a 77% increase in ecology PhDs awarded from 2003 to 2010, 2) the median
time elapsed between earning a PhD and getting a TT [tenure track] position has actually
decreased since the 1980s (when it was 4-7 years); with it taking about 3 years now (as it
has more-or-less since the 90s)).”
From: http://dynamicecology.wordpress.com/2014/01/06/training-students-for-nonacademic-careers/
c. Advice: finding a career in non-academic research
http://dynamicecology.wordpress.com/2013/06/12/advice-finding-a-career-in-nonacademic-research-guest-post/
d. Perspective of an ecologist outside academia
Guest Editorial by Sean O'Brien
http://www.esa.org/esa/?page_id=2125
e. Cornell University Graduate School web resources
http://www.gradschool.cornell.edu/career-development/uncategorized/web-resources