Here is a strategy to land jobs with your PhD outside of academia. It covers some of the common mistakes made by PhD’s looking for alternative careers, and how to sell the value of yourself, not your PhD, in nonacademic job interviews.
A few months ago, a reader of this site joked that he was tired of explaining to nonacademic employers why he was 30 with zero practical work experience and so he decided that he was just going to take his PhD off his resume and tell people that he had been in a coma for the last ten years. At least, I think he was joking.
While most undergraduates sign up for the PhD because they think it will open both academic and nonacademic career doors, it is ironic that prison inmates often have better resumes than new PhD’s leaving academia, after spending 10 years detached from the ordinary world inside their respective walls.
This article is about addressing that uncomfortable hole in your resume after you decide to leave academia. The moment in your nonacademic job interview when they ask you. . .so tell me your story. Silence. I’ve been in grad school. Other than that. . .
Last January, when interviewing for an internship at an advertising agency, I was surprised to hear myself reference my sales experience as a peddle-cab driver (the losers on bikes who ferry fat tourists from restaurant to restaurant), glossing over my work experience as a research assistant for an eminent scholar, guest lecturer, conference speaker, and humanities researcher.
The other academic jobs were prestigious croutons, the long-winded litany of egotistical conquests which is otherwise known as the academic CV. My time as a bike slave for tourists involved me, at least, interacting in the world of commerce, selling things, talking to people instead of whispering to librarians. . .could you find me the 1935-37 Ezra Pound fonds?
Since then, I’ve come to see my past mistakes in trying to sell my graduate degree to employers. I’ve tried to sell the prestige of the degree, rather than the stupid work ethic that made me want to do something ridiculous like become a professor.
As I’ve said before, your PhD (or MA) is useless for finding jobs outside of academia. But there are ways of positioning why you were interested in doing a PhD in English, salvaging that giant hole in the experience section of your resume.
How to get nonacademic jobs for PhD’s
It’s simple. Don’t sell your degree. Sell the personality trait that made you want to do something insane like spending 10 years in a graduate department.
This is opposite to what most professors and career counsellors will advise you to do. After you leave academia, they tell you to sell your skill-set, your research abilities, your advanced analysis power, your tolerance for ambiguity.
But outside of academia, these academic skills are nice (yes, every industry needs problem solvers and creative analysts), but they don’t pay the bills.
You hire a lawyer not only because he is brilliant at interpreting facts, but also because he has stepped inside the courtroom a few times. There is a difference between potential (PhD’s looking for nonacademic jobs) and proven ability (the other nonacademic candidate, who seems reasonably smart, has an undergraduate degree, and has 5 years of practical experience.)
But if you sell the personality trait that made you want to do a PhD in English, you become a different type of job applicant. More flexible. An individual looking to switch careers, rather than a failed academic.
Do you know what makes a PhD hireable?
The ten years you spent writing a 300 page dissertation on Emerson and death isn’t the winning quality in you.
Do you even know what makes you hirable?
It’s not your advanced understanding of culture.
It’s not your research skills, love of ambiguity, ability to think, problem solve, synthesize, analyze, gather facts or any of that.
It’s not your BA, MA, or PhD. It doesn’t have anything to do with the degrees you line up along your wall of fat books.
Your work ethic is what’s hirable. Inspirational? Not really. There is tons of evidence to prove you to be a particular type of person that is very employable.
Tell your prospective employer that rather than going to the beach in Thailand for your twenties to get black-out drunk under palm trees, you worked 60-70 hour weeks.
Tell your employer that you are driven to become an expert. Tell them that you rose to the top of your academic field, that you were called one of the “most promising young scholars on modernism of your generation.”
Tell them you were given over $90,000 dollars of government money for your PhD. That you beat hundreds of applicants to get your place in your PhD program.
Tell them that you created original, creative research while working two jobs, struggling in debt.
Tell them that you read over 100 books per year. Tell them that you have written over 100,000 words of criticism. Tell them that you have one ambition in life, to challenge yourself and surprise yourself.
Then tell them that you are ready to transfer that insane work ethic into their company.
You don’t care about benefits (I was a grad student; poverty is second nature).
You don’t care about salary. The only thing you want is a field to pour your energy into, a field that will eventually reward you for your effort.
If they are willing to invest in your salary, you will pour the dedication you put into academia into your new nonacademic career. You will read 5 industry books per week, attend training workshops, work weekends, and study to become an expert in this new field.
Tell them all of this, and they will look down the hallway. They will see that “business major 2-year diploma holder,” with his constant complaints for more money, his laziness, his shallow knowledge of the industry. That lazy kid, working 25 hour weeks, taking long lunches, and thinking just because he learned a few fundamentals about business in college, he is ready to manage a massive company. Macro economics. Micro. Brand affinity. Sales funnel. Got it!
That kid did multiple choice tests in his communications class. He thinks that just because he has a Twitter account, it makes him a ‘social media consultant.’
That kid is sloppy. You can beat him.
You synthesized 400 books, three boxes of rough data, and 7 years of general knowledge into a coherent thesis that offered an original contribution to a complex field.
Your PhD isn’t directly relevant to any career outside of academia. And you can’t just say ‘my ability to problem solve is a skill desired by many companies which is the reason why you should hire me.’ That’s selling the degree, rather than the person beneath the degree that is able to complete complex tasks.
Outside of academia your PhD has little value
Your PhD has little value to nonacademic employers. It is a completely different set of skills than is required by other jobs. Just because you are a world-champion in Martial Arts doesn’t mean you can glide in and take the World Belt for Boxing. They are different jobs, different skills.
But it was an excellent exercise in breaking down a massive project into small steps, an excellent exercise in creativity and high-level thinking.
You might not have the practical skills. But in one year of insane work, you will beat the doors down, and work methodically to develop your skill-set. Tell that to the hiring manager.
The problem is that employers just don’t know what to do with you. That is, if you come in the door, talking about your presentations at Harvard, your theories on the discursive ideology of torture narratives, your article on post-human ethics, your book on the mechanism of aesthetic discourse in the post-war avant-garde. . .this is just babble that might, possibly, impress an employer, but doesn’t have much promise of making them money.
They are tempted to pass. To hire an employee with fewer qualifications and a solid resume in their industry.
But a work-horse, a smart work horse, a curious person willing to put in the time to become an expert in a new industry. . .that is something worth a second interview.
Academia didn’t make you
Education doesn’t own your personality trait. Academia took that trait, exploited it. But academia didn’t create you. You only used academia as an outlet for that passionate, driven ambition to do more than the next person.
A hiring manager with any type of vision will understand that an insane work ethic and curious nature will beat out 5 years of lazy experience from some mediocre employee.
So don’t be a genius. Have a single purpose: to attack the study of a new industry just as you attacked your study of literature.
And then actually do it.
This week, I’m very proud to release my book: How to Find a Career With Your Humanities Degree in 126 Days.
If you are at a loss of what careers you can get with your BA, MA, or PhD in the humanities, then you are not alone.Most humanities majors go through a difficult transition after they leave academia.
How to Find a Career With Your Humanities Degree in 126 Days is a 18 week challenge (126 days) where you are shown the exact steps and actions needed to get out of liberal arts career limbo. Designed for BAs, MAs, and PhD’s with no money, an empty resume, and no idea of where to start.
Find out more about the book here
Related Reading:
Your posts always rock my world. Post more often. Please.
Thanks Laura…I will seriously try to post more…I’ve been slacking. (There also is an email subscription on the side bar that will let you know when my slow ass gets one out the door.)
Thanks as always for reading.
James (Selloutyoursoul)
Great post! The only advice I’d disagree with is about salary. When I had my first nonacademic job interview not long ago and salary came up, I was clueless and almost sold myself short. Anything they would have offered me would have been more than I was earning as an adjunct, but that’s no reason not to market yourself within industry standards for the position. When I asked for the amount I ended up asking for after doing a little research, I thought I had put myself out of the running when I didn’t hear back from them right away. Thought I had asked for too much. Turns out that I didn’t hear back because the bidding process for the contract I’d be working under as a writer/editor was held up. I just found out I’m still in the running. So, yeah, maybe salary and benefits aren’t your top priorities, but my sense is that employers will respect you more if you have a realistic sense of what you’re worth — which, for them, largely translates into money. Just know what’s appropriate for the industry and your region, and don’t be afraid to ask for a fair salary.
Hi Recent PhD,
That’s a good point. People often expect to get what they pay for. I guess my point would be to do anything to get that first industry resume item.
So maybe a better way of saying it would be to ask for salary first. And then if they tell you, well we really don’t have a budget for a new hire without experience, then I would tell them that the experience is worth the salary for me. Or offer to work at a training wage which then increases as you get some skills.
My whole concern is that you have to transfer the risk away from the employer. From their perspective, hiring a PhD isn’t their top priority, so anything you can do to prove that you will be eventually valuable will help.
But I agree with you. I wouldn’t just go around telling companies that I’d work for free. Instead, play it by ear. And I think employers will respect you more if you expect to be paid for proving value. Just lots of them think that professors make 100,000 grand per year and that there are tons of jobs for PhD’s….so you have to clear that up with them.
Great point.
James from selloutyoursoul.com
haha, I love the academic “love of ambiguity.” My father read my successful master’s thesis on the use of ambiguity in experimental women’s writing, and his summary was “so, you’re arguing that the book is vague.” It was one of the many reasons I stopped halfway through my phd applications.
This is such a smart (and massively uplifting) post. Thanks for this. Sincerely.
It’s true. I did it 30 years ago. It took six months to convince someone in a down economy that they should hire me, the PhD in medieval history. But all you need is to get your foot in the door, and you will run circles around the BAs and MBAs. And my first lowly job in business gave me a bigger paycheck than an entry-level tenure-track academic job. It wouldn’t hurt to take a business class, either…
Your posts are always so much fun and so true. I’ve also recently gloated over some pieces that I published in my college newspaper over 10 years ago. They were rather crappy, but my article on Harriet’s Martineau genius and disability that came out in August 2010 does not constitute a good writing sample for regular writer’s jobs.
I’m not so sure about selling yourself as the “work horse.” I mean, I can see how that can charm employers, but what if you don’t want to do it? What if you don’t want to work 70 hour-weeks any longer because you have a life.
Another way to sell your work ethic might be efficiency and try to sell to the employer how as a PhD you have the ability to prioritize, focus and stay tuned on one topic so as to get the job done in half the time that it takes someone who spaces out.
Hi English PhD,
Thanks for the nice words….what you don’t want to work 70 hour weeks? Whatever amount of hours you choose, it will be less than grad school, so I wouldn’t worry too much.
Thanks for the comment,
James from selloutyoursoul.com
Great post. This is spot on. And I LOVED this bit:
” it is ironic that prison inmates often have better resumes than new PhD’s leaving academia”
How depressing yet so true!!
BTW: I added your site to my blog list. Should have done this much sooner but I’ve been busy going on job interviews, surprise, surprise.
Hi Jen,
Thanks for reading and I’m glad you liked the post.
James from Selloutyoursoul
Wow, you made reference to me and I missed it! I’ve been out of the loop lately – working long hours at a community college tutoring center and with an online tutoring company, trying to get all I can from a couple of unstable part-time jobs. After 8 months I haven’t had any success getting work outside of academia, but I’m doing something like teaching, which is what I love, and my screenwriting partner and I have actually made headway in getting a script optioned by a producer. So, I haven’t had to resort to telling anyone I’ve been in a coma – just coming to terms with when and where it’s appropriate to mention my dirty little secret.
Hey Gabe,
Thanks for the inspiration–you noticed! That’s really great about the screenplay. Please let me know how that goes and if you ever want to do an interview about English PhD turned screenwriter let me know.
Thanks,
James from Selloutyoursoul.com
“Education doesn’t own your personality trait. Academia took that trait, exploited it. But academia didn’t create you. You only used academia as an outlet for that passionate, driven ambition to do more than the next person,” was my favorite quote from this, but I found lots of good stuff. I didn’t enroll in a PhD program, so I can’t completely relate, but I picked up a similar lesson on the way we underestimate/overestimate our degrees just from talking to interviewers about my English BA. I came to think of it as so useless and irrelevant that all I would talk about in interviews was my minor work experience (similar to your pedicab experience- stuff that required no education but required a lot of basic skills). But, at one interview that a friend pulled strings to get me, I was asked about my English degree- and I completely froze. The interviewer was obviously interested in hearing me talk about something I worked hard at and/or cared about, and I had nothing to say. It was a tough lesson on how much your degree actually does matter- just not in the obvious ways.
Also, @Elle, that was a hilarious and brilliant comment.
Had 9 years in a consulting career and did an MBA late in life. 2.5 years in banking so far (crossed fingers, survived ”08). It was a small career change and it still was tough. The angst of a switch is as much of a challenge as anything else. Good luck and hang in there!
Suggestions:
Know a friend with a PHD in Operations Research (from an overseas university) who used an MBA to move into banking but that does seem like a lot of education. Worked for an MD with a lit background who went to law school. Again, that’s a lot of education on top of what you have.
Have you ever thought of doing the CFA Level I or something like that to signal your intellectual abilities in a in a non-English Academia environment? Plus it will signal some quantitiative abilities to balance out that time on qualitative academia.
My other suggestion is lot and lots of internships or poorly paying business related (copywriting?) assignments for start-ups to build up your reference. Well paid is good. But any kind of resume item or better yet references from completed engagements would be better.
HI MBA,
Great comment–thanks. Especially this: ” lot and lots of internships or poorly paying business related (copywriting?) assignments for start-ups to build up your reference. Well paid is good. But any kind of resume item or better yet references from completed engagements would be better.”
I’ve been trying to really build up my experience. Freelance, paid or unpaid–it doesn’t matter. One of the big things to learn is that your money is in your experience–not your degree.
Thanks again for the suggestions,
James from Selloutyoursoul
[...] You need to know how to talk about yourself. A degree isn’t going to get you a job. [...]
[...] later, you leave academia. Try to polish your resume. Try to find a nonacademic career. It’s then you wonder if, just if, a few of those thousands and thousands of hours spent [...]
[...] “PhD in English? What the F*%$K Have You Been Doing for the Past Ten Years?” [...]
James, I’m a business owner and long time consultant. I hire people and I advise companies. You nailed it with this blog. Work ethic is everything to an employer.
By the way, I majored in English, but pursued an MBA after working in government for four years. My grades were terrible in college. I was more interested in socializing than anything else.
When new grads tell me about their lousy first jobs, I tell them to study the company, the people and the work the way they would a college course. Observe everything, ask questions, keep notes, do outside readings. Even (or especially) a job at McDonalds will teach you amazing things about how to create success.
Hi Ralph,
Thanks…I really appreciate employers and successful English grads dropping by with their perspective. Glad to hear you did so well and thanks for very much for the kind words.
James from Selloutyoursoul
Hey James,
This was a great post, thanks for making it! I was searching for an article on what you can actually do with a PhD besides become a professor and stumbled upon this. I’m debating whether or not to apply for PhD programs next year, mostly because I DO NOT want to be a professor. Any advice? Is there a point to getting a PhD if you’re not going to be a professor? I have a masters in Education Policy and no Bachelor of Education degree so all that superintendent/principal stuff is out the question.
Thanks again for the post, I subscribed and can’t to read more!
Hi Kelly,
Sorry about the delayed response–I moved last week and was without internet. Basically, my view has come to be that there really isn’t any point to getting a PhD if you are not going to be a professor. And I mean that in a career sense–for humanities and social sciences.
The reason is that a PhD robs you of job experience. So in 5 years, your peers will have gotten relevant experience in a field and you will have gotten more education. I think it is a complete middle class myth that more education equals more job opportunities. Employers need people with work experience. I should say, though, that I don’t know much about the Education Policy field–perhaps there, they value a PhD for top positions? But in the private sector, a PhD in the humanities is simply seen as unrelated to most jobs.
My overall view is that a PhD in the humanities is a personal pursuit and should not be seen a career decision. I’m not saying it wouldn’t make you smarter, and be intellectually rewarding. But if you don’t want to be a professor, then I’d think carefully about doing a PhD. My advice to everyone is to take 2-3 years off to work. You can always go back into academia. Getting out, is harder.
If I were you, I’d make a list of the possible jobs you want and then figure out whether they need a PhD. In most cases, I’d think that a Master’s and 5 years of relevant work experience would be much better than a PhD and no work experience.
Thanks for reading,
James from Sell Out Your Soul
lucrari de dizertatie…
[...]Jobs for PhD’s Outside of Academia | Selloutyoursoul.com[...]…
job to day…
[...]Jobs for PhD’s Outside of Academia | Selloutyoursoul.com[...]…
Hi James,
This is such a great post! I came across it as I was searching for help to change my career! I feel stuck…. In fact I feel “paralysed’ whenever I think about my career!
I have finished my PhD from a university overseas in English/cultural studies!!! Then I had to pay off a partial scholarship by working at a university for six years!! Six years of hell!
I resigned the minute I finished my contract with them…. But now what??? I don’t want to work in academia but I don’t know how to change directions! What makes things worse is that I never get to the interview stage when I apply for jobs! Employers don’t need a PhD holder they need practical experience!
For me…. The PhD that I worked so hard to get was the worst decision I made! Big big mistake!
Hi Lama,
That sounds like a horrible six years! Sorry to hear about that. Thanks for finding me and hopefully some of the stuff on my blog helps you find your new career direction. All the best,
James from Selloutyoursoul
Hey Lama,
I did a random draw of the different comments–and your email won a copy of my book. I will send a copy shortly. Thanks for the comment. (If you don’t get my email, make sure you gave me your correct email address when you added the comment.)
James from Selloutyoursoul.com
[...] PhD in English? What the F*$&$ have you been doing for the last ten years? [...]
[...] PhD in English? What the F%$@#K! have you been doing for the last ten years? Resumes and CVs – Converting Your CV to a Resume Two articles from the Chronicle: one and two Posted 12/13/2011 by bymbie. Comments and trackbacks are open. Follow the comments feed. Filed under: Academia Tagged with: Academia. [...]
great post, james — thanks! i’d be delighted to see cover letters and resumes that successfully communicate this stuff. (how can a loser of an unemployed phd convey such things when even interviews are too much for which to hope? this very problem is, i think, why usually advocate developing specific skills rather than promoting vague qualities, such as “stronger work ethic than an MBA.”)
Hi Elise,
Hiring, like most decisions, is emotional. I think that developing specific skills is absolutely essential. But, and many employers after reading this post have written to me agreeing with me, employers often hire on the personality fit, work ethic, and attitude of the applicant. My first job came from me stressing my work ethic, and new dedication to the field.
So to “see cover letters and resumes that successfully communicate this stuff”–this is more the realm of a cover letter than resume. In the cover letter, talk about the industry books you are reading, the part-time industry courses you are taking, the passion and dedication and extra-effort you are making to train yourself for your new job. Reference specific books. Talk about passion projects related to the industry. Mention famous people in the industry you admire. Convey excitement. Be someone who is clearly going somewhere and make it clear that you are going to work hard. Make it also clear where this hard work is going–to the development of ‘specific skills related to the industry.’
Look at the print industry. Every ‘specific skill’ learned ten years ago (print names, distribution, formats, writing styles, advertising information and specs for magazines) is now gone or going. Only the self-starters, the fast movers, the dedicated work horses who were able to quickly train themselves in a new direction got out of that dying industry. Attitude and the ability to train yourself counts. It separates the leaders from the people who just want to collect a cheque every few weeks.
In my “vague” cover letter which got me my first job outside of academia, I told the employer I was reading 5 books per week. I wrote that I had spent 7 years mastering literature–and now, I was going to master a new subject, advertising and marketing. I told the employer that I wasn’t going to stop–and that while I didn’t have any practical experience, I would outwork any new “communications” or “business major” that you could hire. The employer bet on me.
Now, I’ve read hundreds of books. I’ve done thousands of hours of practice. I’ve even placed articles in the top publications in my industry. ‘Specific skills’ come fast to those who are willing to invest, right now, everyday, every week, time developing them.
Hiring is an investment. Make them believe your story. And then deliver on the promise you make.
And yes, do develop specific skills–start today.
James from Selloutyoursoul
[...] PhD in English: What the F@&^K Have You Been Doing For the Last Ten Year [...]
[...] these jobs really apply to PhDs, but overall it’s a lot of useful information. He also wrote PhD in English? What the F%$@#K! have you been doing for the last ten years? on the same blog. It’s well-written, motivational, somewhat cynical, and ultimately trying to [...]
Thank you. I am defending this summer and I am absolutely certain that I want to switch fields as completely and absolutely as possible. Apart from my nearest family, no one really understands, The truth is I woe the day I made the decision to enroll in this program, but I have persevered. Your words give me hope that I can make this switch and not spend the rest of my life hating what I did and what I will do. Thank you.
Hi Snow,
Thanks–I think you will be excited with your new freedom. Best of luck.
–James
While this is clearly funny, it is still pure nonsense, and historically, sociologically pathetic.
Stating that
[...]Do you even know what makes you hirable?
It’s not your advanced understanding of culture.
It’s not your research skills, love of ambiguity, ability to think, problem solve, synthesize, analyze, gather facts or any of that.[...]
…is like stating that Armstrong’s experience on the moon is worth less than a Walmart employee’s of the month.
It is a symptom of completely mainstream, sales-obsessed vision, basically the opposite of what http://www.dack.com/web/bullshit.html is making fun of.
I guess that being a sheep is more comfortable than being critical!
Ioan.
It’s a valid point you make. There should be more respect for things and industries that don’t result in profit.
This post was meant to deal with how the world is–not how we’d like it to be.
But it is easier to be a sheep.
As for jargon. Jargon is jargon and this http://www.dack.com/web/bullshit.html
Could just as easily be used for a large majority of humanities research published.
Thanks for the perspective and link as the tool is amusing.
I would still take the undergrad with experience assuming they do well in the interview every single time… Why not? While the academic degree is nice, it doesn’t mean the person with the PhD is more capable or smarter. They just knew they didn’t want an academic career earlier.
And to Kelly and anybody else considering a humanities PhD that doesn’t want to be a professor… Stopppppp! Don’t do it. Many of us are tempted to do it. There are plenty of us who are extreme literature or philosophy nerds, but if you don’t want a career teaching, stuck in some random spot in the country, just don’t do it. You can still have a rewarding intellectual life, you can write books, you can get your ideas out there without being a professor.
Also I definitely agree you could work a PhD degree, but probably at the rate of say 2-3 years of experience “quality” vs. those 6-7 years in a grad program. The knowledge gained will certainly be useful in some ways.
Hi James, your articles are so inspiring, and so true! I am doing a PhD in English and in the last stage doing countless revisions. I have been thinking about breaking into the business field for long as I really want to do something more practical and meaningful. However I was not so sure if I should give it a try…so I just googled my concern and found your article…and what you said have just reignited my confidence, THANKS A LOT!!
Glad I could help. Let me know if you have any specific questions.
thanks for finding me,
James
“PhD in English? What the F%$@#K! have you been doing for the last ten years?”
Pontificating…? If only the world would bend to my perspective… Bwahahahahah!
Sorry for being a smart ass. I can not help myself; I am a smart ass…
You know what would be fantastic? ANYONE with a fire under their ass!
“English for sale; hot fresh English for sale…” More cynical than ever after reading what is being offered…
James, you’re a nice guy; me? not so much, so I will call it like I see it… P.S. commentators, no one is buying what you have for sale…
For the love of God, at least first learn the language in which you claim to hold a PhD!
How about the other side of the track? I’m forty-two and have been working since I was fourteen. I got job experience up the wazoo. I’m finishing my MFA and going on to my PhD in English.
I want to get away from crass commerce and hauling my ass. I want to sit around and read books. I want to stretch my mind and have civil conversations. I’ve had plenty of jobs in various fields, insipid bosses, cheating managers, and I’m done! I’ve even had a business and still do free-lance writing. I want to hide in the ivory tower.
The real world of work is no bed of petunias.
I was rooting for you until you disrespected MBA graduates. Motivating yourself by taking stock of your virtues can be admirable, until it becomes an exercise in implying why and how you might be better than other people. Sure, our society encourages that sort of self-promotion — it’s even necessary to some degree. Best when you’re able to communicate your own self worth (to yourself and to others) without resorting to undercutting other people’s credentials, though. After all, you yourself admit that one learns important job skills in the real world, outside of academia, which suggests, by your own logic, that life experience has definite value.
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