Leaving Academia for Non-Academic Job

[Charlotte]

You've mentioned community programs.  What are you doing now to create those relationships and partnering to be doing the relevant research?

As a goal, moving into community organization is very achievable in a few years if you purposefully work on relationships with the relevant people. Starting with outreach and helping write grants and/or do program assessment positions you well to take opportunities as they arise.

Can you work your CC service requirements towards interacting with external community groups so you get paid to establish relationships?

This is a good idea and I will take your suggestion on starting to work with the people in my area. Thank you!

[Charlotte]

So far, no one mentions the importance of the subject you are teaching and  location, two crucial factors for making a decision. OP, what subject is it? Liberal arts or science, business, or what? The more practical or useful the subject, morelikely students will care, from my experience teaching a  hard subject regarded as irrelevant, useless. Is it required or an elective?
Lets say you are offering strawberry ice cream and no one likes it, it won't matter whether you give them less, change the time, or mix it up--they will not be interested --period.
   Do you like where you are working and living? The drive, conditions, scenery? Or is it boring and dull?
   

I know the field does matter quite a bit. I am teaching in the social sciences (masters degree in the social sciences) but my PhD and research is more health related.

I'm really not fond of the area I am currently living. My plan is to move to another state in about five years or so.

[Charlotte]

This section describes what Cooperative Extension does. CE has programming in just about anything with social impact: nutrition, personal finance, child raising, gardening, environmental protection, bedbugs, community organizing, small-business operations. And farming, if you are in a place where that's an industry.

See what your county CE office has going on, or what your state's land-grant university has centrally (this Federal program runs through the LGUs). There is enormous variation among states and their land-grant universities, and among counties within a state. Even if your county is poorly served, the educators there are usually really well connected with organizations that provide complementary services.

At least in my state, extension educators often have PhDs and are better compensated than small-college faculty. Here is a listing that gives you a taste of the breath of position.

This sounds perfect! I will look into getting involved with this, thank you! I appreciate the info.

[Charlotte]

I'm surprised your discipline has not come up more as leaving academia looks very different depending on your field. 

For me, it would be an easy transition to run or be part of an industry research group and this happens quite often.  Likewise, people from industry often switch back to academia in my field, so it is by no means a one way road.  In contrast, this is not the case in other fields. 
   

My degrees would make for an easy transition too. In fact, the way higher education is going then it might make more sense to leave academia. I'm not sure if returning to academia would be an option later if I do leave now though so as some mentioned I need to be certain of my decision.

[Charlotte]

One of the most frustrating things I experienced was trying to teach people what they would need to know for the jobs they claimed they wanted and yet, in spite of voluminous evidence, those students just wanted to check a box.  Nurses need chemistry.  k-8 teachers need science and math.  Doctors need intro physics and statistics.

My all-time favorite was the aspiring elementary teacher who claimed she didn't need to know the material because the answers would be in the teacher's manual.  This was literally k-3 material taught everywhere and she asserted she didn't know it and didn't have to know it.

YES. Where I teach, the students who are known as "good students" come into my classes and I find out they are just very good at plagiarizing and cheating. It makes my blood pressure go up. If I do decide to stay in academia, I need to get a handle on my frustration about this issue and not let it get to me that students want an A or to check a box more than they want to learn anything. Sometimes I think they work harder trying to avoid learning something than they would if they just learned it!

[Charlotte]

Charlotte, forgive me if I missed it but what is your field? That makes a big difference. My comments come from a humanities perspective.

First, and as others have said, make no rash decisions. This was a really weird year to start teaching. The physical classroom and online learning spaces are two different universes, and most of us prefer the former. You might find much more job satisfaction as things return to normal, and as you learn the ropes more efficiently.

Second--and this is where my humanities perspective shapes my advice--keep in mind that leaving academia is usually a one-way door. And it might be the right door for you. But be deliberate.

Good luck.

Thanks, yes I do need to be cautious about my decision. I think you are right that this was a weird year to start teaching!

I'm teaching in the behavioral sciences (which is what my masters degree is in) but my PhD and research are public health related. That's why I have the interest in working with a community to research and develop health related programs. My PhD is very transferable to non-academia, but you may be right that it could be a one-way door. Although public health does seem to have more blurred lines than other disciplines.

[Charlotte]

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Aspiring nurses and aspiring doctors are frequently similar in that they want to help people.  Those folks want to be solidly middle class doing something that matters and cannot be automated.  The notion that lives are literally at stake with knowledge of science and math having to be second nature is not part of the awareness of the job.  Again, changes to college programs are happening in many places to get students a better idea of what the job entails. 

I had a nursing student my first semester who cheated and plagiarized throughout the entire class. I'm really concerned what she will be like as a nurse.

[Charlotte]

Being afraid to lose something one doesn't even have is logically inconsistent, but very common for PhD folks who have invested significant time and energy into obtaining PhDs that are mostly in demand in academia.  Going towards something good is always a better motivator than trying to avoid something bad, let alone actively clinging to something that is bad and won't get better..

Yes! I spent the last ten years solely focused on getting through my degrees and going into academia. It is very hard for me to admit to myself that it may have been the wrong goal. But I'm also rather relieved because looking towards a future of academia did not make me feel very good. Considering these other possibilities, such as working in a community, makes me feel excited again and full of ideas and plans.

[Charlotte]

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I am here as the voice of doom to point out that teaching people who don't want to learn is a special skillset.

I love to teach.  I love to mentor.  The pay would have to be multiples of what I'm currently making as a professional scientist for me to accept a position where all day my job is teaching people who don't want to learn.

I think you hit the nail on the head here. I used to do mentoring programs and also do workshops (for people who wanted to be there!) and I loved it. That's why I thought I'd like teaching too. But now that I've started teaching at a college I understand that there is a big difference between teaching a workshop where people are there because they want to learn and teaching a class where the students just want to check their box.

I confess, I was very idealistic which is probably partly why I took such a hard fall this year.

[mahagonny]

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I am here as the voice of doom to point out that teaching people who don't want to learn is a special skillset.

I love to teach.  I love to mentor.  The pay would have to be multiples of what I'm currently making as a professional scientist for me to accept a position where all day my job is teaching people who don't want to learn.

I think you hit the nail on the head here. I used to do mentoring programs and also do workshops (for people who wanted to be there!) and I loved it. That's why I thought I'd like teaching too. But now that I've started teaching at a college I understand that there is a big difference between teaching a workshop where people are there because they want to learn and teaching a class where the students just want to check their box.

I confess, I was very idealistic which is probably partly why I took such a hard fall this year.

The prescription for students who aren't learning in spite of being instructed is more instruction. I've seen that happen via accreditation teams and their recommendations. Many of us sense this is more and more common.

A boy scout was asked by his dad if he done his good deed for the day. He answered 'yes Dad me and two other scouts helped an old lady cross the street.'
The father  asked 'why did it take three of you?'
'She didn't want to go.'

[polly_mer]

I'm really not fond of the area I am currently living. My plan is to move to another state in about five years or so.

In addition to making local contacts, get on the regional/national workshops, conferences, and working groups.  You will need a regional/national professional network to get great opportunities to move out of the area.

It's possible to apply to blind job ads, but many of these types of jobs are never advertised, but are filled via networks.  People who know you, know your experience leading workshops, and know your interests can suggest you for opportunities that aren't yet public.

I will also mention that "networking" means "interacting with people who have shared professional interests to become friendly colleagues".  It's natural human interactions with a discourse community discussing interesting topics.  " Networking" by kissing ass to the powerful with the goal of a job is much less effective.

[Volhiker78]

Since you are working in a health related field, you might also get involved with patient advocacy groups that interest you. I've had good experience working with such groups in rare diseases and Type 1 diabetes.  PCORI (Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute) does a lot of funding of interdisciplinary / patient oriented research. 

[Hibush]

To reiterate one point that sometimes gets lost in desperation-driven alt-ac discussions:

All of the positions people are bringing up here are professionally rewarding, socially respected, personally satisfying, and appropriately compensated. Those  qualities motivate people to find academic positions, but are often not found there. The wider world can offer those things.