Today I told Research Advisor that I don't want to be a professor. I have decided that I want nothing to do with academia long term.
I started grad school after working as a technician for a couple of years after college. Seeing that having only a bachelor's degree will get you little more than a dead-end job in research, I thought, "what do I need to do to keep doing this?" Then I enrolled in a Ph.D. program.
I have never been interested in teaching. When I started grad school, my ideal was to get a job with as much research and as little teaching as possible. But the more I learn about academia and the more I learn about myself, I realize that academia is not for me. The positions with the highest proportion of research are generally the most prestigious and competitive. Given my 40-hours-a-week-is-enough attitude, I don't think I'd be the best match for those jobs.
More than that, though, I've realized that I dislike the culture of a university -- the heirarchy, the competition, the inconsistent priorities. Facutly are pulled in a dozen directions at once, with so many people relying on them for urgent issues. I don't want to teach, but I also don't want to write upteen recommendation letters or read students' crappy first drafts, or explain the same concepts over and over. Yes, I appreciate that someone is doing that for me. But it doesn't mean that I want to do it. Frankly, I don't even want to mentor grad students.
There are several government agencies that have research facilities where I could work. Of course, those research-only positions are not easy to get. Soft money isn't so attractive, either.
I'm beginning to realize that I'd rather do something else with my science skills than do research as a professor. Management and consulting are appealing. I'm glad to be thinking about this now so I can keep my eyes open for alternative jobs because they are difficult to envision. When academia is almost the only path offered to Ph.Ds, it takes some thinking outside the box to find something else. However, I very much want to do a post doc because I want to learn something new and experience a different lab. I think a braoder skill-set would be beneficial for any kind of science job.
A few minutes after we finsihed our conversation, I asked Research Advisor if she thought less of me for saying I don't aspire to be a professor. She does not and pointed out that many people start PhDs with no intention of doing research. She said if it's okay for them to want to teach from the outset, it's fine for me to want to not teach. She's great.
Monday, February 18, 2008
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12 comments:
Good for you! It takes guts to have that conversation because there is so much expectation that grad students will follow in the traditional academic path. I had to have that conversation twice--once with postdoc advisor and once with PhD advisor. Both my advisors were understanding and supportive (I think we're both very lucky in our choice of advisors), but these were still the two most terrifying work-related conversations I've ever had.
Incidentally, this post is so strikingly similar to what I was thinking toward the end of my postdoc when I was considering leaving academia, it's actually kind of creepy! I've no doubt you'll find the perfect career for you and look forward to getting to read about it!
Awesome. It really does take guts to have that conversation. I had it the opposite way. Because I'd followed Dr R to Canada and found a postdoc, my PI assumed I wasn't that interested in academics, and would go back to industry. When she voiced this to me (and my old PhD supervisor who was visting), my PhD supervisor looked at her like she was nuts and said 'propter hates industry, she'll be an academic'. It was a strange strange moment. It is best your advisor knows where you stand, then they can start helping you get your dream job.
That's what I tell my advisor as well, and the answer is? "I think you are going to change your mind." We'll see. Maybe you and I will meet at one of those government agencies some day (lots of science projects management there, in addition to science itself).
I'm so glad to hear you're having this conversation, and thinking seriously about your future now! It's so easy to just drift along the beaten track, doing a postdoc and aiming for academia just because it's expected of you. And the time to start exploring those "alternative careers" (and what a dreadful term that is) is NOW. There are so many rewarding non-academic careers out there that are open to you with a science Ph.D. The trouble is that there is no formal, standardized track into those other careers. You have to network, talk to people, and take the initiative to do a lot of research on your own. But I know people who went into business consulting (McKinsey recruits heavily amongst Ph.Ds), science public policy, science outreach, journalism, patent law (you don't need a law degree to be a patent agent), and publishing.
Congrats on the good conversation with your mentor. I second everyone here that it takes guts to have that talk, and realize what you want in life.
P.S. Have you visited the Science magazine Careers forum online? It's an awesome resource.
It's great that you've figured this out (and that it's in the open) so early on. Lots of people take a lot longer! Now you can start planning and looking earlier than most. Your first job might not be the perfect one - my first post-academia job certainly wasn't - but 2 years on, I'm much closer to it!
Are you planning to move for your next job, or will you be staying where you are for a while longer? If you're staying put, it's never too early to start making contacts...
If a student came to me and told me they'd found a great job outside of academia, I'd congratulate them. There's no reason for us to expect that all of our students will end up in academia, and we shouldn't feel bad when they don't. During the time they're students or postdocs, research gets done, and to be blunt, we get TAs and RAs. There simply aren't enough jobs anyway, at least not in my field, so we need to expect that some people won't end up in academia.
I'm doing a lot of thinking about this myself lately. Good to hear your thoughts.
Thanks for all the supportive comments. :)
I have to admit, though, that this was not a particularly difficult conversation. It just sort of came up and we chatted about it. Also, my advisor knows how I feel about scientists being expected to work too much and all that.
RA has not followed a typical career path, so she was able to share some of her decisions with me, which was helpful. Overall, I think it was important to talk about this with her so that we both have non-professor jobs on our radars. Despite the fact that she is rather senior, I am her first student, so she doesn't have a long history of helping students land jobs.
That's so great that she was so supportive. It's also really great that you're able to identify what you do and do not want from your career.
Keep blogging about it as you proceed. It's good to read about someone else who's considering alternative careers...
Good for you to have a supportive advisor who knows where you stand and what your wishes are. Like Propter Doc I also had sort of the opposite discussion. In my home country a PhD in my field is not at all expected to be the direct path to a carreer in academia and most people go into government, admin or industry. I think my advisor was somewhat surprised at my insisting on wanting a teaching job, but he has been supportive of it. I still meet some resistance in my current government agency postdoc to my switch to the university world.
I often wish I didn't want yo teach because that would make it much easier to navigate the job market here.
I love how you said this:
"I don't want to teach, but I also don't want to write upteen recommendation letters or read students' crappy first drafts, or explain the same concepts over and over. Yes, I appreciate that someone is doing that for me. But it doesn't mean that I want to do it. Frankly, I don't even want to mentor grad students."
These are the BEST reasons to get out of academia.
The converse is my reason for staying. But I'm definitely still on the fence (see: many blog posts regarding misery and suffering).
If anything, I would argue hard against doing a postdoc, unless you really want to do more wetwork or need to learn new techniques and are guaranteed it will be finite and lead to employment.
I'm really not sure such a postdoc exists.
My advice is to do an industrial postdoc if you're going to do one at all.
Let's put it this way. Everyone I know who felt like you do, and did an academic postdoc, is DEPRESSED.
Everyone I know who did an industrial postdoc is a bundle of joy (!).
It's really that simple.
(and of course you could do a postdoc in a government lab, that would also fit better than an academic one)
I'm glad you have a good advisor to help you carefully make your choices.
Bonus advice: you DO NOT need to do a postdoc if you want to do consulting, law, policy, or journalism. It will not help you get into those employment tracks, not one bit. It might help you in the sense that, if you do a postdoc in a totally different area, you'll be somewhat 'broadened', as they say. But I think it's a deal with the devil. Probably not a fair trade.
well, my first choice would be research, which is part of the reason I want to postdoc. But I'd give up research for some other science-based job rather than teach.
I think postdocs in my field are a little different than in the biosciences. For one, they rarely last more than 3-4 years and it is not standard to do more than one (although people do). In fact, my institution will not hire someone as a postdoc who is more than 3 (or is it 5?) years out of their phd, because they don't want people working the system by hiring someone at postdoc pay (i.e. low overhead) to do staff scientist work. Also, everyone I know in my field says the postdoc is/was the best time in their career -- most flexibility with fewest responsibilities. I suspect that feeling wouldn't last if the postdoc position were indefinite.
There are about half a dozen government agencies that have labs throughtout the country that do work relevant to my discipline, at which I would be thrilled to work. But I won't hold my breath. On the flip side, there isn't really an "industry" for my field, although I suspect one is emerging as we speak. Anyone interested in investing in a start-up? :)
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