“Changing your goal or vision is ok, you can be happy beyond academia”: A conversation on social science and policy career options for Postdocs and PhDs
Leaving academia is not like switching jobs. It entails more than simply finding ways to plug your ‘transferable skills’ into a CV or figuring out how to talk about your research in non-academic terms. It can be an emotional process, crowded with uncertainty. Indeed, many take years to make the move after weighing up the pros and cons.
As academic careers become increasingly precarious — largely linked to a tight academic job market and an exploitative adjunct system — it is more important than ever to hear from those who have successfully transitioned to new careers. Not only to learn about the potential benefits of leaving, but to understand the realities of the process.
As part of the Postdoctoral Development Centre’s ‘Careers month’ at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), a webinar was held regarding career options for Postdocs and PhDs in policy-related roles in the health-, social- and environmental-sciences. With a panel featuring three experts who have worked within, and now outside of, universities — Dr Claire McCartan (Senior Researcher at the Northern Health and Social Care Trust), Dr Bethany Waterhouse-Bradley (Programme Manager (PEACEPLUS) at Special EU Programmes Body), and Dr Jade Berman (Coastal advisor at the National Trust) — the webinar produced an array of insightful clarifications.
Rather than listing key points of broadly applicable advice — which remains useful and has been discussed elsewhere — the panel preferred to describe their personal experiences. They discussed the challenges and opportunities that they faced, as well as reflecting on their decision in retrospect. What follows is a written summary of these conversations. To listen to the full webinar, visit the Postdoctoral Centre’s podcast page.
A career as a journey
A career, similar to how starry-eyed TV contests often describe their experiences of being on a talent show, is a ‘journey’. Whilst it can be argued that you are largely in control of your own destiny, it is not possible to predict the exact trajectory of your working life. It is easier to appreciate this in hindsight, of course, yet the panel members highlighted the importance of acknowledging the fact early in your working life.
For many Postdoc and PhD researchers, their identity is bound up in their scholarly work. It is easy to become all consumed by their research and to struggle to consider working outside of it. Consequently, many are unsure of who they would be if they were not working in academia. Dr Jade Berman noted how it is important to dispel such a notion.
“You don’t have to stay in one area your whole career, you don’t have to box yourself in”
For early career researchers, it is common to envisage that their initial interests will be the quintessential focus of their career. In reality, such interests may only mark the beginning of a working life that will be shaped by unexpected opportunities, emergent research topics and unforeseen collaborations.
When discussing her career path, Dr Bethany Waterhouse-Cooper explained how leaving academia “opened up a world of opportunities, intellectual challenges, and made me more engaged and energised with my life and work”. Remaining in academia is not the only forum through which you can explore the topics that matter to you. It may be difficult to think like this when heavily invested in a PhD or Postdoc project, but it is the reality of how a career unfolds.
In their Prospect theory, Tversky and Kahneman explain how people tend to hate losing things. The possibility of losing something often weighs more heavily on our minds than the probability of gaining things. This is a problem for career changers. They lend more weight to what may be lost in a transition than to what may be achieved. It is important, therefore, to remain open minded to what leaving academia may offer.
Finding the right guidance
Academics are acculturated to answer their own questions, but this habit can hinder career change. To discover a path forward, the panel explained how there is a need to solicit multiple sources of guidance and not to let those who support the status quo from crowding your vision.
For Dr Claire McCartan, her move out of academia was, largely, guided and enabled by “a supportive line manager who understood the pull and push factors” of leaving academia. Without this type of direction, which is not forthcoming from all corners of academia, attempts to transition out can become significantly harder.
Others have mentioned the value of learning from online. LinkedIn and X (formerly known as Twitter) can be useful platforms to post open requests for advice. They can also help to expand contact networks and to learn about potential career openings. Social media can also be used to follow career coaches, graduate professional development centres and collectives of PhDs in non-academic fields.
There is no perfect formula for working out the pros and cons of leaving. Similarly, it is important to acknowledge that advice from online sources may not align with the individual context of a researcher that is contemplating a career change. The overarching lesson, therefore, is to actively seek information from a multitude of sources and to critically consider which have your best interests in mind.
Thinking differently about collaboration, impact and work-life balances
Heavy workloads, unrealistic deadlines and expectations to work beyond contracted hours are commonplace in academia. When reflecting on her time in academia, Dr Claire McCartan felt that “you never knew when to say no because you didn’t know when you’re next contract is going to be”. It is natural for research staff to consider the constraints of academic life as being ‘part of the job’, but it does not, and should not, be like this.
Now working in public and private sector positions, the panel discussed how they have learnt to view aspects of research differently. Collaboration and impact are core elements of any form of research, yet they can often be perceived as ‘add-ons’ that fall beyond the remit of funded projects. Panellists mentioned how they have been more supported to develop long-term collaborative relationships and to consider how ‘impact’ should not solely be measured by publishing research.
Developing a sustainable work-life balance is another challenge for researchers. It was a central factor in the decisions of the panel members to shift their careers outside of universities, with Dr Bethany Waterhouse-Cooper discussing how she now has greater power to determine her working schedule.
“I work from home two days a week, I get to choose what days I do that and I actually feel like I have a lot more control over my work-life balance now … My children grew to realise that I am a much more present mother than I was when I worked in academia”
Reflection
Following the webinar, I was left with a lot to contemplate. The main and most empowering lesson is that no one in academia should let you feel small, or like a failure, for leaving. In reality, there are not enough tenured positions for all of the talented people. Thus, the most radical thing that you can do is to leave a broken system and to find new spaces and opportunities where you can put you talents to use.
It is, by no means, an easy transition. No two journeys will be the same. There will be a range of barriers and challenges that can shut down opportunities before they can even be explored. What the panellists revealed, however, is that it is possible to overcome these by prioritising yourself and finding the right people who will support your transition.
As well as running this year’s Careers Month, the Postdoctoral Centre at QUB organise regular events to provide expert and tailored advice on a range of matters. These involve networking workshops, training sessions and social activities. To learn more, visit the centre’s webpage by clicking here.
