Nontraditional career, anyone?

[Chai_latte]

Hey guys,

I'm new to the forum (and I'm obsessed with it so far). I'm a science girl interested in entrepreneurship. I'm in love with my grad program/sub-field/advisor, but I've never wanted to become a prof or even to run my own lab. I want my own company!

Surely, I'm not the only one who isn't eyeing the ivory tower.

What are you studying and what is your (nontraditional) dream career?

[SeriousSillyPutty]

I'd like to go back to the world of science outreach. I think my dream job would be running the outreach education programs for one of the physics labs.

That being said, since so much of being a grad student is being immersed in academia, I am considering that rout more than I used to.

One of the concerns I have is that I'll finish grad school in my 30s with no managerial experience, which is a requirement for many jobs. Do you have any concerns about skills you're missing out on in grad school?

[Chai_latte]

You hit the nail on the head. I was worried that I'd miss out on business skills. I didn't think that an MBA was necessary, but I wanted to have some background. So, I planned (and will start) to take advantage of some of the conferences/events at my university's b-school.

In my fantasy land, I'm hoping that my advisor and I can commercialize our research. Oooh, that would be a dream come true!

[katerific]

Although I AM eyeing the ivory tower, here are some dream occupations that I have seriously considered if things work don't work out.

Private investigator/detective

Shepherd

Absinthe-drinking artist/greeting card designer

Surveyor

Interior designer

Personal assistant

[juilletmercredi]

I'm in public health and social psychology. When I came to this program, I did NOT want to be a professor. I wanted to do government or think tank research. Then I thought maybe I would want to be a professor, but at a LAC. I think I drank too much of the kool-aid, because now I kind of DO want to be a research professor at an RU/VH or RU/H university.

But basically, I'm open. I have a variety of careers that would make me happy - being a research professor (and eventually going into university administration), going into consulting, working as a researcher at a think tank, a government or military agency, or going into healthcare administration. The latter is difficult because, as you all mentioned, I have few documented business skills. I did do an internship with a market research firm. I think the thing that will make me attractive is my statistical skills - I work as a consultant, and I'm planning on doing an MS in statistics.

Honestly, I'm planning a postdoc just so I can figure out my life.

[Chai_latte]

I did do an internship with a market research firm. I think the thing that will make me attractive is my statistical skills - I work as a consultant, and I'm planning on doing an MS in statistics.

Honestly, I'm planning a postdoc just so I can figure out my life.

Wow, you're planning on getting the MS and doing a postdoc? You'll be prepared to do almost anything! I have some MD/MPH, JD/MBA friends, and I HONESTLY don't know how you dual grad degree people do it. I can only tolerate but so much lecture/formal schooling before I pass out. I'm in my last semester of coursework now and I literally have to FORCE myself to do my problem sets (while mumbling, "I'm too old for this... ").

My hat goes off to you guys.

@katerific- please provide updates when/if you become an absinthe-drinking, greeting card writing shepherd. Grad school sure does open a lot of doors!!

Edited November 16, 2012 by Chai_latte

[Mandalpaca]

Katerific -love it! I actually own sheep so I can vouch for the shepherd being a great choice

[juilletmercredi]

I'm hoping that I can earn the master's while doing a postdoc (there's a program like that at Penn State).  I actually enjoy doing problem sets - it was realizing that I enjoy problem sets that made me want to get the degree.  I wish I had had the opportunity to earn it while I was getting the PhD; there are many universities that have that option for students in the social sciences, and if I could go back in time I would use that as a consideration when choosing programs.

[sje]

I've toyed with the idea of non-traditional careers quite a bit. I'd like to actually work in the personal genomics industry if life in the academe doesn't quite pan out.

[CarlieE]

My (sub)discipline actually has a lot of options for non-traditional ie. non-academic careers. A lot of us go into NGOs overseas or domestically, join the State Dept and other government positions (though that can be criticized as unethical, depending on what sort of career path you're talking about) such as CIA, FBI etc. Others work for corporations in advertising, marketing and R&D, or as consultants for Human Resources... Others get into public health or teaching language, or as translators etc. 

 

I'm on the academic track so far, but it's really nice to know that I'll have the ability to switch it around if I decide I want to. After a post-doc (hopefully) I'm toying with the idea of moving to Southeast Asia to teach there or work with an NGO for a bit. 

 

For most anthropologists the world really is our oyster....  

[hejduk]

Non-traditional, or "alt ac" careers definitely need to be looked at by all graduates, IMHO. I was actually reading an article on the Chronicle about this (http://chronicle.com/article/The-Alt-Ac-Track-Careers/136505/?cid=gs&utm_source=gs&utm_medium=en).

 

Advisers need to be realistic and help their advisees realize that not everyone will go the tenure-track route. I am probably doing the teaching university route, but I"m also open to doing govt research. Just be open and know that you have opportunities outside the "tower".