Jobs after getting a PhD

[AnthroScout]

I am far from a traditional student and have a bit over a decade in both the private and public sector. I have friends at all levels of education and I have found that jobs depend largely on two things: availability of positions and how well you market yourself.

To that end, I've taken the advice of a professor I had at Texas A&M which was, "Get a bachelor's in whatever interests you, because the actual degree normally doesn't matter. Get a master's in an industry field to make money, and get a PhD in what you love because ideally you'll be doing that for the rest of your life. When the economy tanks again however, that industry masters will help you get a job to pay bills over the person with a PhD in competitive underwater basket weaving."

This professor was not an anthropologist (business/marketing actually), but had a few decades at senior levels of large US corporations. I've found their advice to be helpful over the years so far. I would say that if you are an anthropologist,  look into certifications or additional courses that can make you more marketable in the public or private sectors. In my case, I'll be sitting for the PMP exam in a couple of months and also looking to see what other industry certifications there are that I can pursue. None of these things are directly related to anthropology but are in line with current market trends and demand. In fact, my industry master's would arguably help me make more money in the long run. I'm trying to do a PhD because it is what I love while still realizing that it may not help me bring home the bacon.

tl;dr - Consider ways to diversify your experience and marketability across several sectors.

[MandarinOtter]

@AnthroScout Thanks for your response! Since my subfield is medical anthropology, I'm planning to do two things in graduate school to make myself marketable for industry if academia doesn't pan out:

1. Take a stats class during my coursework and apply for user experience research (UX) summer internships towards the end of my program. That way I'll have UX work experience if I need to go into that industry. 

2. See if I can land a predoctoral fellowship in "integrative medicine" or "narrative medicine" in a US biomedical hospital setting and make connections - maybe they or someone they know will have work for a medical anthropology PhD after I graduate. 

All the while, trying to publish, present, and network in academia to try to land an R1 TT or liberal arts job. Does that sound like a reasonable plan?

[AnthroScout]

25 minutes ago, MandarinOtter said:

All the while, trying to publish, present, and network in academia to try to land an R1 TT or liberal arts job. Does that sound like a reasonable plan?

I think that it really does, especially since you don't appear to be of the mindset that "OMG a PhD is everything!". I have heard/read/seen a lot of people who do not seem to have a plan beyond finishing a semester/dissertation. While I have been in a similar place before, I think that it can hurt your chances when you get out into the "real world". It sounds like you have a roadmap to what you want to do and how to achieve it. Good luck!

P.S. - I'm glad you're taking a stats class; stats have helped me so much in the real world. 

[MandarinOtter]

1 hour ago, AnthroScout said:

I think that it really does, especially since you don't appear to be of the mindset that "OMG a PhD is everything!". I have heard/read/seen a lot of people who do not seem to have a plan beyond finishing a semester/dissertation. While I have been in a similar place before, I think that it can hurt your chances when you get out into the "real world". It sounds like you have a roadmap to what you want to do and how to achieve it. Good luck!

P.S. - I'm glad you're taking a stats class; stats have helped me so much in the real world. 

Thanks! I've spent weeks now reading and thinking seriously about the job market, and I feel I've come up with a much more realistic set of goals, expectations, and plans than what I had about a month ago (R1 tenure-track job only). I will prepare my CV for academia (R1 or liberal arts ideally) but I'll also work on my own to prepare my resume for post-grad industry work (user experience internship, integrative medicine fellowship, or something) as an "escape hatch" if academia falls through.

[MandarinOtter]

 

This is about political science, but I think it applies to anthropology too. Leaving it here for any future applicants. Good luck!

[Ariy]

Interesting to read through this thread as a current PhD student in anthropology.  My primary focus has always been museum work, so it's never been about getting a tenure track position for me.

Honestly, a lot of the jobs that I'm looking at don't require a PhD and I'm at a crossroads of wondering if I really need it.  I'm waiting to see if I receive the big grant that I applied to and if that doesn't come through I don't really see a way forward at my current institution (which is an R1, not an Ivy but still a solid place).  I had a nice funding package for four years and I could walk away tomorrow with two Master's degrees.  It's the external grants that are a problem.  I'm seeing a pattern of people self-funding their fieldwork here (I think support is really lacking because the dept. is in major transition, among many other problems).  When I speak to other students they seem to think self-funding their field research is okay because they will come out of the program making $60-80K.  This seems to be true only in rare cases (at least here, anyway).

At any rate, it's gotten to the point for me where I have applied to a couple great jobs just in case everything goes under.  I kind of wish I had the inclination four years ago that this department was slowly dying.  I think that this seeps into the advice that they give which sometimes boils down to, "You can't do this or that" because they have stopped conceptualizing at the level of being ABLE to do those things.  They don't see the world through a lens of possibility because they feel dead in the water themselves.  It's one thing to shoot down bad ideas, but I wonder if a lot of what I have seen here is just encouraging students to aim low.  Who does that help in the end?

I can't speak for other fields, but if I was giving someone advice about programs I would say aim for the top 10-- if only because the benefits from start to finish are tremendous.  I have seen it first hand.  Again, I can't speak for every case, however, I came in with guns blazing and it feels like I might have hit the ceiling of what I could do here.  Some programs are going to say they offer a PhD course when what they offer is really more of an MA.  You'll always be your own expert on your topic, as well as an independent researcher, but it will become clear to you when a place has really let you down otherwise.

Edited May 6, 2018 by Ariy