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"So What Are You Going to Do with That?": Finding Careers Outside Academia

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This book should be required reading for all graduate students, even those who are planning on remaining in academia.

At heart, the book is a primer on how to leave academia and the opportunities which exist for people with PhDs and MAs in seemingly esoteric fields. Since the overwhelming majority of graduate schools provide no real career advice for their students, this book provides a much needed service.

If you are planning on leaving academia, this book is essential. But even if you intend to remain in academia, you should read this book---if for no other reason then because it will help you to understand all of your career options...and, yes, you do have options! No one is stuck in academia and, as this book demonstrates, a graduate education does provide you with very real concrete skills.

When I decided to leave academia, I read this book in conjunction with other career books (such as What Color is Your Parachute?). While I recommend that those seeking to leave academia read a wide range of career books, this book was unique. It was the only book which addressed the many strange and worrying concerns that I had as a PhD seeking to leave academia.

My favorite part? The stories of the many, many people who left academia and found great careers. There is a huge reluctance to discuss these people within academia itself (great irony as the last fifteen years have seen the majority of PhDs in the humanities leave academia so we are talking about a reluctance on the part of graduate schools to discuss what the majority of their graduate students are doing). Putting a face on the people who left academia allowed me to look behind the academic stereotypes and to discover a broad and different world along with a range of exciting careers.

It was also helpful to read about how to do an informational interview and what to expect when doing one.

In an ideal world, this book would be required reading for all graduate students but since it isn't, you'll just have to buy this and read it on your own...but share it with your fellow graduate students.

And one final note: it does help. Using this book and others, I was able to leave academia and find a great-paying job which I really love.

This book is written for a very specific audience: grad students (and even established academics) who realize that academia may no longer be the right fit--or is just too crowded to afford any significant job opportunities--but who worry their esoteric studies (medieval Chaucer, the geopolitics of wheat production) may not have prepared them for other careers.

If you fall into this category, then the book is wonderful. If not, move on. While there are better general career guides available, if the hallowed halls of the academy no longer seem so hallowed, `So What are you Going to do with That?' is a breath of fresh air. For starters it is full of anecdotes from many academics who found successful and enjoyable careers beyond the ivory tower, applying their skills and interests in satisfying ways they never thought possible. This may be the most valuable aspect of the book for the anxious and concerned grad student: realizing that future ex-academics have options. Lots of options.

The book breaks down as follows:
Chapter 1: Will I Have to Wear a Suit? Rethinking Life After Graduate School.
Chapter 2: How Do I Figure Out What Else to Do? Soul-Searching Before Job Searching.
Chapter 3: Testing the Waters: Networking and the Transitional Experience.
Chapter 4: This Might Hurt a Bit: Turning the CV into a Resume.
Chapter 5: Sweaty Palms, Warm Heart: How to Turn an Interview into a Job.

And while much of this information may seem like old-hat to your friends who got MBAs, it's a revelation to those who are more familiar with the `Journal of Nietzsche Studies' than the `Wall Street Journal.' The section on `Information Interviews' in chapter three alone is worth the price of the book. (Information interviews worked for me. Twice.)

Some Amazon reviewers of the first edition complained that the book offers pat answers to standard questions about resumes, interviewing, etc...and that may be partially true. But let's face it, most grad students and academics suddenly confronting the prospect life outside of academia (and likely getting little support on such a prospect from within the academy) haven't thought about anything but academia, so they don't even know where to start.

If that's you, then `So What are you Going to do with That?'--basic though it may be--is custom tailored for you, and will give you hope and point you in the right direction. The authors (ex-academics themselves) trust that their readers (who are intelligent grad students and PhDs, remember) will be smart enough to take it from there.

If you are sick of hearing that question and tired of wondering if you've wasted your entire life on a meaningless education: there is hope and the answer is (happily) no. There is life outside of academia and this book will help you get there.

The current state of academia is a devastating wake-up call for those of us who worshipped our college professors (and wanted to become one)-- but this book reminds us what we actually knew all along: there is (rewarding, meaningful) non-academic life out there!

This book is an excellent guide for those of us who have made it through grad school and find that academia is not the land of dreams we once thought. This book will take the pressure off your dissertation to make it "relevant" enough to be compelling to universities and yet, specific enough to fulfill their hiring requirements. This is a reassuring book, full of guidance and support- you are not the only one with doubts about academia and following your hunch out of the university can be the best decision of your life.

Further, it asserts that we are not "giving up" but finding a place for ourselves that is more sane, stable and often, uses our skills much more, putting what you know into practice. It is not a "find what you are best at" type of book but rather, helps you focus on how to translate your academic work into real-world skillbuilding for non-academic employers. You must think of your education as having "worked in academia" so that you can make a "career change" to another field. Changing this viewpoint (from "being a student" to having valuable skills/experiences) seems simple, but it is actually rather profound.

There are real jobs out there for us-- and a real need for detail-oriented people who can work with little guidance, come up with original research ideas, work with others collaboratively, speak multiple languages, write in layman's terms so others can understand, people who can teach about a topic without putting the room to sleep... Employers need us and they are so desperate for the personal and professional skills that we take for granted. This book encourages us to get out there and be appreciated for our work. A life-saver if you have doubts about an academic career, want to leave academia or aren't sure what's next for you. This should be required reading for all graduate students.

This is one of about 10-20 books I've come across that I regard more as an 'intervention' than merely 'information'. In the course of the few hours it took to read this book, my entire perspective changed. I underlined paragraph after paragraph... I showed the book to many of my friends, "See? THIS is what I've been talking about!" Everyone I know is sick of hearing me drone on about academia - - I'm like a broken record, and since most of them didn't know me during my spritely pre-grad school days (which was 10 years ago) they probably assume I'm a pessimist by nature.

Friends and family continuously reminded me I was just "jumping through the hoops" and I'd eventually make it to the other side. But instead of feeling like I was on a bridge to freedom and would be awaited by a sparkling future, I felt increasingly trapped. Each passing year, I observed with horror that I had taken yet one more step down the plank I was forcing myself to walk. I felt shackled by everything: other people's expectations, a limited job market, a severely compromised social life, and outrageously high student loans. Meanwhile, my friends - even those who didn't go to college at all - were starting families, buying houses, learning hobbies, and traveling... when they came through town to visit, I couldn't even afford to have dinner with them. I spent a decade of my life in a basement, writing pages of jargon for up to 18 hours at a stretch. For years, my only break was doing laundry on Sundays... I had no car, no holidays, no hobbies, no weekends, no shopping, no vacations, no nothing. I vowed that if I ever had children, I would prohibit them from getting straight A's... just observe the consequences...

This book vamped up my expectations for life and happiness in general. Also, the exercises were actually useful!! I'm not sure why... I have a bunch of career and self-exploration books, but for some reason, the exercises in this book actually helped me narrow in on talents & desires instead of confusing me further. And I see that research, data analysis, software programming, and grant writing are transferable skills. The best piece of advice in this book is to be willing to take a job that is "beneath" you initially and have faith that you'll move up quickly.


Read this book. It's a reality check (you do realize that high school teachers earn more than starting professors, right? At least in a metropolitan area). I sent copies to bunches of people...

a. Loved this book. It delves into accepting your feelings about academia, has numerous examples of those who are successful "post academia," and has these exercises for you to do. They chose to call it "post academia" rather than "non-academic" or "alternative careers" because they want to "banish the notion that there is academia...and then everything else."

b. There are so many stories that resemble mine. For instance, people feeling like they might be sellouts if they go out into the business world. The authors talk about the underlying pressure for PhDs to dislike the "money-grubbing" corporate world. It also discusses the need to start thinking outside of the academia box. For instance, to not send in a vita, but to send a resume, or to not submit your long dissertation as writing sample, to accept that PhDs have great transferable skills. I found it especially useful when they said that the overwhelming reason a PhD may not make it outside of the world of academia is because of OURSELVES. I loved that. A light-bulb moment came on. Many PhDs who go to interviews only focus on dissertations, or are not willing to start from the bottom, or aren't confident that their skills are transferable. One interviewer said he specifically will not bother with PhDs because they think they know it all... I liked how the authors explained the difference between a resume and vita as "It's not about you, it's about the job...resume focuses on the employer's needs, rather than explaining every details about your credentials..."

c. Tells the reader to do LOTS of informational interviews. Tells you how to go about asking for them, proper etiquette during and after. Tells you the stereotypes of PhDs from employer POV: academics 1) aren't focused on producing results, 2) can't work in teams 3) aren't risk takers. The authors tell you how you can answer some of the questions about graduate school or why you are transitioning. Also to be prepared about snide remarks such as "Gosh you must be really smart, so I'd better watch my grammar" "Why do I need someone with all this education?", Why did it take you so long to finish?", My brother in law has a PhD, I never understood why anyone would go through all that trouble" "are you killing time until next year? Would you go back to academia if a job opened up?"

d. The authors guide you with how to best respond to these remarks, and how to orchestrate the best responses and show you examples of weak vs strong responses. (I think my fear is these remarks...on how to answer them--especially since I did not really have a cohesive answer for myself).

e. Tells you the strengths of being a grad student. I love how they say that the reader should avoid making the mistake of thinking that your extensive knowledge in one subject area is your most valuable asset.

f. Also loved " job hunting is full of serendipity and kismet. You cannot control kismet." Another "in the business world, the most important information flows through people, not texts."

g. It also contains a small amount introspective activities to complete, making it a little hands on.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and information that it contains. It is nice to hear other people's stories and see that what we are going through has been a part of graduate studies for quite some time. I did feel, however, that the book is more geared more towards those in the field of liberal arts rather than natural sciences, but was still worth the read.

This was a great resource and overall I liked it. However it seemed preferential to academics from the humanities, liberal arts and other fields that are not technical. This is because the authors are from liberal arts background, but if you are a scientist you may not find all the examples helpful.

At the same time I found the book's discussion of informational interviewing very helpful and i thought that this was the best I've heard it explained. It made a lot of sense the way they sold it here. The same goes for networking; i liked how they introduced the concept and explored the various forms it could take.

My only regret is that I did not read this book sooner. I am finishing a master's degree and was very close to embarking on a doctoral degree. I knew my heart was no longer in academic work, but I didn't know what else to do, given the job market, my limited experience, etc. This book gave me an immediate sense of relief. I read the entire book in one evening because it was so helpful for me, both professionally and personally, to see the downsides of academia, as well as the myths that permeate it: for example, if you leave, you are a failure; your advisor is intimately involved in your work; everyone you know will be disappointed if you do not continue; you will only find intellectual stimulation in academia, etc. This book helped me realize that, hard though it is, I needed to change my CV into a resume. Granted, this book is aimed at a narrow audience, but it's a godsend for that population. Even if you think academia is for you, please read this. It'll help you with your work and as a mentor. If you know academia isn't for you, still read this book. Your spirits (and job prospects) will improve immensely!

This book is very helpful guiding me through a difficult time right now. It really opens my eyes to see that there are a lot of academic people in non-academic world and they are successful. And that it is no failure quitting academia but a good chance to start a new chapter where academia is not the only choice, probably not the best choice for you. Specific advice and instructions take you through the whole process of changing your mind-set to putting it into action like converting from a CV to a resume. Stories of the people who have "been there and done that" are very inspiring and empowering. I strongly recommend this book to those who are considering graduate school or thinking about quitting it.

An excellent book with advice for grad students who find the tenure track position they once dreamed about was cut and will be replaced with a part-time adjunct.

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