Beyond the Professoriate Members-Only Podcast

Nick Courtright insists that "your intellect is flexible," and his own journey from literature PhD to founder/CEO of a publishing company proves his claim. In this interview, Courtright explains how the same passion for challenge and learning that served you as a PhD can continue to serve you outside of academia.

It's okay if, during your PhD program, you look at the realities of academic jobs and decide that they are not for you. Michael King, a communications studies PhD, did exactly that and found that the research skills he'd developed in graduate school were transferrable across many different industries. Hear him explain why its crucial that you figure out how to convey the value of your academic work to non-academic employers.

It's not unusual for PhDs to have been drawn to academia because they want to do work that matters, work that helps make the world a better place. But academia is not the only place that kind of work gets done, and Jennifer Barr is a great example of that! After finishing her PhD in medical anthropology, she let her values lead her career transition. Hear how her work improving affordability in health care has given her a career that challenges her intellectually and helps her feel like she's doing good.

Josh Magsam enjoyed conducting research as he finished his PhD in English literature, and he was pleased to learn that he could still put his research skills to use once he pivoted to a career in partner service management. Listen to this interview to learn how leaving academia doesn't have to be the end of your life as a researcher and how you can look at new career fields as a new kind of research project.

PhD students and postdocs are often told that academia is the only place they can practice the "life of the mind." But Christian Douglas, a biostatistician who now works in industry, is proof that smart people work everywhere. Hear how her work outside of academia keeps her continuously learning new techniques and new vocabulary for data display.

The work of earning a PhD can feel so overwhelming that it can be hard to imagine how to find time to grow your network at the same time. But it can be done! Mantel Featherson worked as a consultant while finishing his PhD. Listen to him explain how to network while in grad school, and how to transfer your academic skills to the industry.

PhDs who work outside of academia often have more opportunities for passions and hobbies than those who remain in higher education. It's the joy of a 9 to 5 job! In this interview, Kimberly West discusses how she balances her job as a middle-school educator, publishers her scholarly research, and still finds time to build a new non-profit.

Keriann McGoogan works in academic publishing. But before that, she studied Lehmers and worked as an adjunct. In this interview, she talks about her decision to leave academia, and the rewarding career she now has helping other academics publish their scholarship. Her biggest piece of advice? Find creative ways to build skills and gain experience for career pathways of interest.

Most graduate students and PhDs don't know where to begin in their job search. Alan King, now a consultant at McKinsey, felt like that, too. In this interview, he talks about his pathway out of academia and into management consulting. Listen to this interview to learn more about his rewarding career at McKinsey, one of the largest and most prestigious consulting companies in the world.

One drawback of an academic career is that you often have to be prepared to move almost anywhere. For Ann Durbin, that was a deal-breaker. She wanted to live in the midwest to be closer to her family. Listen to this interview to learn how PhDs are able to find careers that align with their values and interests in the  cities or towns where they want to live.

Many PhDs work in careers that aren't directly related to their subject matter expertise. Eugene Day, for example, partners with physicians to help them build more sustainable hospitals. But he's an engineer by training. How did he move from engineering into data science management at a Children's Hospital? Listen to his interview to learn how PhDs can leverage the valuable skills they already have to build meaningful and rewarding careers.