Making the Leap from Academia to Industry

I am often asked why and how I left a tenured position in academia to join the Corporate World. Hold on, stay with me. This isn't Quit Lit. The reasons why people walk away from tenure or quit any position that seemingly provides lifelong job security are personal, institutional, circumstantial and probably only marginally related to why you might be considering The Leap. If you are interested in my why, you can read this brief interview from 2019.

This article is about how I made the leap. Specifically, how I translated the skills and experiences I gained after 15 years as a college professor to thrive outside the academy. In future articles I will write about the skills I wish I had cultivated (hint: data and finance) and the roles and careers in edtech (my industry) that are particularly well-suited for academics looking to leap.

First, an acknowledgement and a caveat.

I was inspired to write this after I replied to a Twitter thread started by Jen Michaels about "survivor's guilt" since she left her doctoral program ABD (all but dissertation) and pivoted to a career in learning and development. I encourage people to read her thread and all the replies. There are great, discipline-specific ideas about jobs outside of academia. Also, the stories shared by people in, out and in-between the academy will help you feel less alone.

Years of doubting if my academic experience could be of any use outside of the academy was unfounded. I could have leapt sooner.

My caveat: I made the leap after I earned tenure, with two decades of experience in teaching, research and university administration. The academic director role I leapt into required the specific experience I had accumulated as a faculty member with over ten years experience. Nonetheless, what I quickly learned was that years of doubting if my academic experience could be of any use outside of the academy was unfounded. I could have leapt sooner.

If you are currently in a PhD program and thinking about leaving, a tenured professor wondering what's next, or anywhere in between, know that many of the skills required in academia have value beyond it. The hard part for me was understanding how to translate and communicate that value in a job search and during interviews. You might consider hiring a certified career coach who specializes in university to industry career transitions. They can help you translate your specific experience and domain knowledge. Below I highlight three skills from my academic experience that I have observed are widely applicable to careers outside the academy. There are many others, which I may write about in a future post.

Teaching is Facilitation

My favorite personal discovery since leaving the classroom and entering the conference room is this: I am really good at facilitation. I attribute nearly all of that skill to many semesters teaching college students. The large lecture courses I taught were a training ground for keeping an audience engaged and invested, responding to questions in the moment, thinking on my feet, and using analogies and multimedia to illustrate ideas. Small seminar classes required me to master the art of drawing quieter participants into discussions, finding connections between comments, modeling good listening, and deftly nudging conversations toward discoveries, decisions or actions. When I get to support a group of collaborators or even detractors as we work a problem, brainstorm a solution, share ideas and make progress toward a goal, I feel at home. I may have left the classroom, but I am very much still a teacher.

Writing is Communication

"Strong written and oral communication skills" is probably the one ubiquitous job requirement for which most academics can see a direct connection to their experience. Don't underestimate the value of clear and concise writing in a corporate environment. It is critical to communicating ideas, influencing colleagues, clients and customers, and moving initiatives forward. However, you may need to transform how you write in terms of form, style and definitely purpose. I was briefly a journalist before I went back to graduate school, so I was trained in short and efficient writing where less is more and the most important point is at the top. Recalling that training 20 years later and suppressing the urge to footnote took some work, but was absolutely necessary toward making my work visible, comprehendible and valuable to my teammates and managers. If you don't already communicate your ideas in a variety of formats and for a non-academic audience, start diversifying your writing now. Help your roommate/parent/next-door neighbor understand what you think, do and care about in 60 seconds or less.

Advising Students is People Development

Advising students at my previous university was supported by a small professional advising office, but most of the responsibility to help students achieve college success (i.e. stay in school, complete their degree and find a career path) was the role of full-time faculty. To me, the value and joy of my role as an academic advisor was as a mentor to students, not just as a form filler or paperwork signer. The one-on-one meetings I have today with my team members about what motivates them, where they see themselves in five years, the areas where they thrive and where they struggle, and how to help them achieve their career goals sound an awful lot like the office hours conversations I had with students.

Assessing students requires the same empathy and bravery as managing a team.

Also, managing a classroom and assessing students is similar to managing a team and providing performance evaluations. Perhaps not the content of the activity, but definitely the empathy and bravery required to have difficult conversations, be clear in expectations, track progress, notice and respond to behavior that impedes others, and build a culture of inclusion and respect. Every elementary school teacher can probably manage circles around the most dysfunctional company and team. Just sayin'

Now You

Thank you to the people on the aforementioned Twitter thread who said "yes please" to my casual offer to share my perspective about transitioning from academia to industry. I wrote this quickly on Sunday morning in response to Jen's Saturday post. It most certainly doesn't cover all the skills that have transferrable value outside the academy. If you have made The Leap, please share your thoughts in the comments below. It can be especially helpful for readers thinking about moving on to hear about discipline-specific skills you have transferred as well as the job titles, industries and connections that helped you land a non-academic job.