Highly Qualified, but Only for a Job That Won't Exist Anymore
December 3, 2009 1:34 PM Subscribe
Help an academic psychologist brainstorm possible career tracks post-layoff.
I have a friend who has been teaching at the U. of Michigan as a non-tenure-track faculty member for about eight years. She is a social psychologist and teaches in the psychology department. The department has recently announced that it is going to try to get tenure-line faculty to actually teach classes--apparently faculty who get outside grant money can "buy out" of their teaching obligation by remitting half their base salary back to the U, and then the dept. hires people like my friend at a lower salary to actually teach the classes, but the department has decided it wants to hold faculty to their teaching obligations.
Because of this, there is a very good chance that my friend will be out of a job at the end of this academic year, in May. She is trying to start thinking about what she can do.
She doesn't have a counseling psychology kind of Ph.D., so that's not an option. She has been on the academic job market in the past, unsuccessfully, and at this point her family is very settled into southeast Michigan and would not be inclined to relocate in any case. A few years ago she looked seriously into opening a business by buying a franchise, and found that commercial real estate in Ann Arbor was prohibitively costly, and that even with the available loans, she was undercapitalized, and she chose not to follow through.
She could look for other adjunct teaching jobs, but they will almost certainly pay less, be more work, and be less interesting classes (in her current job, as well as an intro class, she gets to teach upper-level seminars in her area of expertise, and she enjoys both).
What other options might she have? Consulting? Marketing? Data analysis (she has a strong statistical background but would need to brush up at this point)? Something else?
Brainstorm mode is OK--suggestions don't have to be eminently practical, and we're open to anything that might spark an idea. I think she would be open to an option that required a short return to school (1-2 years, maybe) to get credentials, if the job prospects at the other end were pretty good. I don't think she needs a huge salary; she makes about 50k now, I think, and although that's better than it sounds because her job is flexible and not-quite-full-time, I think her family would be fine if she found another job that paid about that, since her wife also has a good income.
I have a friend who has been teaching at the U. of Michigan as a non-tenure-track faculty member for about eight years. She is a social psychologist and teaches in the psychology department. The department has recently announced that it is going to try to get tenure-line faculty to actually teach classes--apparently faculty who get outside grant money can "buy out" of their teaching obligation by remitting half their base salary back to the U, and then the dept. hires people like my friend at a lower salary to actually teach the classes, but the department has decided it wants to hold faculty to their teaching obligations.
Because of this, there is a very good chance that my friend will be out of a job at the end of this academic year, in May. She is trying to start thinking about what she can do.
She doesn't have a counseling psychology kind of Ph.D., so that's not an option. She has been on the academic job market in the past, unsuccessfully, and at this point her family is very settled into southeast Michigan and would not be inclined to relocate in any case. A few years ago she looked seriously into opening a business by buying a franchise, and found that commercial real estate in Ann Arbor was prohibitively costly, and that even with the available loans, she was undercapitalized, and she chose not to follow through.
She could look for other adjunct teaching jobs, but they will almost certainly pay less, be more work, and be less interesting classes (in her current job, as well as an intro class, she gets to teach upper-level seminars in her area of expertise, and she enjoys both).
What other options might she have? Consulting? Marketing? Data analysis (she has a strong statistical background but would need to brush up at this point)? Something else?
Brainstorm mode is OK--suggestions don't have to be eminently practical, and we're open to anything that might spark an idea. I think she would be open to an option that required a short return to school (1-2 years, maybe) to get credentials, if the job prospects at the other end were pretty good. I don't think she needs a huge salary; she makes about 50k now, I think, and although that's better than it sounds because her job is flexible and not-quite-full-time, I think her family would be fine if she found another job that paid about that, since her wife also has a good income.
Please don't be insulted by this suggestion but has she ever heard of medical writing? It ranges from taking journal articles and summarizing them for physicians (in an article or powerpoint deck) to taking actual data/research and writing it in up for a medical journal. If she does the latter, it is the PIs name that is placed on the article, her name may be in the acknowledgements, etc.
Because she has a background in psychology, I am assuming she could specialize and focus on psychiatry.
If she decides to go this route, it is really helpful to get experience first working in a medical education company - I would suggest for 1 year (and she is obviously paid while doing that). After that she should be able to make it as a freelancer if she wants.
Income and flexibility: I'm in year 1 of my freelance writing business (maybe 1 month left) - I've already made the amt that she states she wants to earn earlier this year, so income level should be the same if not more. If you are very selective in the type of jobs that you take and the particular rates that you charge, you can work far less than 40 hours a week and it is flexible, although you must meet deadlines. If you want more details feel free to memail me
posted by Wolfster at 2:12 PM on December 3, 2009 [5 favorites]
Because she has a background in psychology, I am assuming she could specialize and focus on psychiatry.
If she decides to go this route, it is really helpful to get experience first working in a medical education company - I would suggest for 1 year (and she is obviously paid while doing that). After that she should be able to make it as a freelancer if she wants.
Income and flexibility: I'm in year 1 of my freelance writing business (maybe 1 month left) - I've already made the amt that she states she wants to earn earlier this year, so income level should be the same if not more. If you are very selective in the type of jobs that you take and the particular rates that you charge, you can work far less than 40 hours a week and it is flexible, although you must meet deadlines. If you want more details feel free to memail me
posted by Wolfster at 2:12 PM on December 3, 2009 [5 favorites]
Speaking from experience as someone who has changed careers, I don't think additional schooling is necessary, although some basic training about entrepreneurialism (a local chamber of commerce would know where to look) would be helpful.
Social psychology is pretty interesting, and can be used in everything from marketing to UI development to program development.
Your friend really needs to figure out what she wants to do, and then find someone who will pay her to do it.
The flip side is, she needs to find out what people want, and figure out how she can fill that need.
She needs to create an inventory of her skills and her knowledge base, figure out which she likes the most, and then start making phone calls.
Although Michigan's unemployment rate is probably sky-high, your friend is lucky because she can pick up the phone and contact any ad agency she wants, anywhere in the country.
posted by KokuRyu at 2:24 PM on December 3, 2009
Social psychology is pretty interesting, and can be used in everything from marketing to UI development to program development.
Your friend really needs to figure out what she wants to do, and then find someone who will pay her to do it.
The flip side is, she needs to find out what people want, and figure out how she can fill that need.
She needs to create an inventory of her skills and her knowledge base, figure out which she likes the most, and then start making phone calls.
Although Michigan's unemployment rate is probably sky-high, your friend is lucky because she can pick up the phone and contact any ad agency she wants, anywhere in the country.
posted by KokuRyu at 2:24 PM on December 3, 2009
Having wanted to earn a PhD myself, I was very interested in knowing about my future because of the levels of approaching saturation in the teaching market, hence, this is what I would add to the brainstorm,
As a PhD, you have learned a LOT more skills than you think, one of the big ones being "writing". Helping out folks get admissions by working on their essays with the University of Michigan background is a huge advantage.
Maybe, even a job in admissions at various universities.
The other option is help people in the writing process in dealing with their dissertations etc for a fee. There's an academic club for writing that's online and maybe they're hiring?
Depending on the specialization in the filed in social psychology that they have focused on, what about looking at applying those findings to the field? and thereby becoming a consultant?
Finally, try getting courses in information systems done and those can be a huge help in getting a job and take a look at "S-A-P" or "SAP".
posted by iNfo.Pump at 2:56 PM on December 3, 2009
As a PhD, you have learned a LOT more skills than you think, one of the big ones being "writing". Helping out folks get admissions by working on their essays with the University of Michigan background is a huge advantage.
Maybe, even a job in admissions at various universities.
The other option is help people in the writing process in dealing with their dissertations etc for a fee. There's an academic club for writing that's online and maybe they're hiring?
Depending on the specialization in the filed in social psychology that they have focused on, what about looking at applying those findings to the field? and thereby becoming a consultant?
Finally, try getting courses in information systems done and those can be a huge help in getting a job and take a look at "S-A-P" or "SAP".
posted by iNfo.Pump at 2:56 PM on December 3, 2009
As noted by zizzle, social psychology and organizational behavior are very closely related. In fact, many academics in O.B. have their degrees in social psychology. So business schools (perhaps at U of M, although there are numerous schools within reasonable driving range of Ann Arbor) might be an easy transition for her.
Organizational consulting might be another obvious choice, although the economy has really decimated the businesses of people (including me) who consult through HR departments.
The statistical analysis and survey design emphasis in most social psych programs could easily move her into governmental, think tank, marketing, or test development roles.
These are just the most obvious options for her to consider.
If she isn't already a member of APA, she should join so she can take advantage of their career services. They are the premier source of job ads looking for Ph.D. types. Ditto for SIOP (Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, aka APA Division 14).
I started a Ph.D. program in social psych, then finished it in O.B. and have been an external consultant for more years than I care to admit. Your friend is welcome to memail me and I'd be happy to advise her further.
posted by DrGail at 3:24 PM on December 3, 2009
Organizational consulting might be another obvious choice, although the economy has really decimated the businesses of people (including me) who consult through HR departments.
The statistical analysis and survey design emphasis in most social psych programs could easily move her into governmental, think tank, marketing, or test development roles.
These are just the most obvious options for her to consider.
If she isn't already a member of APA, she should join so she can take advantage of their career services. They are the premier source of job ads looking for Ph.D. types. Ditto for SIOP (Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, aka APA Division 14).
I started a Ph.D. program in social psych, then finished it in O.B. and have been an external consultant for more years than I care to admit. Your friend is welcome to memail me and I'd be happy to advise her further.
posted by DrGail at 3:24 PM on December 3, 2009
Disability interventionist (eg autism) or disability advocate or consultant.
posted by kch at 6:37 PM on December 3, 2009
posted by kch at 6:37 PM on December 3, 2009
I would be thinking about ways to use that stats background.
Has she done any psychometrics - test making? Check out openings for orgs like the ETS or US government in those personnel areas that might make use of that type of background. Also look at "assessment", eg at universities; I assume there are consulting gigs doing this sort of thing.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:49 PM on December 3, 2009
Has she done any psychometrics - test making? Check out openings for orgs like the ETS or US government in those personnel areas that might make use of that type of background. Also look at "assessment", eg at universities; I assume there are consulting gigs doing this sort of thing.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:49 PM on December 3, 2009
Response by poster: Thank you for the good suggestions, folks. It's making me, at least, feel a lot more optimistic! Thank you too, to people who've offered further communications. I'll send her the link!
posted by not that girl at 6:59 AM on December 4, 2009
posted by not that girl at 6:59 AM on December 4, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by zizzle at 1:50 PM on December 3, 2009