Ideal job for the academic who doesn't want to work anymore

February 2, 2023 12:55 PM

I am currently feeling incredibly burned out at my current academic non-tenure track faculty job ( I have a masters and not a PhD). Feeling inspired by this question on laid back jobs that also have decent pay. Like, what would you recommend if you were exiting academia and wanted to work as little as possible but you have a mortgage to cover?

I have been working in a public health oriented academic role that was very highly impacted by the pandemic and I feel burned out to a crisp. I have tried taking a couple of weeks off and still just feel completely exhausted. The work stress is really really starting to impact my mental and physical health at this point.

I want to work less, have easier/less stressful work, and take a ton of vacation or work remotely so I can spend more quality time with my aging parents. I can get health insurance through my partner but I do still need to pay rent/loans. I've done freelance writing in the past, but I consider that option to be too stressful and precarious for this time in my life.

Things I do regularly as part of my job that I enjoy: designing health trainings, providing trainings to diverse groups of people, writing manuscripts, making figures/tables, organizing dissemination plans for research, communications planning, writing stories about our research, working on literature reviews, networking with other folks in our field to share resources and updates.

Soft skills that I got good feedback on during my most recent review: very creative, excellent at solving problems as they arise, good at collaboration, very articulate and good at communication, mentoring/helping out junior folks, very good at working independently without a lot of guidance or supervision. I am also fairly extroverted and am equally ok with roles that involve a lot of talking and roles where I sit quietly by myself.

Are there any fields/roles/jobs where I wouldn't have to go back to school but could pretty easily pivot into where there is excellent work/life balance? Like, if my big career goal for the next few years is keeping my current income (I'm just below the median for a high cost of living city in the US) but working 40 hours a week or less with tons of vacation and low stress what should I look into?

posted by forkisbetter to Work & Money (13 answers total)

Best answer: This sounds like a pretty well-paying job at a public sector public health agency, especially if it's one with a unionized workforce. I've found a lot of public sector jobs to have pretty good boundaries and work/life balance. The one I work for currently has a shitload of open positions. DM me if you want to chat details.
posted by entropone at 1:01 PM on February 2, 2023 [7 favorites]

If you still want to be somewhat associated with your field, see if any of your professional associations have openings that make sense for you. Maybe that's in publications, annual meetings, or fundraising communications.
posted by advicepig at 1:13 PM on February 2, 2023

+1 to public sector public health agency. You can also expand the search to public sector health and human services-related work, which can include mental health, children and family services, disability services, veterans services, housing stability, food/unemployment assistance, family home visiting, etc. Check out state/county/city employment websites in your area for examples of work - your skills would be a good match. I have an MPH and work in government, happy to DM.

Workplace/occupational health and safety might be relevant as well, but less opportunity for creative problem solving there.
posted by Maarika at 2:11 PM on February 2, 2023

Also, if you’re open to grant-funded/limited duration positions, you can probably find some part-time government jobs on interesting projects.
posted by Maarika at 2:12 PM on February 2, 2023

Adding to the chorus re public sector jobs. My experience tells me that this would tick almost all, if not all of your boxes. I think your skills (hard and soft) would be in great demand.
posted by dg at 2:22 PM on February 2, 2023

Best answer: Just as a fun anecdote that will likely not apply due to the dearth of paid vacation and inability to work remotely... but I make more as a residential house cleaner than I did as an adjunct professor. It is by far the most relaxed job I've ever had. To be fair, I do supplement with other random income sources sporadically, my expenses are low, and I don't know how long my body will be able to keep this up as I glimpse my 40s on the horizon...

But I kind of wish I would have just cleaned houses and wrote books in my 20s, rather than throwing a ton of cognitive energy into teaching while trying to write books. I actually feel more appreciated as a house cleaner, too, which maybe won't come as a surprise to the academics out there.
posted by gold bridges at 2:50 PM on February 2, 2023 [12 favorites]

Best answer: I recently left academia (also an adjunct role), got a certification as a technical writer, and hit the job market. I landed a plum job: I like my work and colleagues, I don't stress about work EVER, I have great benefits (including the paid leave that I'm on right now to spend time with my baby), and I work from home. I'm absolutely thrilled to have made this transition and have recommended similar transitions to technical writing or UX writing to multiple adjunct friends.

MeMail me if you want more info. Baby needs attention now!
posted by Dr. Wu at 3:07 PM on February 2, 2023 [15 favorites]

Best answer: I would not suggest local or public health department positions if you want to have a lot of flexibility/work life balance and reduce stress. If you are not aware, there is a significant exodus of professionals from these agencies for a number of reasons, including burnout. I know a number of people who have recently transitioned out due to unsustainable workloads and ever diminishing resources, particularly as federal COVID supports dry up and emergency powers end. Here is a recent report about the need for the field to quickly address workforce development and succession planning. There is a lot out there about this topic. Again, it may vary by the specific agency but this is a trend in the field.

I would recommend philanthropy. I know several folks who have had good life balance at smaller city and family foundations as well as some of the larger ones.
posted by fies at 4:32 PM on February 2, 2023 [2 favorites]

Have you looked into Extension faculty positions? There are folks who teach nutrition to adults, for example (SNAP Ed). These tend to be more laid back than main campus roles and it sounds like you’d get to do some of the stuff you like. You will probably not be publishing much, though. Since these are generally public university jobs, you get those sweet state benefits / vacation.
posted by momus_window at 5:18 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Chiming in to say that I have done the Extension teaching that momus mentions but was paid about $700 per class and got no benefits, so cannot recommend. This was in two different cities/two public unis in the U.S. These are part time, short term gigs at most.
posted by CancerSucks at 6:56 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

In addition to the suggestion of public sector jobs, have you considered a different role within a university (i.e., not pandemic-related)? Because if you were in a different field, probably a third of the responses here would be suggesting that you find a mellow staff job at in higher ed.

Personally I found public sector employment to be kind of stultifying, but that may have been more about the organization I was in than the sector in general. But definitely the boundaries between work and personal time are better than the typical private sector job, and that sounds like exactly what you are looking for.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:22 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

Where I am, there are full-time, middle-class salary public health Extension gigs, although only 1-2 per county. It's bleak to hear what CancerSucks says, adjunct teaching is BS.
posted by momus_window at 8:28 AM on February 3, 2023 [1 favorite]

I should also mention that I currently work for a research institute at an R1 school on the staff side, and the work life balance is much nicer here. There aren't a ton of places like this, but if you find one with stable funding, it's really a great environment.
posted by advicepig at 2:09 PM on February 3, 2023