One of the things that gets in the way of our moving full-heartedly to another job or career is our own lack of imagination. We just can’t imagine what else we could do.
Part of it stems from the likelihood that we’re surrounded by other academics, who also have no idea what else they might do.
Part of it stems from patterns many families have about what kinds of work you do. (Mine is all accountants and engineers and medical professionals. And me.)
And part of it stems from primarily knowing about non-academic jobs from the point of view of the consumer.
Butcher, baker, candlestick maker
As consumers, we interact with a broad cross-section of jobs: sales people, nurses, doctors, lawyers, therapists, social workers, teachers, bus drivers, traffic officers. So when we’re thinking about what else we could do, our minds tend to turn towards these.
We never think about – because we might not even know about – all the other jobs that have nothing to do with consumers directly.
Project management. Marketing. Scrum master. Human resources. Product buyer. Business strategist. Fundraiser. Program designer. Corporate trainer. Doggie daycare owner. Backpack designer. Gear tester. Forensic accountant. Golf course manager. Hospital ethics committee. Consultant. And thousands of others you may never have even heard of.
You want to think more broadly
Most of the jobs we think of easily require more schooling – much more schooling – before we could even begin to move into them. The rest of them don’t require a degree, but also probably don’t feel like careers. (They may be great careers if you love that work, actually, but we don’t assume they can be careers.)
At this point, more schooling might sound comforting and familiar, but let’s face it. At some point, we all have to leave school. Why not now?
Most of the jobs in the for-profit and non-profit world don’t necessarily need a particular degree to get you in the door. Relevant experience, yes, but you can get that any number of ways.
That means your options are a lot broader when you’re looking outside of the narrow band of professions that need a graduate degree. And it means that, right now, just as you are, you’ve got a lot of possibilities.
Go out and find them
Talk to people. Ask what they do. Ask what happens at the company or the organization they work for. Ask what kind of jobs exist there. Ask what their friends do.
Look up companies that sound interesting. Read their websites. See if you can find a list of staff or departments. Extrapolate.
Browse the Occupational Outlook Handbook to immerse yourself in the full range of what’s out there. Notice what makes you sit up and take notice. Notice what makes you get a little bit more excited.
Doing this kind of work is crucial to finding the Next Right Step in your life and career. It’s why Jo Van Every and I teach our Choosing Your Career Consciously course.
But we also teach it because we know just how brilliant, inventive, and curious academics are. We know just how valuable those skills are outside of academia, and we know that the world needs your particular perspective and smarts.
So if you need the support of a community as you work through finding that Next Right Step, consider joining our next round, starting October 6.
The Monday Roundup hasn’t gone away, but I’m going to do it monthly rather than weekly. Catch it on October 3rd!
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