This guide is for social sciences PhD graduates in New Zealand who want to find non-academic jobs where they can utilise their research skills, based on my experience and the experience of my colleagues who made a similar transition. This advice may or may not be not be applicable to other fields (such as STEM) and other countries.
Decide early where to build your skills
The skillsets and networks for academia and industry differ, so it is to your advantage to decide early during your PhD which skillset you want to focus on. (Industry here means all non-academic settings, including the public sector, non-profit and commercial organisations).
Many people go into non-academic jobs as their plan A because of the stability, ability to stay in the same city, better pay and work-life balance. I did not apply for a single academic job after finishing my PhD, and started preparing for my alt-academic pathway midway through my degree. People who make the transition as their plan B without preparation are at a disadvantage and will usually need to allow time to fill in the gaps.
Alt-ac skills for social sciences
Some social sciences are more quantitatively focused than others. Regardless of your course requirements, having some quantitative skills (basic statistics is sufficient) will greatly improve your chances in the non-academic job market. If statistics is not your thing, consider learning something like GIS or popular data visualisation tools.
You can prove your project management skills and communication skills by doing fieldwork that requires working with people, such as recruiting and organising focus groups or partnering with an organisation to get access to their data. Such experience will give you plenty of authentic material for behavioural interview questions (“tell me about a time when…”) which would be hard to get from desk analysis.
Your thesis topic matters less than the approach you take. If you analyse a social issue, try to frame your work as an evaluation (you identify what is not working and provide recommendations for improvement) or a case study. Both are linked to problem-solving. What problem were you solving? What did you do to solve the problem? In what way is this useful and for whom? Be constructive. A lot of work in academia is deeply critical without proposing feasible solutions, an approach that is alienating outside of academia. If your topic is niche and of the desk research type, such as analysing a literary trend, distil the learnings that are transferable to other settings (how people think; how power structures work; how change happens).
Communication skills mean, in a nutshell, adjusting your message to audience’s level of prior knowledge and interest. You can train this by talking a lot to diverse audiences and paying attention to how your message is received and understood. If your study does not provide enough opportunities for this, volunteer for an NGO to be an educator or activist, join Toastmasters, or find a social hobby like improv.
Social skills and networking
Lacking people skills is one of the negative stereotypes about PhDs. Academia attracts many who spent more of their life reading books than talking to people. I am one of them, and I used to be awkward because I didn’t have enough practice in interacting with humans.
Social skills can be learned and if it’s something you are lacking you should make it your priority. Just spend a lot of time with socially competent non-academics. Join sports clubs, charities, political or religious organisations where you have to interact a lot with other people. Sign up to Toastmasters and learn public speaking. If you have good people skills already, join groups anyway to develop a network of non-academic contacts who know and like you well enough to support your job search later.
If you are an international student, build your local knowledge and understanding of the local culture. In my department a lot of PhD students were international. Most of them wrote their thesis on an international topic. Many of them had limited interest in New Zealand’s current affairs and history and stuck to their ethnic group when socialising, and then had a hard time finding a job. Jobs in the public sector and many industry jobs like market research require basic familiarity with New Zealand’s social, political and demographic context which can be achieved regularly reading the news for a couple of years. People who interact in a way that is too formal, or use words that are not in common use in New Zealand, may fail the “cultural fit” test. (There are some helpful tips on this government website).
Understand the common pathways
Roles that are a good fit for people with a social sciences research background include:
- Research and analysis roles in market research companies that conduct research for private and public sector clients (some specialise in the latter). The research usually involves surveys and interviews, and someone with an academic research background will have transferable skills.
- Analyst and advisory roles in government and consultancies have a strong research and analysis component, with a focus on providing options and informed advice. Academic subject matter expertise may translate well to such roles, especially if they are focused on public policy.
- Research and evaluation units in government and non-profits may be quite similar to an academic environment and are often staffed by people with postgraduate degrees.
- UX research utilises many of the same research skills people acquire in social sciences degrees.
- Professional staff in academia such as student advisors or research contract managers are often recruited from the ranks of alumni including those with postgraduate degrees.
This is not an exhaustive list of options but a good place to start.
After you select which part of market would be the best fit for you, research it. Identify the major organisations and read their websites. Find people to follow on LinkedIn (yes, you need a LinkedIn profile). Try to get some people to give you informational interviews where you talk to someone who works or worked in a role you are aiming for to learn about the day to day tasks, challenges, the non-obvious things you learn only through experience, skills that are most important for success. This information can be invaluable in your applications and job interviews, allowing you to present yourself as someone who understands the role and the industry. (Do not ask for a job in an informational interview – this is not what it is for).
Experience trumps education in the NZ market. Unless you have a good amount of non-academic work experience from before or during your PhD, I’d recommend applying for entry level roles even if they seem below your qualifications. After a few months of excelling in an entry level role, you will be in a good position to move up or find a better job in another organisation. Being picky or aiming too high may lead to an extended search period which will negatively impact your chances (employers tend to overlook people who have been out for work for too long – sad but true).
Translate your research into marketable skills
First, learn the basics: read all the CV and cover letter advice that is out there, and there is a lot, including for transitioning academics, so there is no need for me to duplicate it here. Take note where the advice is coming from – different countries may have different formats and rules and following advice from a different country could disadvantage you.
The skill translation, in a nutshell, is to state what you did and to what end. For example, data collection for my thesis became: “Developed working relationships with a range of organisations, communities and government agencies to gain access to data.” The mandatory ethics application: “Outlined strategies for addressing ethical and cultural considerations to ensure cultural responsiveness and respect for participants.” Keep it short and do not include info that is irrelevant outside of academia.
Also read this article about the differences between academic and non-academic research.
Celestyna Galicki's website 