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Remaining research-active outside academia

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, Worried philosopher writes, 

I am applying for a research position (in ethics) outside Academia. I want to remain active as a researcher (go to conferences, give talks, publish, review papers, etc.). I feel like I'll remain much more active with a research job than with a teaching position. Yet I'm worried: since the position I'm applying for is outside Academia, perhaps I won't be taken seriously by the rest of the research community. So, a couple of questions:

– Do journals care whether you hold a position in Academia or not?
– You see people at a conference with "private sector/government/public sector" on their name tags. Will you talk to them? Will you attend their talks?
– When browsing for papers on topic X, you notice that the author is not from Academia. The paper is published in a good journal. Will you still read the paper?

Great questions. I'm actually personally familiar with a few folks who have continued to publish successfully (in some good journals) after moving outside of academia. So I definitely know it can be done. However, I am not quite sure how to answer the specific questions Worried asks. I mean, I wouldn't treat someone differently at a conference on these grounds, and I would definitely read their paper if it looked interesting to me. But I don't know how others feel.

Anyone have any insight to share?

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5 responses to “Remaining research-active outside academia”

  1. Paul

    I also don’t think I would discriminate, I can’t see a reason why someone would. I guess maybe certain journal editors might look down their noses at a submission by an independent philosopher, but again, I am not sure why. My bigger worry would be funding for travel and access to research/library materials. But if you are getting paid well in the new gig and are willing and able to fund those things on your own then my hunch is that you should be fine…

    Reply
  2. Public Philosophy Journal

    Yes, definitely! We want to publish your work at the Public Philosophy Journal! Get in touch at publicphilosophyjournal.org

    Reply
  3. Derek Shiller

    I left academia about three years ago and have remained somewhat active. My impression is that being outside won’t make a big difference to some things, but it will to others. It is unlikely that journals will treat you very differently. The same goes conference submissions that get reviewed. On the other hand, it is unlikely that you’ll be invited to give a talk or review many papers, except by people with whom you have personal relationships. People are unlikely to outright shun you at conferences and for many people it won’t make any difference. However, there are also plenty of people in the discipline who will be significantly less interested in engaging with you if you’re outside academia than if you were at an R1. The discipline is rather status obsessed (I never really thought that it was weird how often academics are referred to by name and institutional affiliation until I left academia), and some people will use status to assess how much respect they owe you.

    Reply
  4. WJ

    I’m positively interested in a research career outside academia (in ethics, too). Are there resources for finding such opportunities? I also don’t know what sorts of areas are more high deman. I would expect AI to be huge right now over more traditional ethical issues, even ones with perennial popular appeal, but that’s just a pessimistic guess. And idea how to assess that?

    Reply
  5. elisa freschi

    In this case, I will just tell the story of a brilliant colleague of mine, without further comments.
    A. works on the intersection of philosophy of language, logic and legal philosophy in the 17th c. Since she left the academy (she is now teaching philosophy in high school) she has been increasingly mobbed. For instance:
    Her former PhD supervisor, mad at her because she left the academic world, spoke to the publishing house where she was about to publish her second book and convinced them that they should refrain from publishing it (I am yet to read it, but the book has been recommended to me by top professors of logic, hence I can’t believe that it is bad).
    When A. attended a conference in B. (brilliant university), prof. P. (brilliant scholar of Leibnitz) tried in every possible way to embarass her with hard questions and then explained to the organisers that he would no longer attain their conferences if they were to invite “school teachers”.
    Long story short: At least in some milieus, the pedigree still counts.
    Nice ending: A. will nonetheless publish her book at another publishing house (the same one where she published her first book and which is therefore positively impressed by her and can ignore her lack of affiliation) and is happy with her 18-y-old brilliant students.

    Reply

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