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Referrals for ‘the professor is out’ (or other non-academic job search services)?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

Hey, asking for a friend: has anyone used/consulted 'the professor is out' for help making the transition to a non-academic career path? I know a while ago there were some threads on another site about their academic services, but wondering specifically about whether they would be helpful in thinking about non-academic options. Thanks in advance!

Good question. I was well aware of the Professor Is In, but wasn't aware of their Professor Is Out services until now. One reader submitted the following response:

I have not used "the professor is out" for that. I did reach out to them in my first year on the TT, and I was surprised at how unreceptive they were to my inquiries. Ymmv. If this is appropriate, may I suggest reaching out to Larry McGrath, https://www.larrysmcgrath.com/career-consulting. He himself found a way out, from a phd in French intellectual history (and plenty of familiarity with philosophy), to private industry work. He now consults with other scholars looking to go a similar road, and I believe he has worked with a number of philosophers. Disclosure: although I have not worked with him in this regard (I'm still toiling away in philosophy), I know Larry socially.

Anyone else have any helpful tips or experiences to share?

Posted in

5 responses to “Referrals for ‘the professor is out’ (or other non-academic job search services)?”

  1. Considering

    I haven’t used “the professor is out,” but my email exchanges with them for some other services were very unpleasant. I am on Twitter and there are lots of people who help academics transition to industry jobs. Tory Wobber is one of them. Again, I haven’t used/contacted her, but she is someone I have in mind just in case I need help. https://torycoaching.gumroad.com/

    Reply
  2. Helen De Cruz

    In case it is helpful, here are some resources on the Cocoon that might be useful for you (I can’t speak on the specific issue. If you are not too long out of PhD maybe the placement director might be of help too).
    General overview of where to start:
    https://philosopherscocoon.typepad.com/blog/2020/11/dealing-with-the-collapse-in-the-academic-job-market-advice-for-mentors-and-people-on-the-job-market.html
    A how-to: https://philosopherscocoon.typepad.com/blog/2021/09/how-to-make-yourself-hireable-outside-of-academia-as-a-philosophy-grad-student-or-phd.html
    How to begin the process as someone more mid-career by Matt Drabek:
    https://philosopherscocoon.typepad.com/blog/2019/02/leaving-academia-a-guide-guest-post-by-matt-drabek.html

    Reply
  3. one foot out the door

    While I am not a fan of the person who runs the Professor is In/Out, I have found their Facebook group, The Professor is Out (https://www.facebook.com/groups/professorisout), to be filled with helpful people and information. My suggestion is to join it and begin to make connections and build up a list of resources.
    Also, note that plenty of professionals on LinkedIn are happy to do informational interviews (the FB group mentioned above discusses this topic frequently). While a professional career coach could be a useful resource, it doesn’t hurt to explore free resources.

    Reply
  4. sam

    I have met with a consultant from TPIO to help me think through some alt-ac possibilities. TPIO was unpleasant in helping connect me with her, but the consultant herself was wonderful to work with. I haven’t left academia yet, so I can’t really measure how helpful her advice was yet.
    I’ve also worked with TPII for a full reworking of my cover letter and some quick support for teaching and diversity statements. My email exchanges with them were unpleasant, disorganized and EXTREMELY HELPFUL. I wish I had had access to such helpful guidance on my job docs as a graduate student (I’m an asst. prof now looking for a new position). It was worth every penny; I applied to three schools with that material, got three first-round interviews, and am a finalist for at least two of them (the third hasn’t selected finalists yet). I have applied as an assistant professor for multiple years before, and this is the first year that I’ve even gotten one interview.

    Reply
  5. Laura B.

    When I made the slow transition from my philosophy job to librarianship after my tenured assoc. prof. philosophy job disappeared due to the elimination of my program, I found myself simultaneously searching for academic and non-academic work. I ended up getting a few philosophy interviews, interviewing for a couple of non-academic info science positions, and eventually taking an academic library job.
    While my former employer did pay for some (rather unhelpful) placement assistance, I found better resources through the podcast, conference, and free webinars offered by Beyond the Professoriate; paid options also exist, but I didn’t have the cash to afford the whole learning platform experience with BtP. I did also use TPII’s book, which I found useful for nuts-and-bolts work on updating my application materials, but I couldn’t afford to pay for any of their consulting help.

    Reply

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