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Leave academia ASAP, or wait/prep for a year?

In our April "how can we help you?" thread, a reader posed a query that I missed:

After years trying to solve my two-body problem, I've decided I'm finished with the profession. Living alone while fascism rises is just not worth it (I'm in the US). But for various reasons, I can't leave for another year. I worry that the job advice here and elsewhere may be moot by that time, given the rise of AI, a looming economic crisis in the US, and all the rest. Is there anything I should or can be doing now? Is an immediate pivot a wiser move than waiting, even if that means leaving an employer stuck and ongoing academic collaborators in the lurch?

I imagine there are others in similar positions. If so, thoughts about how to manage another year in academia while mentally having moved on, thinking about other careers, would be welcome.

I'm not sure, but maybe the OP would find our Alt-Ac transition-tips series helpful? 

Do any other readers have any helpful tips or advice to share?

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10 responses to “Leave academia ASAP, or wait/prep for a year?”

  1. Hope to help

    The OP writes: ” Is there anything I should or can be doing now? Is an immediate pivot a wiser move than waiting, even if that means leaving an employer stuck and ongoing academic collaborators in the lurch?”
    I am sorry for the difficult situation described. I wish the OP the very best in navigating this difficult decision.
    One thing the OP might consider is using their current institution’s tuition remission policy to pursue an additional graduate degree or certificate in a field that they want to pursue. I know this might be implausible or otherwise not possible for the OP (e.g., if their institution does not have such a policy or it does not apply to the OP), but I throw it out there as an idea to consider if they decide to remain a year. Getting an MBA or a graduate certificate in project management might help position them on the job market.

    Reply
  2. anon

    Seconding the suggestion for investigating free courses at your own institution – even just a course or two rather than a certificate could help. And even if you can’t get something for free, paid training could make sense.
    You could have the time for this especially through “checking out” of doing the extra work that academic workers so often put into their positions. No need to do that if you’re going to move on.

    Reply
  3. sahpa

    I think getting additional training, as the above folks suggest, only makes sense if you know what you want the next step to be. OP doesn’t sound like they do. So it risks being a bit of wheel-spinning that just feels productive.
    The smartest thing you can do is network. Reach out to old college buddies, especially fellow grad students who have left academia, to set up coffee chats and learn about their work. Pick the people who do something you are actually curious to learn more about. Ask your in-laws and extended family for introductions to people doing interesting work. You need to take your ‘outgoing’ and ‘curious’ brain levers and turn them WAY up. You have to get hungry. Make it a whole phase. You’re in your, ahem, professionally promiscuous era. (Pick your figure of speech — point is, don’t half ass this.)
    When you meet with those people, be upfront with them that you are leaving academia and exploring. Many people are eager to help, and you need to reciprocate that helpfulness wherever possible, in the future. You may be surprised what options and opportunities are out there for you, as you already are, right now.
    The non-academic world runs on professional networks, much more so than academia. This may prove a difficult lesson to learn. But you got a year, so get started!

    Reply
  4. Bill V.

    FWIW, “leaving an employer stuck” is not a real thing. You don’t owe them anything besides doing your job until you leave.
    Having a year to make the transition is good. It means you can do the bare minimum in the current role (not slacking, but nothing that isn’t strictly what you are being paid for). That should free up time/head space for planning for the next step. Good luck!

    Reply
  5. on the tt

    I think networking is the right move. Informational interviewing time it is!
    But I also think a low-stakes class in something you might be interested in (it sounds like you’re leaving the US, so something that might help you in the country you’re headed to?) could be a useful sort of structure.
    I would also take a look at the books about leaving academia. If you are still in your grad department, or in a location with other early career scholars who are feeling :/ about stuff, then this could be the basis of a reading group/support group.
    Since you have to stay here for a year, I wouldn’t give up the paycheck. But I would say it’s fine to leave as soon as you have a replacement paycheck. People will be inconvenienced, but they will eventually forget about it.
    Finally, I’d like to flag the project management transition post (of the series that Marcus linked) as perhaps especially helpful.

    Reply
  6. I’m out

    Thanks everyone. I have already done research, some relevant training, networking, and volunteering (I’ve considered to leaving a few times in the past). But pulling the trigger is hard in part because I have projects ongoing and in part because white-collar work seems especially under threat. It’s this in-between space that’s tough.
    Editing and writing jobs? AI. Government or non-profit jobs? Current administration. Coding? That market has crashed, right? And what the job market will look like in a year feels so impossible to predict, so I feel paralyzed in finding a direction.
    And I guess doing the “bare minimum” is also hard, though I know it’s realistic if I want to find anything (I’m tenured, so a lot of admin isn’t exactly optional). I’m also trying to keep this very quiet, which also feels paralyzing for networking.
    But I will revisit the series and see if I can’t start networking, quietly.

    Reply
  7. Disgruntled_Wannabe

    I will say that I’ve been trying to break into industry for around 2 years now with no success. I even “passed” a final round interview at a FAANG company, but didn’t get the role. People I know were shocked, because usually a “pass” there almost guarantees you’ll be hired.
    My experience has been very similar to the person who made that post at Daily Nous recently on industry. Consider that finding employment may be a long, difficult slog. It’s so bad that my friend in industry told me it may actually be easier for a philosophy PhD to get a TT job now than a good industry position without getting further education (e.g. law school). Granted, we are all involved in the tech sphere, but that also soaked up a lot of philosophers going to industry: Cycorp no longer hiring really hurts here, among other factors.

    Reply
  8. a little confusion

    I guess I haven’t understood OP’s question. What would be any advantage of leaving academia immediately vs waiting/prepping (unless OP hates the job itself)? Would the lack of direction gets better if one leaves the post immediately? I am confused.
    P.S. I am in a similar boat regarding living alone in the US with no prospect of solving the two-body problem.

    Reply
  9. I’m out

    @a little confusion, one issue is worrying that the job market will be even worse in a year. And I don’t like teaching or my department culture. And I’m tired of living apart from my partner.
    But it sounds like staying and searching while employed is more realistic. If I can manage to escape inertia.

    Reply
  10. sahpa

    @Disgruntled_Wannabe: It is clear that your conception of ‘industry’ is a bit too narrow (which you acknowledge), though I agree that philosophy -> tech is the ‘normal’ route. OP should be exploring much more broadly than that, anyway, not just for economic reasons but personal-fulfillment ones, too.
    @OP: why are you preemptively ruling out work that isn’t “white collar”? Since you’ve basically got a whole year to find your next perch, my recommendation is leave nothing off limits so prematurely.

    Reply

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