I’m excited to share three new events coming up under the auspices of The Professor Is Out—our work supporting people leaving the academy. On Feb. 24, Dr. Helana Darwin is leading an event on breaking into User Experience (UX) research, a very promising area for many PhDs, especially in the social sciences. Then I (Dr. Karen Kelsky) will be leading a new 2-part small-group workshop called Leaving Academia: A 2-Part Workshop for PhDs Moving Out and Moving On, on March 3 and 10. (Limited seating: currently 27 left).
Finally, our newest post-ac coach, Randi Howell, is leading her LinkedIn event, Self-Promotion at its Finest: Growing Your Career with LinkedIn Publishing. Sign up for one, two, or all three! You’ll be amazed at how bright your post-ac future can look!
And as always: requesting support on the Professor Is Out Ko-Fi crowdfunding site – the money raised there covers the cost of keeping The Professor Is Out private FB group (now almost 20K members!) running smoothly with our team of admins, and building a fund to use to support new resources for everyone leaving the academy. Many perks come with membership!
Click on this “I have mixed feelings about my PhD” bunny to learn more! 
Many of you talented and qualified people are trying to figure out the transition into UX [User Experience] Research! And why wouldn’t you? It’s recession-proof remote research work with a six-figure entry salary. Join The Professor Is In (or rather The Professor Is Out) for a group informational interview with Dr. Helana Darwin, who has made this pivot from unemployed PhD to gainfully employed UX Researcher. In this session, Helana will share words of wisdom from the industry job market, screen share and explain her industry resume (and walk you through the differences from an academic CV), and devote an hour to Q & A. Many of you will have the same questions, so this group session format will benefit everyone.
Dr. Helana Darwin is an author, MeToo activist, and a Qualitative UX Researcher at AnswerLab. Her academic research utilized a range of digital methods including virtual ethnography, blog discourse analysis, and online comment sentiment analysis, in addition to traditional methods such as in-depth interviews and survey research, and these are what she mobilized in her transition into UX research. Her dissertation-as-book, Redoing Gender: How Nonbinary Gender Contributes toward Social Change, just debuted as the #1 New Release in Sociology and the #1 New Release in Gender Studies.
Thurs Feb 24
6 PM EST
[Special Reduced Rate]: $15
Join Dr. Karen Kelsky, the leading academic career coach in America, for a small-group interactive conversation on how to [Session One] 1) face reality and feel your feelings 2) explore alternatives and remember all you can do; and [Session Two] 3) translate your identity and discover new platforms; and 4) free your mind and reclaim your life.
It’s hard times in academia. Approximately 75% of PhDs end up working outside academia because tenure track hiring has collapsed. Since the vast majority of PhDs come into grad school hoping to be a professor (yes, there are exceptions), you didn’t plan for this, but it’s the reality you’re facing. What to do? This is a workshop, not a webinar, and we’ll share live questions and conversation, with Dr. Karen’s trademark mix of bluntness and compassion. It’s devastating to leave behind the dream of an academic career, but you’re not alone. With knowledge and support, you can do it, and Karen’s promise is: you’ll never look back.
(In partnership with Klatch)
2 meetings: March 3 and 10, 6 PM EST
(I request you come to both for the full experience!)
$100 for both; $50 for one
Is LinkedIn just another social media outlet for you? Have you considered how you can maximize LinkedIn for job hunting, resource sharing, publication, and a bit of shameless self-promotion? In this webinar, Randi Howell, MA will show how to leverage academic writing skills for LinkedIn publishing. By publishing content on LinkedIn, you can open doors, create sharable resources, and increase your network. Join us as we discuss how to maximize and diversify your LinkedIn presence with LinkedIn publishing, posting, and hashtagging. Bring questions and insights as we explore how to maximize your professional presence!
Presenter Bio: Still in academia, Randi Howell works full-time to support more than 800 faculty members transition from tech-terrified to tech-savvy. Howell serves as Vice President of Safe’N’Clear, Inc, an ADA-accessible surgical facemask company that promotes clear and inclusive communication. In her role at Safe’N’Clear, Howell works with the CEO and Marketing team to publish digital content across social media platforms, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Howell is passionate about transforming lives whether through education or inclusive communication to upscale one’s performance.
March 8, 6:30 PM EST [Note time; it’s not our usual!]
$25
Leave a Reply