Career paths for PhDs you might not know about

For those of us who have PhDs and aren’t interested in pursuing traditional tenure-track professor positions, the path after graduation can feel very unclear. Depending on the graduate program you attend, there may be little to no support for “alt-ac” career exploration. You might feel unsure or lost when trying to learn more about alternative career options or non-academic career paths.

This is a feeling I’m all to familiar with - when I was completing my PhD program, I knew I didn’t want to be a tenure-track professor, but I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to do instead or what a career outside academia might look like.

I’m happy to say that in the years since, I feel much more confident and knowledgable than I did back then. If you’re struggling to figure out what a career outside academia might look like, consider the career paths below. (As a note, my PhD is in developmental psychology, so these options will be most applicable for others in social science!)

1) Researcher at a University: Okay, stay with me on this one. Being a researcher at a university isn’t exactly outside of academia (maybe more academia-adjacent), but it is a completely viable career option for PhDs. There are a ton of career options for PhDs in research at higher ed institutions, such as Research Associate positions, and even non-tenure track faculty positions (that’s what I do!).

2) Non-profit researcher: There are also opportunities for research outside of higher ed institutions, such as at non-profits or other groups that conduct research - for others in developmental psychology, I’m thinking about groups like Child Trends, Mathematica, and HighScope. You can put those research skills to use at lots of different organizations!

3) Program evaluator: Program evaluation and research are so similar - evaluation uses the same methods as research, like surveys and interviews, but for different purposes (i.e., to speak to the impacts of a specific program, as opposed to generalizing about some phenomenon or experience). Program evaluation is a great career option for folks interested in applying their research methods skills in real-world situations.

4) Institutional research: Working in institutional research involves collecting and analyzing data at a university level - like student enrollment rates, student performance, etc. - to support data-driven decision making. There are institutional research units and staff at institutions of higher education of varying sizes, not just large ones.

5) Extension: Cooperative Extension is the outreach arm of land-grant universities. There’s at least one Extension in every state, and their mission is to disseminate research-based information from university researchers into communities. When I was a PhD student and was looking to get some hands-on experience outside academia, I did some volunteer work with Minnesota Extension, which then lead me to apply for (and get!) a job with Michigan State Extension. Working for Extension is a great opportunity for PhDs who are interested in research dissemination and outreach!

6) Learning and development: These are the folks that work within a center for teaching and learning, providing instructional design support for faculty and graduate student instructors. They might also provide professional development learning opportunities for faculty, students, and staff.