{"id":99757,"date":"2024-09-21T17:27:36","date_gmt":"2024-09-21T21:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/?page_id=99757"},"modified":"2025-07-02T15:08:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T19:08:25","slug":"academic-careers-beyond-the-professorship","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/students\/professional-development\/career-exploration-transition\/academic-careers-beyond-the-professorship\/","title":{"rendered":"Academic Careers beyond the Professorship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You can transition into multiple career areas at academic institutions and non-profit organizations. These career areas include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Administration,<\/li>\n<li>Career &amp; Professional Development,<\/li>\n<li>Curriculum Development, Teaching, and Learning,<\/li>\n<li>Foundation Relations, Alumni Relations, Development,<\/li>\n<li>Grant management and writing support,<\/li>\n<li>Innovation,<\/li>\n<li>Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer,<\/li>\n<li>Research Development, Research Evaluation, and Analytics,<\/li>\n<li>Regulatory Affairs and Compliance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Introductory Resources<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>A collection of written testimonies from PhDs across fields who transition into academic non-professor jobs can be found in the book <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.lib.purdue.edu\/navigatingcareershighered\/4\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Higher Education Careers beyond the Professoriate<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/content\/article\/day-life-assistant-dean\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A day in the life of an Assistant Dean<\/a>, Science Careers.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/content\/article\/day-life-grant-writer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A day in the life of a Grant Writer<\/a>, Science Careers.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/content\/article\/day-life-scientific-foundation-strategic-leader\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A day in the life of a Scientific Foundation Strategic Leader<\/a>, Science Careers.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bu.vault.com\/professions\/directors-of-corporate-sponsorship\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Director of Corporate Sponsorship<\/a> &#8211; general info and description, BU Vault.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bu.vault.com\/professions\/career-and-employment-counselors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Career and Employment Counselors<\/a> &#8211; general info and description, BU Vault.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Venturing further in this career area<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imaginephd.com\/job-families\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Explore Job Families in Higher Ed and Administration<\/a> (need to created a free account first), ImaginePhD.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HzNi9UVWoFw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Non-faculty careers in academia<\/a>, 1-hour career panel (video).<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidehighered.com\/advice\/2018\/05\/21\/suggestions-alt-ac-careers-may-be-overlooked-opinion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">More alt-ac career options<\/a>, Inside Higher Ed opinion piece.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@higheredlive\/videos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trends in Higher Education<\/a> &#8211; YouTube channel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Learning by doing job-related tasks<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/intersectjobsims.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Intersect Job Simulations<\/a> have been designed by PhDs for PhDs. To make the most of them, please set up <a href=\"https:\/\/intersectjobsims.com\/smart\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SMART Goals<\/a> to perform each simulation in a reasonable timeline. When you have completed the task, fill out the <a href=\"https:\/\/intersectjobsims.com\/reflection\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Self-Reflection Sheet<\/a>, which will help you reflect on what you enjoyed (or did not enjoy) about the simulation, and how it can help inform your career exploration efforts.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Job simulation &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/intersectjobsims.com\/humanities-simulations\/ed-development\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">University Administrator &#8211; Educational Development<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Job simulation &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/intersectjobsims.com\/library\/career-advising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">University Career Advising<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Job simulation &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/intersectjobsims.com\/library\/research-an-rfa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Researching Funding<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Job simulation &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/intersectjobsims.com\/library\/coordinating-the-development-of-a-large-grant-proposal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Coordinating the Development of a Large Grant Proposal<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Job simulation &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/intersectjobsims.com\/library\/rd-drafting-sections-of-a-grant\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Drafting the Sections of a Grant<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Job simulation &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/intersectjobsims.com\/library\/editing-a-grant-proposal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Editing a Grant Proposal<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Job simulation &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/intersectjobsims.com\/humanities-simulations\/consulting-diversity-equity-and-inclusion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Consulting: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Job simulation &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/intersectjobsims.com\/humanities-simulations\/visualizing-data-annual-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Visualizing Data for an Annual Report<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Preparing your transition into this career area<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-019-01332-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Focus on your skills<\/a>, Nature article.<\/li>\n<li>Search for and connect with folks from thematic National Associations and Organizations:\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/afpglobal.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Association of Fundraising Professionals<\/a> (AFP).<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/cirtl.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning<\/a> (CIRTL).<\/li>\n<li>Graduate Career &amp; Professional Development &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/gradcareerconsortium.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Graduate Career Consortium<\/a> (GCC).<\/li>\n<li>Teaching and Organizational Development &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/podnetwork.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">POD network<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Research Development &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/nordp.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NORDP<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Look for and join relevant thematic groups on LinkedIn, online communities, etc.<\/li>\n<li>Look for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/students\/professional-life\/advising-mentoring\/alumni-mentoring\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GMS Alumni<\/a> who have transitioned into this career area.<\/li>\n<li>The Social Scientist enables early-career scientists to receive mentorship from folks who have transitioned into various careers &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesocialscientist.org\/academia-mentors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">connect with academic career mentors<\/a> (administrators, professors, postdocs, research specialists&#8230;).<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mymedia.bu.edu\/playlist\/dedicated\/207936103\/1_9emp2sqk\/1_2lldbf4b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Analyze job descriptions<\/a> to learn more about what institutions and organizations are currently looking for.<\/li>\n<li>Growing your network and <a href=\"https:\/\/intersectjobsims.com\/infointerviewguide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">having informational interviews<\/a> with PhDs who have transitioned into careers of interest to you will enable you to learn more about the job&#8217;s daily responsibilities, hiring process, career progression, etc., and the sector as a whole.<\/li>\n<li>Look for <a href=\"https:\/\/careers.insidehighered.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">higher ed jobs on Inside Higher Ed.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You can transition into multiple career areas at academic institutions and non-profit organizations. These career areas include: Administration, Career &amp; Professional Development, Curriculum Development, Teaching, and Learning, Foundation Relations, Alumni Relations, Development, Grant management and writing support, Innovation, Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer, Research Development, Research Evaluation, and Analytics, Regulatory Affairs and Compliance. Introductory Resources [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20577,"featured_media":0,"parent":99331,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/99757"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20577"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99757"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/99757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104371,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/99757\/revisions\/104371"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/99331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}