1/ I am already on my way out of academia. I haven't found a job yet, but I figured I would make a quick thread for people thinking about other options based on my experiences so far.

2/ The most work-intensive part is figuring out what type of jobs you would want. There are a LOT of options out there and it's overwhelming. You do all the things in grad school. You'll do a small chunk of that in industry. So first, what are your main passions/skills?

3/ For me, it was in data analysis and communicating data about people into something useful, especially through writing. That is a start, so what do I do with that?

4/ Next, I made a LinkedIn Profile. I tried listing those skills in my profile. I searched for jobs using those as search terms. Not great results, but if I saw a promising job I started using the "skills" listed for that job as search terms and added ones I had to my profile.

5/ In this way figuring out jobs that are a good fit for you is a bit like doing a lit review in an unfamiliar area. You find little that's relevant to start off with, but as you go and hit the right terms you have more luck.

6/ This helped me narrow down that UX Researcher, Research Associate, Academic Editor, and People Research generally fit my profile well. I was interested in Data Science positions but often lack many of the skills listed.

7/ So right now I am applying for jobs that fit my profile reasonably well, while trying to improve data science relevant skills. (learning more about R, at least figuring out what things like SQL and Tableau are to see if they're worth learning more about)

8/ I've made some attempts at networking, talking to people in relevant industry jobs based on old colleagues, people I know. That's been tough working full time ++ as a VAP, especially during a pandemic, so I need to up my game on this!

9/ I have had 2 interviews for far after applying for ~12 positions. Both didn't move forward. It is a lot less intense. Some just need a resume, at most maybe a 1 page cover letter. I'd say apply early and often.

10/ Keep in mind, some places like Facebook and Google limit how many jobs you can apply for every quarter, so wait for the most relevant ones to pop up. The good news is tech companies are in general still hiring right now, and in some cases they have increased demand.

11/11 So that's all I have so far! I'm definitely not an expert and I'm just starting out. If you're looking for people who think about this all the time and know a lot more than me, follow: @FromPhDtoLife @cjohnyrun

12/11 Also, if you have any suggestions for jobs please let me know!