Today, I will be on a panel with @KaseyAnnFoley @BreMapston & @LaurenCamacci discussing #altac careers for communication grad students at @CASatPSU. Grad students are prepared for careers outside of the academy, and it is important they hear that right now and always.

Myths persist that the skills you are taught in graduate school are only valuable in academia—this is a falsehood!

Methodical approaches to solving complex problems is a valued skill in many careers.

Understanding research processes and the foundations of statistics is sorely needed outside of the academy.

Many corporations make major financial decisions off the results of a t-test if you didn’t know.

Many people in research positions outside of academia have little formal training in research methods.

Understanding when to use a method and why is a skill that you can leverage.

PhDs in communication understand how to craft a message and why it will be successful/persuasive.

If you didn’t know, there are lots of shitty messages put out there. You can do better, I can guarantee it.

Another myth is that you won’t be able to make good money outside of the academy.

This is SUPER FALSE. You have a choice in the type of job you take after graduate school. Corporate jobs pay well, government jobs pay well, nonprofit jobs may not pay as well.

Furthermore, your promotion prospects are greatly increased in most non academic jobs, and the hoops you have to jump through are not nearly as complicated.

Many jobs have multiple paths forward, and they are actually attainable.

I will conclude this (non comprehensive) thread by saying that a perk of #altac jobs is that you can find them nearly everywhere.

The moral of the story here is that options exist for you. Reach out to comm PhDs who left academia and ask them about what they are doing and how they got there. We exist in many different fields.

If you are in an #AltAc career and started as a #commtwitter graduate student and would be available to talk about your experiences with current graduate students, feel free to comment below!

Here is an additional thread about #altac careers geared to communication graduate students from @rahulmitra

There are many possibilities for you to explore! https://twitter.com/rahulmitra/status/1112465168536084483

This thread has some great tangible advice!