Beyond the Ivory Tower

Square Peg, Round Hole

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By Charles A. Goldthwaite Jr.

Most of my days revolve around topics that affect the lives and health of millions of people -- things like diabetes, embryonic stem cells, nanotechnology, and federal science policy. Last month, for example, I learned about treatment protocols for restless-legs syndrome and about genetic testing for deafness. However, I also delved into source material on the Manchester music scene of the late 1980s and early '90s, and considered theories regarding the implosion of that city's once-vibrant rave culture. It's all in a day's work.

I'm the rare square peg that fits into a round hole -- i.e., a recently minted Ph.D. in American literature who earns his living as a freelance writer specializing in science and medical articles. I've been able to use the skills that I honed in graduate school to forge a path into the private sector.

Remarkably, my transition from humanities student to technical communicator was made possible by the very structure of the graduate experience itself. Although my shift was not seamless, it helped me to learn several important lessons that may be useful to graduate students who find themselves facing the prospect of a nonacademic career.

I began writing about science-related topics in 1998, a year before I entered the doctoral program at the University of Virginia. To make ends meet, I was working as a research assistant in a molecular-biology lab at Vanderbilt University. I had occasionally written freelance articles for the university's community paper and prepared summary reports for on-campus conference meetings. At the time, I saw such opportunities as avenues to practice my writing and to make a bit of extra money. Little did I know that those activities would form the basis of a career five years later.

During graduate school, I continued to write as a freelancer, taking assignments wherever offered. Even though my academic studies and my research remained my primary endeavors, I gradually established relationships with three or four clients over a three-year period. The flexibility of the graduate lifestyle was well-suited to freelance work, and I can't recall ever complaining about the extra income.

Last year, I collected my belongings, saddled up, and joined that nationwide cattle call for prospective English professors. I centered my sales pitch on those aspects that I felt made me truly unique: timely navigation through the doctoral program combined with a secondary specialty in science and technical writing. Armed with the confidence that my dossier would shine like a diamond among the heaps of applications that decorated the desks of search-committee members nationwide, I focused my efforts on tenure-track job openings at 25 departments.

I felt certain that search committees would recognize that I was a guy who got the job done, and, what's more, that they would value that. Plus, I knew that the need to communicate science-related issues to the public is paramount in today's technology-driven environment. Competent science and medical writers are in demand in the marketplace, and the field will likely become a recognized subdiscipline in academic departments in the next few years.

My interpretation of my academic prospects at the preapplication stage: Departments might very well brawl over the chance to work with a guy like me.

As it turned out, however, nary a punch was thrown. Efforts to translate my experience into a tenure-track position proved completely ineffective. (And I was one of the fortunate souls whose home institution had an excellent job-placement program).

What I failed to recognize is that you can't control other people's perceptions, no matter what you have to offer. At my first mock job interview with a faculty member from my home institution, I was informed that I would appear "too white." (My dissertation examined the uses of rock music and culture in American prose literature of the last 50 years, and white men have created the lion's share of the source material.)

Having been white my entire life, however, I was unsure how to amend this shortcoming in the three weeks that remained before the real interviews at the Modern Language Association convention. Am I efficient? Yes. Able to fill a niche? I think so. White? Without a doubt.

To make a long story short, I had two interviews at the MLA meeting, and both went very well. Although neither led to a campus visit, I had a pleasant interview experience and have no regrets. However, the aspects of my candidacy that I felt were unique were mentioned only briefly.

My wife, who was on the job market in biology, fared much better than I did, with a half-dozen interviews and two solid job offers. Although I had several leads on possible science-writing jobs, we found ourselves out of time. We chose the better of her options, and I scaled up my freelance operations into a small business.

My experience has taught me three valuable lessons about careers in academe and elsewhere:

Graduate school is a wonderful incubator for a career outside of academe. Although it is a bit unsettling to think rationally and practically about your back-up plan (read: failure to secure an academic post), graduate school provides a perfect environment in which to do so.

There is no way that I could support myself as a medical writer immediately upon graduation without having forged relationships with a couple of key clients during the four years I was in graduate school. For many careers, a network is essential, and a portfolio of work becomes one's calling card. Graduate school gives you the time to develop both of those things at a relatively relaxed pace.

How you fare on the academic job market is governed by many forces beyond your control. After my candidacy ended, I found out that one department to which I had applied recently had had a bad experience with a previous hire from my alma mater.

I also found out that an untenured member of my dissertation committee was awarded (and rightly so) one of the positions for which I had applied. I had no idea that he was on the market.

A fellow graduate student I know who was one of two finalists for a tenure-track position lost out to the other candidate: an associate professor who was willing to give up tenure at Institution A for an opportunity at Institution B.

From those experiences, I learned that a candidate can never truly know employers' needs or the background of the competition. As a corollary, I have also learned that your failure to land an academic job says nothing about your potential worth in the greater marketplace.

Many invigorating aspects of academic life can still be enjoyed from outside higher education. You don't have to be a faculty member to have the opportunity to teach, to think and write about subjects of interest, and to enjoy the collegiality of an academic conference.

I currently have two papers under consideration by academic journals. Moreover, I am free to attend conferences as an independent scholar, and a local institution has offered me the opportunity to teach a couple of courses as an adjunct. Should I choose to partake of those opportunities, I will do so without the specter of tenure hovering over me.

Recently, a colleague at a medical-education company told me that I was "brave" for taking the independent route. I had to smile at her comment, because I see my situation as one of many possible solutions to a common academic predicament.

My response was more adaptive than fearless. By using a small portion of my time in graduate school to nurture other career options, I transformed the road less traveled into an avenue to a balanced professional life.