I help professors, postdocs, and PhDs change careers.
Hello! 👋🏻
Are you a professor, postdoc, or PhD who’s questioning your future in academia? Are you wondering whether the job you took after leaving is actually right for you? You’re in the right place.
I’m Jen Polk, PhD.
I help PhDs (and other long-time academics) figure out what they actually want next in their careers and move toward it with clarity and confidence.
In other words, I help people move from confusion and second-guessing about their careers to clarity, confidence, and a direction that actually fits who they are now.
Most people who find me are at a turning point
They know something needs to change. But they’re not yet clear on what they want instead, or how to pursue it without making a costly mistake.
They might be thinking things like:
- “I know I don’t want to stay where I am.”
- “I’ve followed the standard advice, and none of it really fits.”
- “I should be able to figure this out on my own, but I’m stuck.”
- “What if I’ve outgrown academia but don’t belong anywhere else?”
These are thoughtful, capable people.
They don’t lack skills.
What they’re lacking is clarity, structure, and community to help them decide what they want and move forward confidently.
Feeling stuck?
You open LinkedIn for the first time in months.
Your old “Assistant Professor” title is still sitting there like a ghost of your former life.
Your finger hovers over the edit button.
Deleting it feels like erasing yourself.
But keeping it feels like a lie.
So you scroll past your publications, feel that little jolt of nostalgia… and close the tab.
That’s where a lot of people are when they first reach out.
They’re not just trying to change jobs.
They’re trying to figure out who they are professionally now, and what kind of work actually fits.
That’s where I come in.
It’s possible to build a meaningful, values-aligned career beyond academia.
This is a belief that matters for people before we work together.
Figuring out what that looks like for you usually requires support, structure, and space to do the work.
Academia trains people to chase external validation, prestige, and narrow definitions of success.
What it rarely teaches is how to ask questions such as
- What do I actually value in my career now, if I’m honest with myself?
- What parts of my work energize me—and what parts suck the life out of me?
- What kind of life do I want my career to support?
Those answers matter far more than any job title.
The real problem?
Many PhDs assume their challenge is tactical.
They think they need:
- a better resume
- stronger networking skills
- insider knowledge about “industry jobs”
And, sure, you might be right.
But most of the time, what’s actually preventing them from making progress on their job searches is hidden in plain sight.
You don’t yet have clarity about what you want.
Including how your values, interests, and priorities translate into a career that fits who you are now and what you want going forward.
Without that clarity, PhDs often
- stay stuck thinking about leaving for years
- jump into the first available role and discover it’s another mismatch
- lose confidence in their own abilities
- feel disconnected from work that once felt meaningful
My approach
Since 2013, I’ve helped PhDs step back from the noise and think strategically about what they want their careers to become.
Together, we focus on
- clarifying your values, priorities, and strengths
- identifying career paths that genuinely fit you
- developing the language and confidence to communicate your value
- building momentum with structure and accountability
- connecting with a community of other PhDs navigating similar transitions
The goal isn’t just to escape a job that no longer fits. It’s to help you move toward work where you can contribute, grow, and feel proud of what you’re doing again. What that looks like for you is going to be different from the next person. That’s the whole point.
Ways we can work together
PhD Career Clarity Program
Join the PhD Career Clarity Program course and resource library for your job search. A warm community of PhD job seekers like you with live Q&A sessions.
Free Webinar
A free training webinar for PhDs about confidently marketing yourself for the job you want.
1-on-1 Consultation
While most PhDs benefit from my Career Clarity Program, you may prefer to work with me 1-on-1. Schedule a 60 minute consultation for job seekers.
Workshops and Speaking
Bring career coach, Jen Polk, PhD to your campus. Engaging custom workshops for groups on careers after academia.
Why I do this work
Over the years, I’ve interacted with thousands of PhDs about their careers. I keep seeing the same pattern.
Brilliant, thoughtful people who entered academia because they cared about ideas, teaching, research, and making a difference… slowly find themselves feeling stuck, undervalued, or unsure how to move forward.
Academic culture often pushes people toward narrow definitions of success—prestige, publications, tenure—even when those things no longer align with what they actually want from their work or their lives.
When that misalignment grows, people start asking difficult questions:
- Is this really the career I want?
- If I leave, what would I even do?
- Do my skills actually matter outside academia?
I believe that when PhDs reconnect with their strengths, values, and priorities, incredible things can happen—both for them and for the organizations and communities they go on to serve.
My work is about helping people do that thinking deliberately, so they can move toward careers where they’re valued, engaged, and able to make the kind of impact they care about.
A bit about me
I earned my PhD in history from the University of Toronto in 2012.
Soon after finishing my degree, I started From PhD to Life, which has grown into a career coaching practice focused on helping professors, postdocs, and other PhDs navigate career transitions beyond academia.
Since 2013, I’ve worked with graduate students and doctoral degree holders across the US, Canada, the United States, and elsewhere who are trying to answer a deceptively simple question: What should I do next—and how do I get there?
Over the years, I’ve become a recognized expert on PhD careers. I regularly facilitate professional development workshops and deliver keynote presentations for universities and professional organizations across North America and internationally.
My writing on PhD career paths has appeared in outlets such as University Affairs, Inside Higher Ed, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Globe and Mail, and Academic Matters. I’ve also contributed essays to several books on graduate education and academic careers.
In 2021, I served as an expert panelist for the Canadian Council of Academies report Degrees of Success, which examined the challenges PhDs face when transitioning into employment.
Today, most of my work happens through the PhD Career Clarity Program, where I help PhDs figure out what they actually want next, and then pursue it with clarity and confidence.
Members are professors, postdocs, and others PhDs who aren’t in the right place but want to be.
A good place to start
If you’re questioning your future in academia—or trying to figure out what kind of work might actually fit you next—a good place to start is my free webinar: How to Get a Great Job Outside Academia (even if you have no idea what you want to do next or why anyone would hire you).
In this training, I walk through the biggest mistakes PhDs make when trying to leave academia—and the process that helps people gain the clarity they need to move forward.
Have questions? I’m happy to answer them for you! Email me at Jen@FromPhDToLife.com