Why professors leave academia + are you a Big Idea Expert?

Dear Reader,

Why do professors, even tenured ones, leave academia?

Some of you know, because you lived this.

But I bet a lot of folks outside the academy are surprised to learn that, yes, professors ditch tenure the get jobs elsewhere, and it’s not a rare phenomenon.

Earlier this year I recorded a video about this with Tory Wobber, PhD. We went through a list of reasons why professors change careers, in our experience as coaches.

In no order:

Mismatch between expectations and reality: Job and lifestyle realities don’t match up with your prior expectations, leading to disappointment and disillusionment.
Toxic work environments and colleagues: Yes, capitalism ruins everything, but academia can be particularly toxic. The system promotes and protects bullies; no wonder people leave.
Wanting different for your life: You have to go where the job is in academia, much more so than in other career paths. A desire to live elsewhere drives faculty to pursue other opportunities.
Limited professional growth and advancement: If you don’t want to move into administration, you could be stuck doing basically the same job for decades. If this doesn’t work for you, it’s either up (to admin) or out (of academia).
Financial considerations: The other day I read about a full-time professor who doesn’t earn enough to cover his basic expenses as was wracking up credit card debt every month! Sometimes you need or simply want more money.
Personal circumstances: For example, if your husband has been trying for years to get a job in the region and it’s not working, you might have no choice but to move and get work elsewhere. Or, you need to move your family to another state in the wake of political decisions that harm you or your family members. Lots of possibilities here.
Structural and cultural issues within academia: The highly competitive nature, scarcity of resources, and rigid hierarchy often present can lead to a challenging and unrewarding work environment. You’re allowed to want different.
External factors and global events: The pandemic (that’s still ongoing) proved to a lot of us that universities aren’t beacons of enlightenment. Responses to Israel’s genocide in Gaza have been all over the place, with no response at all being common. Sometimes you realize things about your employer and colleagues that you can never unrealize.

What do you think?

(You can watch the full video on YouTube and join the conversation about this topic on LinkedIn.)

TAKE THE QUIZ

How close are you to becoming a Big Idea Expert?

I’d like to introduce you to one of my PhD-turned-entrepreneur friends, Emily Crookston. She’s a philosopher by training who’s now a ghostwriter extraordinaire and thought leadership expert. We work together most Friday mornings.

Emily’s on a mission to help as many people as possible become a Big Idea Expert (her preferred term for “thought leader”).

So she created something to help you figure out (a) how close you are to becoming a BIE and (b) what action you can take TODAY to move you down the path.

It’s a quiz! How fun is that?

Take the quiz!

The quiz will tell you which of the 3 phases of thought leadership you’re in:

Confident Exposure
Broadening Your Sphere of Influence
Becoming a Big Idea Expert

AND your custom results will give you the next step you can take.

YOU are the voice your people want to hear.

YOUR ideas need to be out of your head.

Take Emily’s quiz and get on the path to becoming a Big Idea Expert.

What’s Happening

Weekly co-working continues! These are free and you’re invited. Wednesdays at 10am EDT.
PhD Career Clarity Program members can attend this month’s workshop, “Get Ready to Network: How to Build Your Professional Community Without Wasting Anyone’s Time (Including Your Own)” on Friday, 31 May, at 12pm EDT.