What jobs my clients get

Dear Reader,

Last week, four different people asked me about what kinds of jobs my clients get.

And, while I shouldn’t admit this, the first thing that popped into my head each time was, “I don’t know and I don’t care!”

I know. Great thing for a career coach to think.

I’m being sincere. But I also should explain, because I know it sounds bad.

First, let me acknowledge that I totally get why folks ask me this question. Of course they do!

People think of me as someone who helps academics navigate non-academic job searches, the point being to then get a job.

And they aren’t wrong to think that. Because I do indeed do that.

But here’s my problem with this (entirely reasonable) question, especially when the folks asking are undertaking their own career pivot or considering doing so:
The question they’re asking isn’t actually the one they want answered.

Instead, they’re more likely trying to answer one or more of these:

What kinds of jobs might be right for me?
Is Jen actually good at helping people with this?
Can I trust her to help me with my search?

Again, absolutely fair questions.

But asking me “what jobs do your clients get?” isn’t a very useful way to answer any of them.

The reality is that I work with PhDs from all different backgrounds, with all different life circumstances, ambitions, and priorities.

Yes, some sort of years-long academic experience connects them all—a research doctorate, current employment as a postdoc or professor, or other similar experience and credentials.

But where they go after working with me is really all over the place.

Some wind up in jobs that are pretty obviously connected to their academic backgrounds.
Others move into roles that are more indirectly related.
And still others end up doing jobs I would never have thought to suggest and sometimes had never even heard of before.

Which is cool!

In an attempt to back up my “they do all kinds of things” sense with actual numbers, I did a quick check.

I looked up 100 former members of my PhD Career Clarity Program whose current work I could identify through LinkedIn.

Get this: Those 100 people currently have 91 different job titles.

Ninety one jobs! Among 100 people!

There are recurring themes, sure:

Research and science
Teaching and learning
Consulting and self-employment
Program and project work
Data and analytics
Communications and writing
Grants and research administration.

And people are working in all kinds of settings: government, nonprofits, universities, science organizations, tech companies, education, consulting firms, their own businesses, and plenty of others.

“So, Jen, what kinds of jobs do your clients get?”

“All kinds of jobs. Really.”

But if what you’re actually wondering is what kind of job YOU should get, this probably doesn’t help very much, eh?

If five of my former clients were policy analysts, would that mean policy is a good fit for you?

Nope.

You aren’t them.

Your interests, strengths, and values are different.
Your financial needs, family situation, geographic constraints, preferred working conditions, tolerance for various forms of workplace nonsense, and ideas about what makes work worth doing are different.

A list of jobs other PhDs have can absolutely give you ideas; it cannot tell you what you should do.

And then there’s the other possible question: Is joining my program the right move for you?

But, again, a list of my former clients’ current job titles doesn’t answer that one particularly well either.

What I just looked at is a snapshot of what people are doing now, and some of my earliest program members have had multiple roles since working with me.

And would all 100 of these people tell you that I helped them get these jobs, or even their first ones after their time in the program?

Well, we’d have to ask them.

I’m not going to assume my work made a difference unless they tell me so.

(Though I bet your university is happy to consider your success evidence of theirs without asking you!)

What I can tell you is what I actually work on with my program members, and what resources I provide for folks to work on when I’m not in the (Zoom) room with them.

I help people figure out what they want, identify and investigate possibilities, make decisions, understand and articulate what they have to offer, build relationships, pursue opportunities, and keep going when the whole process is confusing or discouraging.

Sometimes somebody gets a new job while we’re working together. Great.

Sometimes they realize the career they were convinced they wanted is absolutely not for them. Also great! Very useful information!

Sometimes they narrow six vague possibilities down to two realistic ones.

Sometimes they finally know what kinds of jobs to apply for—and which ones to stop wasting time on.

Sometimes they get the job later.

Those are all meaningful outcomes of the work.

And this is where the “I don’t care” part comes in.

I don’t have a secret list of Good Careers For PhDs and then steer everybody toward them.

I’m not sitting here thinking, “Excellent, another PhD successfully converted into a market researcher!”

I don’t maintain a secret ranking where becoming a director of research counts as a better outcome than becoming a program coordinator.

That’s not my call.

I also have no control over what my clients or employers do, so I can’t make any promises that you’ll be employed.

And I’m not placing anyone anywhere. (That’s not a thing.)

What I care about is whether you get better at figuring out what YOU want.

Whether you understand yourself, and the world of employment around you, better.

Whether you can identify possibilities, investigate them, make decisions, pursue opportunities, and change direction when new information tells you that you should.

That is the work.

Could I do a much more elaborate alumni outcomes study? Sure.

I could send follow-up surveys. Chase people down. Maintain a giant spreadsheet. Sort everyone into sectors. Produce charts showing that X% work in “industry” (whatever that means) and Y% work in higher education.

Bah. I absolutely do not want to spend my time doing that.

More importantly, I think putting too much emphasis on that data would reinforce exactly the wrong idea about what I do.

My work is not about matching PhDs with a predetermined list of acceptable destinations.

Rather, it’s about helping you become much better at navigating your own career.

Because whatever job you get next probably won’t be the last career decision you ever have to make.

So yes, I care very much about what happens to my clients.

I just don’t particularly care what their job titles—or employers, industries, or sectors of employment—are.

But please tell me your job title if you want to, because I’m always interested in YOU!

And, if you’re not a former client but might want to be one someday, let’s chat about whether the program is a good fit for you. Reply to this email and we can discuss.

Best wishes,

Jen

Jennifer Polk, PhD