After a decade and becoming disillusioned with the academy, I’m using my time to reengage with what brings me meaning. I’m leaning towards applying my research and literature review skills to documentary or fact checking work. It would bring meaning and help me contribute to knowledge in a way that’s not accessible nor impactful in academia. I would appreciate insight into how to approach this change. I also care to share my story that brought me here so you can understand my trajectory and thought process.
Engineering a Historian - Or Not
When I was a kid, I was absolutely in love with history. I was abnormal in that I preferred nonfiction books about Rome or The American Civil War, OG history channel and TLC, over fiction or cartoons. I visited museums and went to battlefields for fun. I lived and breathed the stuff, even in games I learned so much from Shogun and Rome Total War, Caesar II and III, and Lords of the Realm. My father was not supportive. There was no money in history. I would never be successful. He was a serial entrepreneur, and serial failure at it. Always trying to out perform, chase the next idea, and push me to be wealthy and successful at all costs. He set me up for failure by refusing to help with anything but pursuing money. He refused to support a university for history and pushed me to go to a school for the burgeoning IT field. I. Hated. It. I switched to history in that school, which was definitely not known for it. Rebellion continued as I joined the military (before 9-11, as in doing ROTC on 9-1…great timing), and promptly burned out and lost direction after two deployments and disillusionment.
After the military, which was not a good time for my soul or mind, I was accepted into school on a history MA PhD track. I thought the post 9-11 GI bill would cover it, was told it would, but upon a review an administrator in Oklahoma (of all places) said I didn’t qualify and denied it. I appealed. Denied. That’s a story for another time. So, I dropped out before I started. Started working in a service industry, did well, started teaching for a trade association in it, and when I decided to seek an advanced degree, I wanted to study the disasters and emergencies that harmed so many people in my work - earthquakes, yeah, but also modern day slavery. Commodities for those wondering, coffee.
Ten years after dropping out of an MA PHD track, I got a PhD in Policy Analysis. I got to teach, research, publish. Now I am watching the field and higher end crumble away. Fighting so hard for so long only to watch the same callous administrators maintain their roles yet cut student resources and faculty was a huge hit. Watching grants disappear and colleagues I admire consider suicide after burning out just solidified it all for me - its time to go and get back to the core idea - teaching and helping people learn while doing what I’ve loved since I was a kid.
That’s where I am. I’d be happy in a museum writing programming, doing fact checking for history and analysis youtubers/podcasters, or working on documentary teams. I could spend the rest of my days happily combing documents and archives because I love engaging with the past. How to get into that and prove I’m capable, well, that’s another thing. Any advice or ideas are welcome. Thanks all.
This administration and Project 2025’s assault on education is insane.
I work for a University, not doing any research stuff and we are so heavily affected.
I don’t have advice. From my friends who have made career changes later in life - they heavily invested in themselves and took risks.
If you want a job away from the politics, a museum probably isn’t the best place either. And I’ve heard it’s near impossible to get the rare opening unless you are well connected in that community.
I don’t say that to bring negativity, if it’s a risk that’s worth it to you, then jump towards it.
Directness is appreciated. As an aside, it is absolutely mind blowing how far and fast Project 2025 swept through society. Higher ed is the obvious example but everything from nonprofits to your local farmers market. In about a year, people of all walks of life except the wealthiest simply hit hard. It is, indeed, a challenging world.
I left my job in academia for a policy related field in 2021, and I was a STEM researcher and teacher for over 10 years previously. I was an adjunct working towards professorship and never thought I would work in anything else. I fully expected to retire as a crusty old professor with grad students aplenty to help with my research, teaching courses all the while.
I applied to a fellowship program (that placed me in an agency as a contractor with simultaneous coursework towards an academic certificate) which catapulted me into the work I’m in now. A job like this is something I didn’t know I would ever be able to obtain until much later in life because it’s a full time job that has benefits (I’d never had a job before that offered benefits!). My partner was the one that spotted the opportunity in an email regularly sent out with local job ads for one of the universities nearby. You just never know what’s going to be out there, but local email newsletters for major academic programs have been a great resource for us, and I highly recommend getting on those lists to check them every day. There may be a history program at a nearby university that could be offering a fellowship or program that could be a stepping stone to another opportunity. I also wonder if your military service might qualify you for special consideration as a veteran. Some places seek out veterans for job placement, so there may be a slight advantage there, not to mention your PhD! It may also be worth it to check if the VA has resources or connections for your local employment (or maybe you’ve done this already).
Sorry to hear your dad wasn’t able to see the power in supporting you in your passion. It’s one thing to want your kid to succeed, but another to be myopic in believing that the only path to success is the one previously forged. If anything, we know that nothing in today’s markets is stable or reliable, so taking a novel approach at something like this is almost always been my preferred method. And it eventually paid off to take this risk, that is, after a failed attempt to join the team I was temporarily placed with during my fellowship. This failure was the impetus to my seeking other opportunities related to my new experience in this profession.
I feel insanely lucky, but the diligence and networking it took to prove myself in this new field ended up paying off. I was careful to look for any opportunity to branch out with my developing skill set. I learned the new vernacular, wrote my resume over countless times, and applied to a ton of places to get to my current role. With the fellowship placement and the relevant experience it brought, I had a foothold to get into a permanent/full time role, shaking off the temp agency I worked for previously. I couldn’t be more grateful to have this type of job stability, and I understand finding a job right now is a daunting task (as I’ve been helping a friend beef up his resume and draft cover letters to look for work right now and see how brutal it is). I wish you the best of luck and hope sharing my experience helps spark an idea that will help carry you to a role that excites you!
This was wonderful to read; thank you for taking the time to respond, share, and show empathy. I’ve been told about fellowship programs as well, and am looking for fits for me. Pertaining to US veterans status, yes, some states, even some companies, offer preferences. I’m trying very hard to make it outside the US right now, but, am going to need to expand into US based remote roles.
Its tough but doable, given time and commitment.