One of the strangest parts that you may find about landing that first post-academic job is that the culture of your workplace may be completely different from the one you’re used to. In the saddest sense, getting a job outside the university sector can underscore–on a very visceral level–just how tough the working conditions for grad students really are.
When my friend H. got a government job after finishing her Ph.D. in history, she said that, even after several months of settling into the job, she still wasn’t quite used to actually being treated well by her colleagues. She couldn’t believe that people respected her opinion, consulted her expertise and wanted to listen to her presentations and viewpoints (after all, that was why they hired her). Not only that, she loved having the unlimited photocopying access, plus her own office that she didn’t have to share with 5 other people.
These might be things that your average professional probably takes for granted, but for grad students, this stuff is heaven.
If you’ve already left academia, have you found the same kind of “culture shock” in your other workplace? If you’re thinking of leaving, what kind of work environment do you think you’d really relish?
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Greetings from Germany. The situation in academia is no different here.
Exactly what you report here happened to my wife after she left academia and got a job in a smaller company:
After her first business meeting, she came home at the evening, completely bewildered. I asked her about whats going on. Her reply: “They… they… they… can you believe it? They treat me seriously!”. She was really in a state of disbelief, shock, doubt. I don’t exaggerate.
She is now working at that company for more than two years, and she still loves her work. Completely different to the situation when she did the PhD. That time put a really heavy strain on our relationship.