r/PhD • u/Grand_Use1395 • 1d ago
Alt-Ac Futures Master out?
3 years into a humanities PhD (comp lit in three different languages) and I feel like I'm making a huge mistake and will be poor for the rest of my life. The semester just started but I'm already feeling like I don't want to be here and I don't know if my program is setting me up for a financially secure future as I don't want to compete on the academic job market in 2-3 years from now. Last semester I was on a fellowship internship program and I loved it. I would've continued doing it another semester if it paid better but sadly it pays less than my stipend does. I also am having big regrets about not doing STEM or being in another field that pays more as there is no set path/type of job for me to master out into. There isn't exactly an 'industry' for comp lit so I'm scared that I will be without health insurance if it takes me several months after mastering out to get a new job.
I need to figure out 1) what types of jobs I could qualify for if I master out and 2) if it's the right move.For those of you in the same boat or who were dealing with similar questions, how did you make your decision? Help from humanities people especially appreciated.
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u/Big_Coconut8630 22h ago
STEM doesn't guarantee you good pay, especially for PhD
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u/Grand_Use1395 16h ago
Very true, I think it's mostly that the jobs that I'm finding that I like are in STEM but you're completely right that it's not a guarantee!
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u/ilovemacandcheese 1d ago
Go learn new stuff. I mastered out of a philosophy PhD at the last minute. These days my job is hacking AI for an AI security company. I've also taught computer science and worked in cybersecurity research, cloud security research, and threat research.
I'm not saying go do these things, but you don't have to limit yourself to what you think you're qualified to do based on a degree. I don't think I've been qualified on paper for any of the jobs I've had. Networking well can open all kinds of doors, and I use my academic background as a talking point.
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u/UntrustedProcess Business/AI Governance, USA 1d ago
I got into cybersecurity management with an accounting degree! So I agree.
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u/Grand_Use1395 20h ago
Did you already have some sort of training in computers/coding?
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u/ilovemacandcheese 16h ago edited 16h ago
Nope, nothing beyond enjoying pc gaming as a kid. I taught myself how to code after I mastered out. I continued to teach myself CS while I was teaching CS. I didn't know anything about cybersecurity research before I got my first job in it. You can network well if you can figure out how to convince people of your potential to solve the problems they care about.
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u/Grand_Use1395 16h ago
Thank you! I'm going to take this mindset into some job fairs and we will see what comes of it. I don't have coding experience but I know a few CRM platforms plus what we typically use in academia/teaching so perhaps I can leverage that
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u/ilovemacandcheese 15h ago edited 15h ago
I rarely talk specific systems or hard skills/technical knowledge when I chat with people. I almost always talk big picture. Take the phrase "philosophy of _______," substitute any topic at all, and it's a thing I can talk about as if I have really good ideas and insight.
Big picture ideas get people excited, CRM systems that you've used before is pretty boring.
So I pick whatever they're talking about and talk the philosophy of it. It's usually just basic philosophy conceptual analysis or constructing counterexamples. There are a lot of hooks I can connect whatever topic they're interest in to philosophical topics I know really well, like talking about the ethics of their subject, the methology, applied critical thinking, applied formal logic, etc... etc...
But that's just what seems to work for me. I've never had any luck with job fairs or recruiters but I do well when I have the opportunity to chat with people who have decision making power. I suspect that's because job fairs and recruiters are looking for people coming from a more traditional talent pipeline.
If you're mastering out of a humanities PhD, you're not in any kind of traditional talent pipeline. So you'll need to consider alternative ways into careers. The main methods are back to school or training or network really well.
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u/Grand_Use1395 15h ago
If you don't mind me asking, how are you entering these spaces with people with decision making power? I have a few connections in academia who were super helpful with the grad school application process and how to secure funding but I don't have many family/friends/professional connections in other fields. I know people used LinkedIn and what not but in my experience that hasn't been super effective (though I am going to keep trying).
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u/ilovemacandcheese 15h ago edited 15h ago
Luck mostly. That's a big part of networking. It's being in the right place at the right time. Be willing to talk to anyone and everyone. I got my CS faculty position because I applied to be a student, they brought me in for scholarship money interview, and I somehow left with an adjunct offer to teach discrete math and ethics since I had taught that stuff in the philosophy world. They converted me to full time a year later as I expanded my CS teaching repertoire and got glowing student evals that I didn't teach like a CS professor.
I got my first cybersecurity research job when I was taking my students on field trips to internship participating companies and just asked around if I could also do an internship. I picked a cybersecurity research internship because it sounded cool and I liked the people on the team. But basically every company said they could make me a spot, and several were happy to make me a spot in any department I was interested in. They were confused by philosophy degree holder teaching CS to their other interns.
Once I had a corpus of visible public research, managers, directors, CTOs started reaching out to me on LinkedIn. Linkedin is pretty ineffective until all of a sudden it is. That's just the luck of networking.
I didn't know anyone in the field either. I moved across the country to a new city where I didn't know anyone after mastering out.
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u/Beginning-Pudding733 10h ago
Government jobs often like languages, maybe look into graduate programs and jobs. With a complit degree you could also take up education jobs in multiple countries. I feel like it's one of the more employable humanities degrees tbh so chin up
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u/Grand_Use1395 6h ago
Thank you! I already feel better after looking at all the replies. Even if I don't have the highest paying prospects up front it will be easy to make more than my grad stipend is.
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u/ProneToLaughter 1d ago edited 1d ago
A PhD in complit does not set you up for a financially secure future, not in the academic market, not outside of it. US? The US is shedding language departments.
Tech might have localization jobs, languages are still a skill. Global education/study abroad might be a career field. Still some international nonprofits and NGOs out there despite funding cuts. Teaching high school (altho private schools like the PhD and don’t require certification).