#AltAC in Communication
Are you a current or recent graduate student who is playing with the idea of pursuing a non-academic career? Here are 5 steps you can take right now!
Virtual Workshop Series
on #AltAC in Communication
This series of videos was made for PhDs or doctoral students interested in pursuing careers outside of traditional academic jobs. They highlight the career paths and stories of communication PhDs who hold positions in corporate, nonprofit, administrative, health, and consulting work.
Whether you are a recent PhD graduate, are currently working on your PhD, or have been working in either academia or the professional world--this workshop series will be useful to you as it offers hands-on conversations on alternative academic careers.
Organized by Sarah J. Tracy, professor and immediate past director of The Transformation Project, and Marco Dehnert, Doctoral Student, Arizona State University. Supported by a National Communication Association Advancing the Discipline Grant. The virtual workshop series was conducted and recorded in April 2021.
#AltAC: From Academy to Industry
Christine E. Kiesinger
Eric D. Waters
#AltAC: On Being a Professional Researcher
Nancy Baym
Melinda Rea-Holloway
#AltAC: “Pracademics” and Administrators: At the Intersections of Academy and Industry
Leaving Home: Finding Place, Purpose and Possibilities Outside the Walls of Academia
Making Meaning Matter for Business: Pracademic Preparation for the Uncertainties and Realities of the New Academic Economy
Notes from a professional people watcher: Turning nosiness into a career
“I Made It Up:” (Re)Imagining What’s Possible with a PhD in the Academy
Cultivating a Skill Set that Sets up Success in an #AltAC Career
Additional Resources
- The professor is in
- Twitter hashtag #AltAC
- #AltAC guide by University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Columbia University Center For Career Education: Non-Academic Career Options for PhDs in the Humanities and Social Sciences
- University of Kentucky: Non-Ac and Alt-Ac Career Tools & Perspectives
- Leaving Academia: A Practical Guide by Christopher L. Caterine
- Inside Higher Ed Section on #AltAC
- Inside Higher Ed: Essay on Defining Alt-Ac for New PhD Job Searches
- Chronicle of Higher Education: The Alt-Ac Job Search: A Case Study
- Christopher S Rose's The Myth of the "Alt-Ac Career"
- University Affairs: What's up with Alt-Ac Careers
- Aurora, a professional development site for PhDs and graduate students
- NCA Spectra dedicated to Alt-Ac
- NCA Prep Talk: Recognizing, Evaluating, & Presenting Academic Skillsets to a Non-Academic Audience
- NCA Prep Talk: Embracing Opportunities Beyond the Academy
