Habits of Non-Academic Creatives

The world of higher education is in distress. Today’s higher ed teaching professionals are around 50% contingent faculty (adjuncts, visiting associate professors, doctoral candidates). Other faculty violated a student’s privacy, as in the case of a U. of California at San Diego professor who reveal confidential academic information on a public forum.

Throw in the rising cost of undergraduate tuition causing a “sticker shock effect” that limits a family’s ability to pay for college. And the ongoing crisis of sexual abuse and misconduct on college campuses around the country. A college education doesn’t guarantee a job. Many high school graduates are entering trade and vocational programs (construction, computer technology, culinary arts, veterinary tech) for job security. Is academia an attractive employment option? Are there other alternatives? What is a Non-Academic Creative?

Reality Check

I used to think working in higher education was exciting, glamorous and might be a fulfilling career. My best teachers in school made me want to become a teacher.

But higher education is not for everyone. It can’t be – there are not enough full-time, tenured faculty jobs for everyone who wants to teach. Part-time faculty jobs are the default if you want to teach in academia. Administrative jobs are also possible.

In the real world, many educational professionals are working as alt-act, post-acs or as non-academic creatives, anyone working in a creative field outside of academia.

An article described how one academic recently had a reality check at a family meet up: Many family embers worked in the creative arts (marketing, advertising, television, PR).

The person was genuinely surprised that many smart people did not work in academia.

Head in the Sand

The article made me laugh – clearly the writer spent too much time in the academic world.

I call it the head in the sand syndrome.

There’s a whole world of smart people out there. Many of them don’t want to work in higher education.

You can’t find all the answers inside ivory towers or public universities. Collaboration, sharing ideas, and moving outside the academic silo are better choices.

And a silo mindset is just one reason I continue to explore my talents as an alt-ac/post-ac professional. There’s a certain freedom in creating your own work space, free from the restrictions of the academic culture.

I’m exploring my writing talents and working on several books and conference presentations. It’s great to work with colleagues and academic researchers on a variety of projects.

You can find any number of non-academic jobs as a PhD – I wrote about trends in my blog, “What You Can Be With a PhD”.

Non-Academic Mindset

Here’s a summary of why non-academic creatives are flexible thinkers:

1. Non-academic creatives can get another job elsewhere: Moving to another employer is a standard in the creative sector. They value their talents and expect their employer to do the same.
2. Non-academic creatives adapt to trends in their industries: Creative industries need talented people. Again, non-academic creatives know their value  – they expect the industry to pay for that value.
3. Non-academic creatives have little interest in academia: Non-academic creatives would not likely transition into an academic life. They enjoy the challenges in their creative industries. This is a healthy mindset for anyone – a job is important but so is your passion for doing work that you enjoy.

Many academics don’t have the option to be flexible thinkers – yet another source of the restrictive academic culture.

Closing Thoughts

The article also reminded me that it’s easy for all of us to wear blinders. Working in one type of industry day after day can make us blind to reality.

Take a step outside the silo to see what’s on the other side.

Source: The Non-Academic Creative Professionals in My Family Are Not Worried About Their Jobs

Cheers,
Dr. Bessie

The mind is everything. What you think you become.
~~~Buddha~~~