Don’t Have A STEM background? Not A Problem. These 5 Careers Are Suitable For Any PhD

While CSA has a bigger reputation for helping STEM PhDs land their industry dream jobs, we have also helped plenty of non-STEM PhDs find meaningful and valuable careers. All PhDs have a unique background and everyone’s research is extremely niche. But all PhDs have two things in common; they are excellent researchers and expert analyzers. 

Academia has a way of pigeon holing us into very narrow focus. We can’t see beyond this academic filter.

To successfully transition into industry you need to remove this filter, to broaden your view and realize how valuable and versatile your skill set truly is. 

You could be an Asia Pacific Studies PhD, but this doesn’t mean you can’t become a data scientist. You could be a music major but this doesn’t mean you can’t get into a management or CEO role. No matter what your PhD is in, you can transition into a lucrative career. 

Stop thinking about yourself as only what is/will be written on your diploma. You are so much more than that. 

As you make this mindshift, your view will broaden and you will see the endless opportunities and positions that you can apply for.

Look closely at your skills—the skills that actually matter. You have key skills, soft and technical, that can transfer across any industry and get you a job at any company.

CSA is not just for STEM PhDs. There is one associate who has a humanities PhD and got hired at Home Depot as a user experience researcher. I’ve seen a social scientist get hired at Hilton as a user experience analyst.

It doesn't matter what your PhD is because you learned how to:

• Do research
• Analyze data

A LinkedIn analysis  showed that analytical reasoning is one of the most sought after skills for 2020 and beyond. If you have a PhD, you know how to research and analyze, you have analytical reasoning skills. 

This means you are incredibly valuable to employers. Here are 5 of the most popular industry roles that PhDs can get hired into, regardless of their degree and background.

1. User experience researcher/analyst

“UX” as they are sometimes called are very popular right now and their popularity is not due to fade for some time to come. As businesses move online, they need to create a user friendly interface that will gain traffic and leave customers/users feeling satisfied and supported. If the website is not intuitive or hard to use, the company will lose customers and revenue. 

It is the job of the UX to collect, analyze and draw actionable conclusions from user data to improve experiences and boost sales. 

In this role, you will look at quantitative and qualitative data gathered from consumer/client feedback.

2. Business development manager

If you have interest in business acumen, there are a number of meaningful career opportunities within the business world. While these roles are often filled with people with MBAs, your PhD is highly valuable in this area. 

A business development manager focuses on building relationships between businesses not between the business and customers, which obviously has a much different relationship. Businesses want to attract key opinion leaders (KOLs), like business influencers, to support their business. Many of these KOLs have PhDs or other advanced degrees. So, having a PhD in the role not only gives you something in common with KOLs but puts you on the same level making it easier to form trusting relationships and improving communication between companies. 

3. Application specialist. 

Application specialist is a great career for PhDs who love communicating with a variety of departments. It’s the perfect intersection between technical skills, cross department communication and customer interface. 

As an application professional, you will work with sales, development, and marketing teams to teach the company's clients how to apply company products. Application scientists serve as liaisons between the clients and the company, thus playing a crucial role in the positioning of any company or product. For more information on application specialists check out the Cheeky Scientist Advanced Program Application Scientist Assembly.  

4. Medical writer.

No matter what you got your PhD in, you had to write - a lot. Most, if not all, of this writing was technical writing. Medical writing is an umbrella term that encompasses a variety of roles including: technical writer, medical writer, engineering writer, science writer, or science journalism. This could also include editing roles as well from becoming an editor at an academic journal to editing content at a pharmaceutical company. In today’s age, content is constantly being created and all the content needs to be written by highly educated and efficient people. For more information on medical writing, which includes technical writer positions, join our Medical Writing Organization.

5. Patent agent.

Also known as “patent examiner,” someone in this role might research patents for a private business or a government office. You could even work for a law firm. Basically, patent professionals investigate whether a patent is viable. Doing research to figure out whether something similar has been patented before. 

Alternatively, PhDs can find industry work as patent writers. Patent writers will produce written patents and submit them for examination. Your background as a PhD means you can get hired as a patent writer role, which requires technical writing, industry expertise, and strong research ability.

In Summary

No matter your background, your PhD is valuable to industry. You can find a career that will value and respect you. It may not be in your field of expertise, but your expertise extends far beyond your field. You may believe industry is not for you, that academia is where you will make a difference. But there are so many careers and industries that need YOU – a PhD –  to do meaningful work, to apply the research, and change not only the company but all the life’s impacted by the company. You have the transferable skills and you can learn the technical skills to any career of your choice. 

Are you a PhD?

If so, what other great careers for PhDs am I missing?

Tell me in a comment below.

To learn more about transitioning into industry, including how to gain instant access to industry career training videos, case studies, industry insider documents, a complete industry transition plan, and a private online job referral network for PhDs only, get on the waitlist for the Cheeky Scientist Association.