Nice (if a bit long-winded) article on getting into and out of academe by Alex Pang, a history of science Ph.D. who made the leap into the corporate world, becoming the deputy editor of Encyclopaedia Britannica. These two sentences capture the essential points concisely:
The world of learning is a big place; the
number of worlds that will find good uses for young scholars is
far larger than you think; and the limits your advisors think
you live under don't really exist. It's time to find out how to
live differently.
Useful advice for young scholars, especially as the academic "job market" seems quite crowded these days. (Why?
Let each Ph.D. train about a dozen others; lather, rinse, repeat. How
many Ph.D.'s do you have after a few generations? And what happens if
none of them can readily envision becoming something else than a
professor?)
