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Ashley Ruba

@ashleyruba

Dec 21

Considering a move out of academia, but don't know where to start?

Before you dig into my recommended resources (at the end of this thread), the first, hardest, & most important step is believing that it's okay to pursue an #altac career.

Truly. I promise that it's okay. 1/

It's so easy to feel like you're a failure. And it's easy for some academics to judge a career choice that they have never made & don't understand.

Believe me. I've been called a "sell-out", "soulless", & "anti-academic". I lack "passion." I "couldn't handle" academia. 2/

Meh. The name-calling used to bother me, quite a lot actually, but it doesn't anymore. Because they're wrong.

First, check my CV 🔥 I crushed it in academia by every measure. I'm not a failure, far from it. I'm a successful, passionate, multi award-winning researcher. 3/

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Ashley Ruba

@ashleyruba

Dec 19

I work in a cross-functional design pod with designers, engineers, & managers. I am currently the only UX researcher in my pod.

Often, my pod-mates will say "you're the researcher - how do you think we should do this?"

At no point in academia did I have this much power. 1/

In academia, where everyone is a researcher, there is so much arguing about the best way to do things. I constantly debated with advisors, reviewers, & labmates about how to conduct my research.

This is how projects ended up taking 5+ years to finish... 2/

In UX, I have so much freedom to design, conduct, analyze, & write studies the way I want to. This is what I always wanted in my academic research, but never achieved.

I finish my projects in a few months, because I make many of the decisions. I drive the projects. 3/

Read 4 tweets

Ashley Ruba

@ashleyruba

Oct 18

Last October, when I was applying to TT faculty jobs, my anxiety was unbearable.

I had 15 first-author pubs, two diss awards, & a prestigious post-doc fellowship. I had devoted hours upon hours to diversity-related service roles.

But I didn't know if that was enough. 1/

I felt like I had done everything I possibly could, but I still wondered...

Would the search committees like my research?
Or would they think it was boring?
Would they see that I worked hard?
Or would they question my commitment to academia?
Would this all be for nothing?

2/

I had sat on a search committee. I had seen many talented phds not get interviews. I knew that academic hiring was idiosyncratic.

And still. I hoped against hope that academic hiring was meritocratic. I wanted to believe that if I worked hard "enough", I would get a job.

3/

Read 6 tweets

Ashley Ruba

@ashleyruba

Oct 17

How do I decide whether to "stay" or "leave" academia? I'm asked this all the time.

I always encourage folx to explore #altac careers, but each decision is quite personal.

Here are five questions to consider if you're trying to answer this same question: 1/

#AltAcChats

1. How much $ do I need (or want) to make?

This can be a touchy subject, but you will make considerably more $ outside of academia. Do you have student loans or family members to support? Do you want to buy a house or travel? A higher salary will help you do these things. 2/

2. Where do I (not) want to live?

You will have far more flexibility in where you live outside of academia (with remote work, your choices are unlimited!). And if certain places are hostile to you due to your race, gender, or sexual orientation, you can avoid them easily. 3/

Read 7 tweets

Ashley Ruba

@ashleyruba

Oct 13

PhD students: if you want to pursue a TT faculty position, I highly recommend sitting on a hiring committee in your dept. Check out how the hiring process works!

I sat on a hiring committee as a 4th year phd, & what I saw made me reconsider my entire career trajectory. 1/

The sheer number of applicants will shock you. We had 120 people (a low #) applying for one position. We could only choose three for on-site interviews.

And if you still have any delusions that TT hiring is merit-based, sitting on a hiring committee will fix that real quick. 2/

I saw applicants rejected for having a "boring research program" or not being "committed" enough to academia.

I saw committee members have clear "favorites" who were pushed along.

I seemed to be the only one who read the diversity or teaching statements. 3/

Read 8 tweets

Ashley Ruba

@ashleyruba

Oct 12

When I was deciding whether to change careers, what helped me most was finding my core values.

What values are most important in your life? Are you making decisions based on these values?

Here’s how you can determine your core values & make any big life decision:

1/

First, brainstorm your values. You can even rank order them.

If you don’t know where to start, look at a list. Think about which ones resonate with you.

What makes you feel happiest & most fulfilled? If people said, “you’re such a X person”, would that be validating?

2/

My top core values are:

1. Growth, both personal & professional

2. Openness, to people & experiences

3. Kindness, to myself & others

I also resonate with honesty, bravery, calmness, ambition, creativity, brilliance, fun, & diversity.

There are no right or wrong answers!

3/

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