Thread by @ashleyruba

Many PhDs have told me how worried they are about transitioning out of academia, especially given all the layoffs in big tech.

"What if I got a job, only to be laid off?"

Here's the thing: if I were laid off from Meta today, I wouldn't regret leaving academia for one second. 1/

First, I will say this again, big tech is not the only #altac career path.

I think the size of my account has given some people the wrong impression about alt-ac careers. I am truly sorry about this!

Layoffs at a few big tech companies don't speak for the entire job market. 2/

So if you want to leave academia now, you should still leave.

Yes, it will be harder to break into UXR because the market is saturated. But if you love research, you can find research positions available at smaller companies, non-profits, government agencies, & think tanks. 3/

Also, just think about it.

From a numbers perspective, you will always have better luck applying to non-ac jobs than a handful of academic job openings. Which, by the way, won't even appear for another 7-9 months...

Do you want to wait in academia for that long? I didn't. 4/

And even if I were laid off today, I wouldn't regret working at Meta.

My time at Meta has been amazing. It's given me valuable UXR experience at a big company, an expansive LinkedIn network, and enough $ to be unemployed for a while. I know that would find another job. 5/

I have never once regretted leaving academia. Even if I were offered a faculty job today, I wouldn't go back.

Big tech layoffs don't scare me - they shouldn't scare you either.

Don't stay in academia if you're unhappy. It's a big world out here 💛

linkedin.com/in/ashleyruba/ /end