Thousands of people have successfully made the transition from academia — whether as graduate students, postdocs, adjuncts, tenure-line faculty, or tenured faculty — to lives and careers outside the ivory tower.

Because we all need models

I thought it might be fun to call to mind all of the famous people who were once academics. Now, this isn’t to say that we can all become famous if we leave academia, but hey, it’s nice to see some success stories, you know?

David Duchovny started a PhD in English at Yale, but dropped out to act.

On-air personality Rachel Maddow has a DPhil in Politics from Oxford University.

Colm Tóibín, the award-winning Irish novelist and critic, left a master’s program for a career in journalism.

Robert Siegal, host of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” left a masters program in journalism after one year.

Marie Brennan, a published fantasy novelist, left a graduate program in folklore and anthropology at Indiana University to write full time.

Debbie Stoller, founder of Bust Magazine and the Bitch N Stitch books, earned a PhD in Psychology from Yale. (h/t  to Leaving Academia)

Miucca Prada, head of the Prada fashion house, has a PhD in political science. (h/t  to Leaving Academia)

Brian May, guitarist from Queen, has a PhD in astronomy for research on zodiacal dust clouds?

Bill Cosby has a Doctorate in Education from the University of Massachusetts.

Robert Vaughn, the Man from U.N.C.L.E., has a PhD in Communications from the University of Southern California.

Greg Graffin, lead singer and songwriter for the band bad religion, has a PhD in Zoology from Cornell.

Bryan Holland, singer for the band The Offspring, left a PhD program in microbiology at USC.

Monty Python’s Graham Chapman earned an MD, but didn’t practice for long.

Founding Velvet Underground member Sterling Morrison earned a PhD in Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.

Milo Aukerman, lead singer of early punk band The Descendents, earned a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren has a masters in chemical engineering.

Kevin Grevioux, who co-starred in Underworld with super-brainy Kate Beckinsale, was doing a master’s program in genetic engineering when he decided he’d rather act.

Actor James Franco has been accepted in Yale’s PhD program in English — arguably he’s doing the whole PhD / fame thing the other way around.

Elif Batuman parlayed a PhD in Comparative Lit from Stanford into the best-selling The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them.

Food writer Molly Wizenberg, otherwise known as Orangette, dropped out of a PhD program in anthropology.

Michael Ignatieff, former Harvard professor of history and current opposition party leader in Canada.

And I didn’t even dip very far into the scores and scores of CEOs and politicians with PhDs! Know of any others? I’d love to hear about them!

A few comments about comments

I’d love leads on any other post-academics who’ve been successful out there in the wide world. If you know of any, drop me a line!

The whole question of being unhappy in academia — no matter what stage you’re in — can feel fraught. If you’d like to comment but are feeling shy about “being out there,” feel free to make up a persona or comment anonymously. You can also email me directly.

First-time commenters are always moderated (because you wouldn’t believe the spam I get), so if your comment doesn’t show up immediately, hang tight! Chances are, I’m not right on my email.

And most of all, let’s all practice compassion for ourselves and others in this difficult time and space.

Thousands of people have successfully made the transition from academia — whether as graduate students, postdocs, adjuncts, tenure-line faculty, or tenured faculty — to lives and careers outside the ivory tower.

A Renaissance Man

A few weeks ago, the Chronicle published an interview with John Fox, former anthropology PhD turned writer, explorer, and educator. (If you’re a subscriber, you can read the whole thing here.)

The interview was so interesting — and the interview subject so compelling! — that I’d like to call out here some of the key takeaways for those of you still in the how-do-I-get-out-trenches.

There will not be a Master Plan.

When the interviewer asks him what ties together all of his disparate jobs, he said,

I’ve always loved the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson that “the voyage of the best ship is a zigzag line of a hundred tacks.” My career since grad school has followed a zigzag course, to say the least. Much as I’d like to pretend it’s been the unfolding of some great master plan, the truth is, it’s come about through a combination of pursuing interests, seizing opportunities, and being pragmatic about making a living.

In other words, even if you start with a Grand Master Plan, it’s probably not going to last. But always taking the next right step — defined as whatever is the most interesting, compelling, exciting opportunity in front of you (which is not necessarily the most lucrative or prestigious), will get you somewhere fascinating and joyful.

Leveraging … anthropology?

You’d think, actually, that Fox would have had a harder time than most academics turning an academic career into a non-academic career. After all, his field was ancient Maya — not something you find everyday jobs in.

But he points out that we tend to undersell ourselves, especially in academia:

The other big lesson I’ve learned is that you can’t define your capabilities too narrowly—to be successful, you need to have an expansive view of yourself and what you have to offer. Ironically, I found academe as a career track to be very narrowing and limiting in that regard. These days, I’m quite comfortable wearing many career hats and learning about and dabbling in other fields. Again, I apply myself as an anthropologist, always the participant observer, always curious about “the other.” Comes in handy.

Even if you aren’t an anthropologist, all of those “soft” skills that helped you succeed in graduate school are things employers outside of academia are desperate for. If you don’t think writing is a significant skill, well, you probably haven’t spent much time reading what passes for communication in a lot of companies.

John Fox does not have superpowers

Okay, he probably does — the same way we all do. We all have unique and particular conglomerations of passions, skills, talents, and curiosities, and that intersection is where your escape hatch is probably located.

It can be easy to dismiss other people’s success outside of academia — they had something special going for them, you’re more ordinary, yadda yadda. But that’s just an excuse. John Fox was just another unhappy academia, and he turned that into a rich and rewarding life. And so can you.

A few comments about comments

I’d love leads on any other post-academics who’ve been successful out there in the wide world. If you know of any, drop me a line!

The whole question of being unhappy in academia — no matter what stage you’re in — can feel fraught. If you’d like to comment but are feeling shy about “being out there,” feel free to make up a persona or comment anonymously. You can also email me directly.

First-time commenters are always moderated (because you wouldn’t believe the spam I get), so if your comment doesn’t show up immediately, hang tight! Chances are, I’m not right on my email.

And most of all, let’s all practice compassion for ourselves and others in this difficult time and space.