Finally! It's been 21 months of un- or underemployment all together and over 100 job applications sent in. And now it's done!
I mentioned in my last post about a job at a local U that I thought was an inside job and had a weird interview. Whether it was an inside job or not, they offered me the job. It is a nonacademic position working for a nonprofit center that works with a lot of civil organizations.
So here's how the interview process went all together: I applied in October last year. I got a call for an interview in December. The interview was several hours long, most of it involved being given a case/project to do an abbreviated round of what I would be doing full time in the job. And then there was another wait of several weeks.
When they initially called to ask if I was still interested in the position, we talked a little about salary and I asked if they could get the salary higher. This was tricky since this position was offered to them by the university. Most of the positions there are grant-funded. They were able to raise the starting salary slightly. The position already came with my own office (don't know if it has a window but I think it does).
I'm not sure what the benefits package is in total. I know it comes with insurance. I'm seriously looking forward to dental insurance. You can't begin to imagine how much I miss the dentist! Down the road, I'm hoping I could get some flex time or be able to work from home, since it will be about an hour commute.
I'm looking forward to having income. There are all sorts of things I want to do that I've put on my wish list. If I tried them all at once, I would have no income for six months! Thankfully, I won't get paid until after I've worked a month (they only pay monthly). So I'll have time to figure out my schedule and figure out what all I can do with the non-working time I have before I actually have the funds to do anything.
One of the things being unemployed for so long has taught me is the need to diversify my income streams. I'm hoping to start a side business of data analytics consulting. The general wisdom is that it takes at least two years to get a livable income stream from a business like that. The position I've been offered is guaranteed for three years so, with a little luck, I'd have my own business by the time the money runs out.
So, there's an update and a bit of hope for other folks looking to make a plunge.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Friday, December 27, 2013
Not Dead Yet But I've Given It My Best Shot
I was talking about adjuncting in my last post. I know you're all dying to know what happened. Well, I did not become an adjunct. No schools around the area had available classes. The market is so flooded in New City that no one has spare adjunct appointments. That's a depressing level of phenomenal. I did promise guest lectures but people have been lax in contacting me about them. I'm ok with that.
Anyway, I've looked elsewhere. I've had a phone interview with a company in the private sector, but that didn't go anywhere. I've had an interview for a data analyst job with a policy analysis-type center at a local university. I applied for this job back in October. They went through the whole process of looking for an applicant but then had to start over for some reason. I wasn't in the first run so I don't have much hope. They won't make a decision until next year probably but I suspect that one is an inside job. They have a lot of grad students that work with them. It did give me confidence that I could do that kind of job though.
I'm still applying for alt-ac jobs at local universities and consultant/misc. jobs at teaching hospitals. Some of them I'm apparently in the running for but they seem to be moving on an academic time scale (similar to a geologic time scale). I'm also applying for some part-time/minimum-ish wage jobs to make ends meet.
I have considered going back to school for another masters degree. I inquired about this possibility in Old City and was told I do it there without cost to me (PhD's are useful for winning competitive GAs). The field I have in mind is actually related to my old research, so it wouldn't be a stretch. The field is known to people and the degree would offer some flexibility in jobs for the future. I have been un- or underemployed for two years. Something needs to change.
Anyway, I've looked elsewhere. I've had a phone interview with a company in the private sector, but that didn't go anywhere. I've had an interview for a data analyst job with a policy analysis-type center at a local university. I applied for this job back in October. They went through the whole process of looking for an applicant but then had to start over for some reason. I wasn't in the first run so I don't have much hope. They won't make a decision until next year probably but I suspect that one is an inside job. They have a lot of grad students that work with them. It did give me confidence that I could do that kind of job though.
I'm still applying for alt-ac jobs at local universities and consultant/misc. jobs at teaching hospitals. Some of them I'm apparently in the running for but they seem to be moving on an academic time scale (similar to a geologic time scale). I'm also applying for some part-time/minimum-ish wage jobs to make ends meet.
I have considered going back to school for another masters degree. I inquired about this possibility in Old City and was told I do it there without cost to me (PhD's are useful for winning competitive GAs). The field I have in mind is actually related to my old research, so it wouldn't be a stretch. The field is known to people and the degree would offer some flexibility in jobs for the future. I have been un- or underemployed for two years. Something needs to change.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Relapse
I've been hunting for post-ac jobs here in New City. I've been considering starting my own consulting business. I have a friend who does business consulting and is willing to help me out. Somewhere in the midst of this, I thought about research. Here's what happened next:
I thought about a research idea. I did a bit of hunting on google scholar. I even did a bit of a thinking of how I would design the experiment, who I could talk to about it, and where I could find funding. All things which I think qualify as a knee-jerk reaction for an academic. The research, incidentally, was completely unrelated to the post-ac job hunt. The upshot was that thinking about such things did not cause me to start twitching. However, it did make me wonder if I would consider teaching again. So, I set up meetings with some academics in the area that I had connections with. This is a handy way to find local restaurants, if you're curious.
Everyone has been friendly. No one asks why I spent a year unemployed and no one tries to convince me the market is going to turn around or that I should just adjunct for awhile. They have offered to put my name in to adjunct but implicitly or explicitly express that this is a temporary solution.
Many departments in my field do not have funding for new faculty. The people I talk to suggest other departments that have more money hire folks with my background. They offer their lab equipment if I want to do research, free of charge. They offer ways to get a foot in the door and progress to a full-time job. In fact, all of them genuinely appreciate that I have been unemployed for a year and am adamant about maintaining boundaries in my life, if I come back to academics. That could be because I freely admit to burnout. There have even been suggestions of working in a specific department that does not even offer TT appointments so that I would not be required to take on graduate students. I was kind of shocked that people understood my unwillingness to contribute to the overproduction of PhD's, though they may only view that as me not taking funding from their students.
I'm not sure if I would take a job if it was offered but considering it no longer sends me into a post-traumatic stress episode. For the record, I am still looking at post-ac jobs. Academia is just a job, one I am trained for and good at, but nothing more. If I can maintain that boundary and have others respect it, I might consider a subversive life in the Ivory Tower.
I thought about a research idea. I did a bit of hunting on google scholar. I even did a bit of a thinking of how I would design the experiment, who I could talk to about it, and where I could find funding. All things which I think qualify as a knee-jerk reaction for an academic. The research, incidentally, was completely unrelated to the post-ac job hunt. The upshot was that thinking about such things did not cause me to start twitching. However, it did make me wonder if I would consider teaching again. So, I set up meetings with some academics in the area that I had connections with. This is a handy way to find local restaurants, if you're curious.
Everyone has been friendly. No one asks why I spent a year unemployed and no one tries to convince me the market is going to turn around or that I should just adjunct for awhile. They have offered to put my name in to adjunct but implicitly or explicitly express that this is a temporary solution.
Many departments in my field do not have funding for new faculty. The people I talk to suggest other departments that have more money hire folks with my background. They offer their lab equipment if I want to do research, free of charge. They offer ways to get a foot in the door and progress to a full-time job. In fact, all of them genuinely appreciate that I have been unemployed for a year and am adamant about maintaining boundaries in my life, if I come back to academics. That could be because I freely admit to burnout. There have even been suggestions of working in a specific department that does not even offer TT appointments so that I would not be required to take on graduate students. I was kind of shocked that people understood my unwillingness to contribute to the overproduction of PhD's, though they may only view that as me not taking funding from their students.
I'm not sure if I would take a job if it was offered but considering it no longer sends me into a post-traumatic stress episode. For the record, I am still looking at post-ac jobs. Academia is just a job, one I am trained for and good at, but nothing more. If I can maintain that boundary and have others respect it, I might consider a subversive life in the Ivory Tower.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Consulting?
I've been hunting for data analysis jobs for awhile. I even put a few apps in for corporate research gigs. The more I've looked into this field, the more confident I am that I can do this kind of work. That hasn't translated to getting past HR departments but I'm making slightly more progress of late.
One thing that has come up in my informational interviews around the area, is the idea of doing data analytics consulting. This could be anything as simple as sales data, association analysis (what stuff do people buy together, think Amazon suggestions), or even something as complicated as survival analysis (how long to customers stay around, why do they leave). I can program SQL and R. I can make excel dance. I can even program macros...on a non-Mac. Macs suck for programming macros. Honestly, you can do all that too. There are several websites out there that will teach you. But people don't want to do that and are willing to pay someone like me to consult on this for them.
This terrifies me on a number of levels. I'm sure I can do the work itself. It's the idea of owning my own business that scares me. I will freely admit to having no business acumen. I have no idea how to go about this. I suck at selling stuff. How do you go about finding your own free-ranging health care and retirement fund? Taxes?! I hate cold-calling and that's really the main way to find new clients. Referrals help but you need to start somewhere to get referrals.
Sometimes I contemplate how to go about this. Maybe start by offering data analysis services to charities. They usually need some numbers crunched for reporting and grants. I could run their numbers in exchange for recommendations and referrals. Seems like it might work. Perhaps I would offer data analysis to some small businesses and let them pay in trade (a month or two of gym membership in exchange for number crunching for a fitness center, for example).
Part of this whole elaborate fantasy has been trying to figure out what I would charge. Imagine it yourself. Do you charge by the hour or by the job? What is your time worth? Taxes? Benefits? What will the market support? I've hunted around for answers to all this. I'll save you the googling and sum up what I found. Start with what you would expect to be paid to do the job full-time for someone. Add in the cost of benefits, including retirement, and taxes. Now take that number and divide by 48 (weeks in a year) and by 40 (hours per week). You're not done yet. Consider that this type of consulting is usually a one shot deal. You need to factor in time to find new clients, advertising, administrative work. All that stuff that would be handled by other people at a consulting firm. Take the number you calculated and multiply it by 3 or 4 to account for all this other work you'll need to do. I came up with $125-150/hr. That number scares me. I'm used to grad student wages.
As for the by the hour or the job question: the consensus from consulting forums seems to be charge by the job. The reason for this is that you can't be certain how much time it may take you to do a job. Businesses often want the total cost (or at least max cost) up front. You trap yourself into a certain amount of hours and have to finish the job even if it takes more time than you thought - even if you have to work for free. Conversely, if you can do the job faster than people think it should take, you get a bonus. So now what do you do with your hourly rate? Time to come up with a menu and starting prices. Try doing some standard analyses and time how long it takes you. Add some buffer time and now you have a starting price. There will likely be negotiation. Be prepared for that. I've never negotiated myself, also terrifying.
And all that is before dealing with legal things, like going solely as self-employed or starting an LLC or something.
People can start consulting while in grad school. I'm currently unemployed. I have even more time I can put into this idea. It's just terrifying. But imagine if you could make it work, if you could make a career of it. Imagine making $5000-8000/month. Tempting, isn't it? How fast could you pay off your student loans with that? Own a house? Imagine how many shoes you could buy! Definitely tempting but so damn terrifying. I don't know if I'm ready for that. Could you do it?
One thing that has come up in my informational interviews around the area, is the idea of doing data analytics consulting. This could be anything as simple as sales data, association analysis (what stuff do people buy together, think Amazon suggestions), or even something as complicated as survival analysis (how long to customers stay around, why do they leave). I can program SQL and R. I can make excel dance. I can even program macros...on a non-Mac. Macs suck for programming macros. Honestly, you can do all that too. There are several websites out there that will teach you. But people don't want to do that and are willing to pay someone like me to consult on this for them.
This terrifies me on a number of levels. I'm sure I can do the work itself. It's the idea of owning my own business that scares me. I will freely admit to having no business acumen. I have no idea how to go about this. I suck at selling stuff. How do you go about finding your own free-ranging health care and retirement fund? Taxes?! I hate cold-calling and that's really the main way to find new clients. Referrals help but you need to start somewhere to get referrals.
Sometimes I contemplate how to go about this. Maybe start by offering data analysis services to charities. They usually need some numbers crunched for reporting and grants. I could run their numbers in exchange for recommendations and referrals. Seems like it might work. Perhaps I would offer data analysis to some small businesses and let them pay in trade (a month or two of gym membership in exchange for number crunching for a fitness center, for example).
Part of this whole elaborate fantasy has been trying to figure out what I would charge. Imagine it yourself. Do you charge by the hour or by the job? What is your time worth? Taxes? Benefits? What will the market support? I've hunted around for answers to all this. I'll save you the googling and sum up what I found. Start with what you would expect to be paid to do the job full-time for someone. Add in the cost of benefits, including retirement, and taxes. Now take that number and divide by 48 (weeks in a year) and by 40 (hours per week). You're not done yet. Consider that this type of consulting is usually a one shot deal. You need to factor in time to find new clients, advertising, administrative work. All that stuff that would be handled by other people at a consulting firm. Take the number you calculated and multiply it by 3 or 4 to account for all this other work you'll need to do. I came up with $125-150/hr. That number scares me. I'm used to grad student wages.
As for the by the hour or the job question: the consensus from consulting forums seems to be charge by the job. The reason for this is that you can't be certain how much time it may take you to do a job. Businesses often want the total cost (or at least max cost) up front. You trap yourself into a certain amount of hours and have to finish the job even if it takes more time than you thought - even if you have to work for free. Conversely, if you can do the job faster than people think it should take, you get a bonus. So now what do you do with your hourly rate? Time to come up with a menu and starting prices. Try doing some standard analyses and time how long it takes you. Add some buffer time and now you have a starting price. There will likely be negotiation. Be prepared for that. I've never negotiated myself, also terrifying.
And all that is before dealing with legal things, like going solely as self-employed or starting an LLC or something.
People can start consulting while in grad school. I'm currently unemployed. I have even more time I can put into this idea. It's just terrifying. But imagine if you could make it work, if you could make a career of it. Imagine making $5000-8000/month. Tempting, isn't it? How fast could you pay off your student loans with that? Own a house? Imagine how many shoes you could buy! Definitely tempting but so damn terrifying. I don't know if I'm ready for that. Could you do it?
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Notes on an Interview
Time for a bit of debriefing on my interview last week. To set the scene, the interview was for an institutional research gig at my GradU. It was a number-crunching position for the university at large.
The first half of the interview was just with the associate director, who would be my direct supervisor. It was a bit of "this is what we do," since so few people actually know, and a bit of "here's my standard list of questions." Ze was a bit brusque but was also dealing with a phone call, an email, and two questions from analysts in the hour we talked. I had my list of questions to ask hit all ready and asked most of those that were not answered in the course of our talk.
The second half of the interview was with that associate director and some of the analysts. There were 5 analysts there. We all introduced ourselves and insanity ensued. One of the analysts clearly had English as a second or third language and was difficult to understand. Ze also asked a question about religion that several people at the table squashed and told hir that ze couldn't ask that. I felt really sorry for hir because they all pretty much jumped down her throat. Another analyst had 3 solid pages, single-spaced, of questions to ask me. The rest were just sort of flying by the seat of their pants. The conversation went off on several tangents with several topics set aside for their Thursday staff meeting. I had a list of questions for them as well and asked a few, but tried to avoid anything that might be sensitive in the situation.
All in all, I think it went relatively well. It was odd but they were an odd bunch. I don't mind odd. I'm pretty odd. Put all together, I felt like it could be a good fit for 5-10 years. Ten years would be handy because I could get the 10-year loan forgiveness that way. Loaners would never see that money, bwahahaha!
My only issue was that during the talk, the director pointed out (and the analysts kind of confirmed) that people who get into institutional research stay there forever. I like crunching data and the interview confirmed that they do a lot of different kinds of crunching and there's a lot of variety however, the idea that this would be all I do for the rest of my life is terrifying. And there was very little room to move up in the organization. It was definitely something to consider.
Additionally, there's drama at GradU. Serious drama. I'm worried that if I move back there I'll get pulled into the drama and revert to my bad habits as a grad student. Risking temptation seems to be one of those lifestyle factors you can't really measure ahead of time but it's still something to consider. And Boyfriend would be a 5.5 drive away. That would suck.
On the ego boost side, I ran into the professor I used to TA for in the parking lot. Ze gave me a hug and commiserated about being unemployed (ze was for awhile after hir degree). Ze said "If it's any consolation, all my grad TAs have sucked since you left." Aww, shucks, thanks. Ze used to call me hir Girl Friday. Good to know I'm irreplaceable that way.
The first half of the interview was just with the associate director, who would be my direct supervisor. It was a bit of "this is what we do," since so few people actually know, and a bit of "here's my standard list of questions." Ze was a bit brusque but was also dealing with a phone call, an email, and two questions from analysts in the hour we talked. I had my list of questions to ask hit all ready and asked most of those that were not answered in the course of our talk.
The second half of the interview was with that associate director and some of the analysts. There were 5 analysts there. We all introduced ourselves and insanity ensued. One of the analysts clearly had English as a second or third language and was difficult to understand. Ze also asked a question about religion that several people at the table squashed and told hir that ze couldn't ask that. I felt really sorry for hir because they all pretty much jumped down her throat. Another analyst had 3 solid pages, single-spaced, of questions to ask me. The rest were just sort of flying by the seat of their pants. The conversation went off on several tangents with several topics set aside for their Thursday staff meeting. I had a list of questions for them as well and asked a few, but tried to avoid anything that might be sensitive in the situation.
All in all, I think it went relatively well. It was odd but they were an odd bunch. I don't mind odd. I'm pretty odd. Put all together, I felt like it could be a good fit for 5-10 years. Ten years would be handy because I could get the 10-year loan forgiveness that way. Loaners would never see that money, bwahahaha!
My only issue was that during the talk, the director pointed out (and the analysts kind of confirmed) that people who get into institutional research stay there forever. I like crunching data and the interview confirmed that they do a lot of different kinds of crunching and there's a lot of variety however, the idea that this would be all I do for the rest of my life is terrifying. And there was very little room to move up in the organization. It was definitely something to consider.
Additionally, there's drama at GradU. Serious drama. I'm worried that if I move back there I'll get pulled into the drama and revert to my bad habits as a grad student. Risking temptation seems to be one of those lifestyle factors you can't really measure ahead of time but it's still something to consider. And Boyfriend would be a 5.5 drive away. That would suck.
On the ego boost side, I ran into the professor I used to TA for in the parking lot. Ze gave me a hug and commiserated about being unemployed (ze was for awhile after hir degree). Ze said "If it's any consolation, all my grad TAs have sucked since you left." Aww, shucks, thanks. Ze used to call me hir Girl Friday. Good to know I'm irreplaceable that way.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
I have an interview...but not here
So, news!
I have a job interview. It's for a data analyst position at GradU. There's just one catch...I don't live in Grad City anymore. In fact, I now live about a 5.5 hour drive away. Let me back up:
As of my last posting, Boyfriend found a new job in Ohio. So, we moved to Ohio at the end of May. The apartment is a little smaller and darker than our last one but we're making it work. It's giving us a reason to downsize our stuff some more. Boyfriend got to cut his commute to about a third of what it was at our last place. Trying to look on the bright side of life, as Monty Python sings.
I have not yet found a job in our New City. Currently, I'm sending out feelers and looking for informational interviews. The lack of a network in our Last City was a big part of my unemployment, I think.
Between Boyfriend's old job and new job, I applied for a position at GradU. It was exactly what I was looking for in a position. At the time we had no destination for where to go next, so it made sense to apply. Well, they took their sweet time getting to the interviews and we had already reserved a truck and put in a deposit for a new apartment by the time they got back to me.
I decided to take the interview, scheduled two weeks out. It should be good experience interviewing and I might be able to get some pointers to make my résumé more competitive. Maybe someone even has contacts in New City and could help me out. Seems like a good idea. Not sure what I would do if they offered me the job. We're just going to jump off that bridge when we come to it.
To sum up: my post-academic adventure now encompasses three different states and may soon come full circle. I'll let y'all know how the interview goes next week and keep you updated on my unemployment follies.
I have a job interview. It's for a data analyst position at GradU. There's just one catch...I don't live in Grad City anymore. In fact, I now live about a 5.5 hour drive away. Let me back up:
As of my last posting, Boyfriend found a new job in Ohio. So, we moved to Ohio at the end of May. The apartment is a little smaller and darker than our last one but we're making it work. It's giving us a reason to downsize our stuff some more. Boyfriend got to cut his commute to about a third of what it was at our last place. Trying to look on the bright side of life, as Monty Python sings.
I have not yet found a job in our New City. Currently, I'm sending out feelers and looking for informational interviews. The lack of a network in our Last City was a big part of my unemployment, I think.
Between Boyfriend's old job and new job, I applied for a position at GradU. It was exactly what I was looking for in a position. At the time we had no destination for where to go next, so it made sense to apply. Well, they took their sweet time getting to the interviews and we had already reserved a truck and put in a deposit for a new apartment by the time they got back to me.
I decided to take the interview, scheduled two weeks out. It should be good experience interviewing and I might be able to get some pointers to make my résumé more competitive. Maybe someone even has contacts in New City and could help me out. Seems like a good idea. Not sure what I would do if they offered me the job. We're just going to jump off that bridge when we come to it.
To sum up: my post-academic adventure now encompasses three different states and may soon come full circle. I'll let y'all know how the interview goes next week and keep you updated on my unemployment follies.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Here we go again
Sometimes, life gets bumpy. Boyfriend's company has hit some snags due to economics and politics. The result: he was laid off...indefinitely. Yeah, it sucks.
The implications of this include that we'll likely have to break our lease and find a new place to live. Without jobs, that may mean a move back to the parents' houses. Not ideal but it's better than a refrigerator box under the overpass. Both sets of parents have offered assistance but both are also retired. Moving is a headache. We're hoping that we'll at least be moving to a city where we have jobs waiting but the economy may not allow that.
On the upside, I can expand my job search from New City. This opens the door to some new possibilities that did not really exist in New City. It also makes it more difficult because the geographic constrictions are gone. Yes, Boyfriend still needs to finish the rest of his residency. However, this experience has taught us that we need to find jobs first and then work toward living near each other. If it happens this time around great, if not, we'll deal with that.
I'm now expanding the hunt to all of the Midwest + Washington, DC/Maryland. Still looking for research administration or data analyst jobs in the Midwest. However, there are several possibilities in DC/MD that appeal. I'm not a fan of big cities but if that's where the jobs are, I'll find a way to make it work.
There is also the possibility of a job at GradU. It's in the overarching grad school administration, not affiliated with my old department. The idea of such a job is appealing as it does not require me to deal with my old faculty necessarily while still living a city I'm very comfortable in.
We're trying to stay upbeat. Really. We have a chance of moving to a part of the country where we fit in better - where we can both get jobs. So, here we go again. Expanded job hunt. Building new networks. Another move.
The implications of this include that we'll likely have to break our lease and find a new place to live. Without jobs, that may mean a move back to the parents' houses. Not ideal but it's better than a refrigerator box under the overpass. Both sets of parents have offered assistance but both are also retired. Moving is a headache. We're hoping that we'll at least be moving to a city where we have jobs waiting but the economy may not allow that.
On the upside, I can expand my job search from New City. This opens the door to some new possibilities that did not really exist in New City. It also makes it more difficult because the geographic constrictions are gone. Yes, Boyfriend still needs to finish the rest of his residency. However, this experience has taught us that we need to find jobs first and then work toward living near each other. If it happens this time around great, if not, we'll deal with that.
I'm now expanding the hunt to all of the Midwest + Washington, DC/Maryland. Still looking for research administration or data analyst jobs in the Midwest. However, there are several possibilities in DC/MD that appeal. I'm not a fan of big cities but if that's where the jobs are, I'll find a way to make it work.
There is also the possibility of a job at GradU. It's in the overarching grad school administration, not affiliated with my old department. The idea of such a job is appealing as it does not require me to deal with my old faculty necessarily while still living a city I'm very comfortable in.
We're trying to stay upbeat. Really. We have a chance of moving to a part of the country where we fit in better - where we can both get jobs. So, here we go again. Expanded job hunt. Building new networks. Another move.
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