As someone who has found a satisfying career outside of academia, I am often asked to speak about my alt-ac journey, current position, writing for the public, and to offer guidance for those seeking careers outside of academia.
- Invited speaker for “Beyond the Academy,” a career placement speaker series at TCU. (Oct. 2020)
- Re-Mixing the Humanities (podcast): I spoke about leaving academia, preparing for the alt-ac job market, and writing for the public. (Oct. 2019)
- I was interviewed by Broadly Textual Pub at Syracuse University for their series “On Track for Success: PhDs Working Off the Tenure Track” about working as theatre publicist and how to prepare for working at a non-profit cultural institution. (Oct. 2019)
- At Georgetown University (June 2019), I joined a speed dating-style roundtable to speak about looking for, applying, and succeeding in alt-ac positions for their “ReinventPhD” series of workshops. (June 2019)
- At my alma mater The Ohio State University, I spoke to both the Center of Medieval and Renaissance Studies for the roundtable “Bridging the Academic/Public Gap” (Oct. 2019) and the OSU English Graduate Student Association (Feb. 2019).
Alt-Ac (or IRL) Career Planning
If you are a recent PhD or leaving academia, and want to discuss strategies for preparing for the alt-ac job search, I am happy to talk with you. Please contact me at alt-ac@colleen-kennedy.com
Colleen E. Kennedy 