Who is going to employ a 40-something, burnt out academic?

[NoWorkInProgress]

How have I ended up with almost no work? My days are so dull and dire. I feel I’m wasting my life away. There must SOMEONE out there who would employ me?

I have a degree & PhD in Psychology. I drifted into it, and ended up as in a senior position as a lecturer in a good university after a few years as a postdoc. I struggled a lot in academia. My ex worked full time, too, and I was juggling kids. Plus I have ASD, it was a difficult environment. So I quit my post and reconceptualised it - did freelance work. This was successful for several years and the short term contracts suited me well. I gave a lot of tutorials, ran courses on a short term contracts, taught online, and even got involved in some creative projects involving various charities. It was great while the DCs were growing up.

Fast forward a few years. I’m divorced, my DCs are teens, and I’m left with the online work only. I am too worn out to give lectures. I can’t keep up with the new research, and it feels like a performance art that I can’t do any more. My online work is not fulfilling any more. It’s the same thing every term. I run it with my eyes shut.

How do I get out of this? I am panicking. I did a counselling course a few years ago, but it’s not for me. I can’t afford to retrain. I’ve applied for non research posts at local universities but get nowhere with those.

I am now pretty distressed! Who is going to employ a 40-something, burnt out academic of yesteryear?!!

Has anyone else been in my position? I’m so scared.

There are lots of professional services posts in universities, some of the higher end admin / project management ones are paid at a similar rate to Associate Lecturers / Lecturers. Would you be interested in moving into one of these?

Is it teaching in general you are fed up with or just the part time online work you are currently doing as there will be face to face teaching in many unis from Sept and you could contact the Heads of Faculty about becoming an AL. This could then lead to a permanent Lecturer position. However I think you need support / coaching to decide if teaching / academia is what you really want to do. Your OP isn’t clear on this and that will be picked up at interview. Once you have decided this it will be easier for you to then focus on a career change. Good luck. You have loads of skills and experience and have a lot to offer employers.

But also - some very good advice on this thread!

Do you have the money to do some retraining OP? If so then that opens up more possibilities. If not I would say you should take a ‘for now’ job and save for a while to build up some retraining money.

I know a couple of people who have retrained into UX jobs (user experience). They did courses at General Assembly to get started and then picked up entry level jobs pretty easily from there. One has progressed up the ladder pretty quickly and now, several years later, manages her own team. The other is in a long-running job she likes and is v happy staying put. Places like General Assembly do teach various other in-demand skills too - worth checking them out. I know you say your stats skills aren’t that good but I think you’re underselling yourself - if you managed in academia for years then you can’t be a total maths dunce. And data analysis is another big job growth area which you should consider.

I think you might be overlooking the impact ASD has on women as we age. I am in a very, very similar position to you... you mention burnout etc. and this becomes cumulative (lots of mini breakdowns, depression, anxiety for instance) over time.... especially when you factor in parenting, possible hormonal issues etc.

I have stepped down from an incredible career, most people really can't understand why. It's hard for me to explain or understand why and I have considered imposter syndrome too.

However, I am now pausing and trying to really understand how and why my neurodiversity (only very recently realised) affects all areas of my life and I am determined to restructure my future life in a way that places my needs at the centre and plays to my strengths and most of all reduces my stressors. It is a very delicate balance and not easy to unpick.

I honestly think before you jump into something else, you need to really take stock of how you need to be, to live so that you can thrive, then start looking at work which fits the picture (regardless of the industry it is in).

I really hope you (and I!) find new paths.

I can kind of relate to this, I'm mid 40s, got a Sociology degree from Warwick (upper second), not a stealth, wasn't interested in it, found it a slog, not a natural academic, found it all boring etc. Ended up doing Secretarial work which wasn't really me either, had some good bits, but some really awful confidence sapping temping experiences. Since I had my kids now 13 and 10, I have done mystery shpping/merchandising/price checking on a self-employed basis. Unfortunately the nature of this work is low paid and self-employed. Any field exec roles (which are still low paid) need you to have a driving licence which I am incapable of. Cannot afford to spend muh on retraining. Looking towards a merchandising job and have started a little online course but worried cause of the recession. Also had another confidence sapping experience doing admin bank work at our local hospital four years ago.

Alez thank you for further comments. Wow! Sounds fascinating!

I’m overwhelmed by some of it - it’s like you’re speaking a different language! - but will look at the civil service jobs site and will set up alerts.

I don’t know that I am up to a management roles, but could look at other roles. My ASD makes it hard for me to interact on this level, I think, but I could still look. Ah yes, there’s that point about “if you can sell yourself in the right way”. I’m vv bad at selling myself in any way! Need to work on this.

Getting policy experience sounds daunting but will give that some thought.

Thank you so much for this.

@MaybeDoctor

What would happen if you were to rent out your house and relocate somewhere cheaper and completely different? While you are there, work in a shop, office or anywhere that gets you out and about. Don't think about psychology for at least six months. You may find that your interest comes back.

Thanks for this idea! Sadly I can’t really rent out my house for various reasons, but I did consider this as a plan at one stage.

Sorry sent to soon and didn't proof read, difficult to know the best way forward and I can relate to the worn out feeling, Like many others at this stage, conflicting family demands, difficult situations dont help. May try some online tests. Also have facial blindness which has made me lose confidence more as I've got older, basically terrified of embarrassing myself with new work colleagues cause of it, not easy. Hope others in a similar position find a way forward.

CreatureComfy

Would you be interested in doing a journalism course? There seem to be hundreds of popular psychology articles in newspapers/magazines/online, and most are clearly written by people with no specialist knowledge

I did think about this, but I’m not really in the position to do any more courses, or to retrain (unless it’s paid by employers).

It is totally normal, you kind of hit a wall of mundane boredom in your 40's and wish you had the energy of your 22 year old self to restart the motors and take you somewhere far more interesting!

The wish to have something better needs to be matched with the energy for action, and as we get older I am not sure we have ample left over energy with teens/peri menopausal and divorce etc under the belt.

Can you take yourself on holiday/couple of days off with the sole aim of working what your life would like in 20 years from now?

I would recommend the police force, senior position with your skillset. Something you can get your teeth into that is totally different?

If you’re passionate about mental health issues could you just do counselling which focuses on that? Dd as a counsellor who just does this sort of stuff. She has a psychology degree, a CBT diploma, some eye movement therapy qualification. She’s run off her feet with clients and at £60 an hour it’s a good earner.

I can imagine it would be quite fulfilling .

How about management or economic development consultancy? I did this after my degree in psychology and two masters degrees. I carried out programme evaluations and strategic planning, and it involved things like interviews, focus groups, stakeholder engagement, etc. You use all your research skills, but in a much more practical, focused, applied way. I’m back in academia now, teaching in a business school, but I still do this type of consultancy and usually do 2-3 projects like this a year. I absolutely love it.

@SuzieCarmichael

Do you have the money to do some retraining OP?
Sadly not! I’m already at my ‘for now’ job with the online work, I think. It feels like it’s now time to shift.

Those experiences sound really interesting. Sounds like those people progressed really fast! This gives me hope. I’d not heard of
General Assembly before. Will look them up.

Please don’t underestimate how bad I am at stats! I managed to keep up my work through a teaching role and hid my inability very well! I didn’t manage in academia and ended up giving up my lectureship.

I would recommend a career coach if you can afford it.

I used one in my early 30s. I didn't actually follow her advice initially as I couldn't drop the conviction that I had to stay in my then industry as I had experience there.

However by my 40s her message had sunk in and I changed tack entirely.

We went through a process of narrowing down my achievements to those which actually mattered and made me feel good about myself.

When you say that you need to earn 'as much as possible' that might be what is holding you back.

Surely it's better to downsize and lead a simpler life in order to do a job that you actually enjoy and doesn't stress you and make you miserable.

What about the big market research companies like Ipsos MORI?

@JacobReesMogadishu

If you’re passionate about mental health issues could you just do counselling which focuses on that? Dd as a counsellor who just does this sort of stuff. She has a psychology degree, a CBT diploma, some eye movement therapy qualification. She’s run off her feet with clients and at £60 an hour it’s a good earner.

I can imagine it would be quite fulfilling .

Hi, thanks for this. No, I’m not passionate about mental health issues. I fell into a few projects involving that a few years ago and did a counselling qualification but have decided it’s not for me. Thanks for the suggestion!

@ChazsBrilliantAttitude

What about the big market research companies like Ipsos MORI?

Will look these up, thank you!

If you have a history of teaching, especially at Higher education level, have you considered becoming an Academic Developer? You will need at least a SFHEA qualification. But at a basic level the job involves teaching and supporting academic staff to be better teachers. The LSE is recruiting at the moment.

I work in an adjacent job and seem to spend much of my time talking to academic staff about small changes they can make to to make the student experience so much better and, often to make their own job more fulfilling. There's a lot of job satisfaction to be had in doing this, especially as most universities are having to radically rethink the way they teach in light of COVID.

@whiteroseredrose

I can’t really afford a career coach at the moment, as I’ve already scaled back. I ‘downsized’ from my lecturing post to this freelance one, and as a single parent of 3 DCs I can’t scale back any further now. I need to get earning! But yes, of course that means having a happy life, is possible!

@NoWorkInProgress - you say it’s because you were no good at statistics that you gave up your lectureship. Earlier, however, you said this may have been because you suffer from impostor syndrome! Are you sure you aren’t going to take your impostor syndrome with you to anything else you try, start out enthusiastic but rapidly convince yourself change was a mistake?! Are you trying to reinvent yourself, or rediscover yourself??

@testingtesting101

I think you might be overlooking the impact ASD has on women as we age

ONG. Yes. Thank you so much. You understand. I’m sorry you are in the same position. There has been a lot of anxiety which is associated with my condition. It can make it overwhelming to work in some scenarios.

A lot of people questioned my decision to step down from my traditional academic role at the time, too. You are v right about taking stock and thinking through... many of the roles suggested here are good for neurotypicals, but it is hard to explain why/how I would find it a struggle.

VERY best of luck to you. Thanks for replying

Hi OP I will go through and RTFT properly soon, but just wanted to send you some solidarity. I am also 40, successful academic with feelings of inferiority and have lost all my initial enthusiasm for the job, traits of Aspergers, retrained as a counsellor but not using it and I often feel lost, lacking in ambition and wondering how on earth do I figure out my next step when I just don't feel any drive to.
Not to be too morbid, but let's just say that the idea of death has definitely lost its sting.

[quote Walkaround]@NoWorkInProgress - you say it’s because you were no good at statistics that you gave up your lectureship. Earlier, however, you said this may have been because you suffer from impostor syndrome! Are you sure you aren’t going to take your impostor syndrome with you to anything else you try, start out enthusiastic but rapidly convince yourself change was a mistake?! Are you trying to reinvent yourself, or rediscover yourself??[/quote]
Walk around, it was both, plus a whole load of other factors. I’m hoping I won’t take the imposter thing with me again, that’s for sure.

Reinvent, rediscover, I don’t know. I just want a job!

Oh, and everybody, this is my favourite, free Myers Briggs test. I love the illustrations:

www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

Have you thought of working in the third sector?

You could do something that supports vulnerable people. Your psychology/counselling skills would come handy but it would not be the main aspect of your role. You could also do campaigning or research work in that sector. I have worked for charities for many years and came across many academics who worked in policy, campaign and research roles or as charity directors/CEOs.

The tricky thing at the moment is that jobs will become harder to find.

Alternatively why not aim to find a part-time that will keep you going why you think a bit more about what you really want to do long term? This could be completely outside your comfort zone like working for a supermarket, shops in general, driving a delivery van and so on...

I must say you are not the only one who is unsure about what to do. I am in my late 40s and frankly can no longer continue in my current role due to a combination of health issues and simply having totally lost the drive to work in that field. I am also looking at any way that I can get out of this rut...