Finished Your PhD? Here’s What Comes Next

What no one tells you about getting your doctorate is how hard it is to rest after. I'm going to walk you through the unexpected reality of finishing your doctorate and what actually comes next so that you can avoid getting stuck, lost or underpaid. I'm Nicholas Tippins, co founder of Beyond PhD Coaching, and together with my dad, we've helped hundreds of doctoral students finish their PhDs and succeed in their careers in academia and beyond. If you're feeling burned out, confused, or even a little bit panicked about what comes next after your degree, you're not alone. These are the five critical truths that you need to know. 1. The shock of finishing Finishing your PhD doesn't feel like you think it will. You expect joy, relief, celebration, and instead you feel a bit anxious, tired, maybe even disappointed. This is totally normal. After years of running on stress and skirting the edge of burnout, here's what's actually happening. Your body has been managing chronic stress for years through elevated cortisol levels. You've been operating under lack of sleep, the constant pressure to hit deadlines and prove yourself worthy of this degree. When that pressure suddenly lifts, it's normal to experience what researchers call post stress symptoms, which can range from disorientation to fatigue to mood changes. It can almost feel like a letdown to have time to rest. This adjustment period varies by individual, but ultimately allowing yourself a period where you just need to rest and recover isn't weakness, it's biology. Give yourself permission to feel lost for a while. Sleep in, go out into nature. Maybe watch that terrible TV show that you've been crazy. Rekindle the friendships that were lost when you were doing your degree. Future self will thank you. Number two, the academic job market myth. As I'm sure you've figured out by now, the tenure track isn't a track, it's a lottery. The old path was clear, PhD to Assistant professor to tenure. But today there are way more people who hold doctorates than there are tenure track positions available. And universities are increasingly hiring adjuncts over full time positions. Now, I don't want to make this sound impossible. We've helped hundreds of people land academic positions. But it is important to recognize the reality of the situation right now so that you can strategize effectively and maybe not limit yourself to academia. The pandemic may have made things worse, but this crisis actually started decades ago when universities realized that it would be a lot more profitable to rely on contracted labor than full time tenured faculty. And for the tenure track positions that are available, they often require multiple postdocs, geographic flexibility, and even 60 plus hour work weeks when you're starting out. Now, if all of that sounds overwhelming, this is exactly what we cover in our five step Doctoral Career Roadmap. Just click the link in the description for more info. Adjuncting isn't a stepping stone, it's a rut. Too many PhDs and people with doctorates teach one adjunct class after another hoping that they'll get a full time position. But the pay is unsustainable and the work is invisible. The adjunct trap Adjuncting isn't a stepping stone, it's a rut. Too many PhDs are working one adjunct class after another hoping that they'll receive a full time offer. But the pay is unsustainable, the work is invisible, and they're rarely offered the kind of full time position that they want unless they approach it strategically. The reality of adjuncting is you're paid three to $7,000 per course course, which sounds reasonable until you factor in things like prep time, grading, office hours, etc. Break it down hourly and you're often earning less than retail. Work with no benefits, no job security, and no office space. The psychological trap is real. It feels like academic work, so you stay, hoping to prove yourself. Many adjuncts work at multiple schools, driving between university campuses with no office while doing unpaid research work. To stay current, here's the if academia is your goal, be strategic about it. Set clear timelines and backup plans. Don't let adjuncting become a permanent holding pattern while better opportunities, both academic and non academic, pass you by. The takeaway Whether you ultimately want to work in industry or academia, be intentional about your choices and strategic about your career path so you don't get stuck in adjunct limbo. 4. Selling your skills outside academia. A doctorate isn't just a degree, it's a toolkit. It's a set of skills. But employers won't realize this unless you explain it to them. You managed a multi year project, worked with diverse stakeholders and developed strong analytical and research skills. Not to mention communication. Your job is to translate that into language that businesses will understand. Here are some key skills that you developed while doing your doctorate and that employers need right now. Complex problem solving. You have the skills to find solutions when no playbook exists. Self direction. You've proven you can manage complex long term projects independently. Research and analysis. You can cut through the noise and find signal to spot trends way before anyone else realizes they're there. Communication across audiences. You can adjust your message for maximum impact, whether it's to technical or general audiences and resilience. You've survived years of rejection, criticism and setbacks while still moving forward and completing your goal. Don't just market your degree. Market the transformation that it took to get there and the skills that you developed in the process. 5 why your doctorate still matters Knowledge is still power if you use it well. The world needs people who can think deeply, hold long term vision and solve complex problems. Problems, yes, it may take some creativity to monetize it and turn it into a well paid career. But if you're willing to do that and not just follow the traditional 10 year track, your PhD becomes infinitely more valuable. Despite everything that I've told you about the academic job market, your doctorate still holds real worth. Climate change, healthcare equity, technological ethics. These aren't problems that can be solved by quarterly thinking. They need the kind of skills for systematic, deep analysis that you've already developed. Your doctorate trained you to see systems, not just symptoms. To dig deeper when others just accept surface answers, to question basic assumptions. That's not just valuable. It's essential for our society to continue to function, to grow, and to learn. But I don't recommend waiting for the perfect job that you might have imagined when you first started getting your degree. In many cases, it's up to you to create your opportunities. The good news is, if you open your mind, there are a lot of them. Whether it's consulting, industry work, entrepreneurship, policy, the applications for your degree are limitless. Your doctorate was never really about getting a certain job. It was about developing a certain set of skills. And those skills are portable and applicable in many different places. Places. Stop asking what can I do with my PhD? And start asking what problems can I solve and what do I want to solve? Why did I get my degree in the first place? Not in terms of a specific job title, but in terms of the service that I have to offer the world now. Our mission is to support scholars in using their expertise to change the world for the better. So if you want our personal support and guidance for your career, can just click the link in the description and book a call with us and we'll explore what that looks like.