15 Years in Academia - She Left & Never Looked Back

Name: Dena Huisman (she/her)

PhD: Communication Studies, University of Iowa, 2008

What was your main area of research?

My dissertation was on family storytelling as a means of enforcing cultural norms. As a faculty member, I studied grief and social support.

What is your current job?

I am a Experience Designer (UX research) for Emplify Health in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

I conduct research on patient, employee, and clinician experiences with digital tools used in the healthcare system. I make design recommendations based on usability studies and interview and survey data.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I love talking to people and learning about their lives, knowing I'm able to make recommendations that could improve their lives.

What is the most important skill you developed or experience you had during your PhD that now helps you in your current position?

At the broadest level: curiosity. Being able to think, explore, ask questions, seek out information, challenging what I thought I knew.

More specifically: how to talk to people. Meeting people where they are, empathizing with their experiences, building relationships, and articulating findings to diverse stakeholders. All of these require really careful and deliberate communication strategies.

How did you build the skills necessary for your current role?

Nothing specific beyond just the research skills I learned in grad school, particularly the qualitative research methods.

I am also an avid reader, so I am constantly reading books on user experience principles, principles of design, conducting better qualitative research, etc.

How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?

I was recruited via Indeed. I lived locally to the healthcare system, so they found me through their search. My team was just building, so they were actively recruiting folks who lived nearby.

PhD graduate ➡️ tenure-track to tenured & promoted professor (15 yrs) ➡️ contract UX researcher at Indeed ➡️ experience designer at Emplify Health

If someone is interested in a similar role, what would you recommend they start doing now to prepare?

• Read about the field (online and books).

• Make connections to people in UX at companies that you're interested in. Do some exploration interviews with anyone willing to give you some time.

• Consider whether you're willing to take a contract role or two to build your experience. Volunteer to help people you know who want to build a digital site or app.

Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia?

It was after being IN academia for 15 years. I burned out. We kept being asked for more work with no reward. Do more with less. Do more with less.

I was the director of our department's general education class, and I was managing non-tenure instructors who were making next to no money and being asked to do more and more. They qualified for food stamps. And when I tried to advocate for improved working conditions, I was dismissed and eventually seen as a "problem." It broke me.

I went on sabbatical to write a book and my mental health improved. I went back the next semester and all the mental health struggles came rushing back. That's when I knew it was the job that was destroying my well being. I left and never looked back.

What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?

1. Start making connections on your own. Your faculty will not help you. And be very cautious about telling them your plans because many will write you off if they know you don't want to become one of them.

   
   

2. Build a network of people in your field who are doing non-academic work. Find any non-academic professional organizations you can related to your field and attend meetings.

   
   

3. Be humble. Understand that many in industry see academics as out of touch and unwilling to work hard. It's a bad stereotype, but it exists.

Are there any components of your identity you would like to share, including how they have impacted your journey?

As a person with a long history of depression and anxiety, choosing to leave the safety and familiarity of academia was terrifying. Being an academic was my identity. I hate risk. As a result, I stayed in academia longer than I should have. It made my mental health worse in the process.

I would encourage anyone to really start thinking before your health deteriorates. Know that the risk has rewards that you may not be able to envision. Having summers "off" was nice, but now that I'm out, I realize it was a trap. I still have depression and anxiety, but I also have a stronger income, a workplace that's not toxic, and a life outside of work that is completely separated from my job. I read for leisure. I participate in my community more. I am happier.