Consultant's Grad School Side Hustle Turned Full-Time Career

Name: Justus Hillebrand (he/him)

PhD: History, University of Maine, 2021

What was your main area of research?

I researched the history of agricultural knowledge in the late nineteenth century in Maine, USA, and Westphalia, Germany.

I was interested in how agricultural scientists, farmers, buyers and sellers of farm inputs and outputs, and agricultural educators negotiated what knowledge and which practices would become "best practice." Many of these actors participated in transatlantic exchange of knowledge, and then translated what they read as well as their own work to other actors. I traced innovation in animal feeding from these transatlantic networks to farmers in my two case study regions.

What is your current job?

I am the Director of Digital History Consulting in Waterville, Maine.

I am the owner and only employee, so I do everything, from research consulting to payroll.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I am my own boss.

I structure my day as I would like, given current deadlines and client needs. I get to work from home and live where I want. I get to do digital work as well as history, if not my own projects.

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

Database design and SQL + skills in the Digital Humanities

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

I collaborated with my advisor on digital history projects, and I took graduate database and SQL, and GIS classes - and then worked on projects that put these skills to use.

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

I fell into it. Digital history work was a side hustle during grad school which led to another gig and then to another until I realized this was in fact a career and decided to give my own company a go.

PhD student ➡️ side hustle contract work ➡️ PhD graduate ➡️ side hustle turned full time contract work

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

• Learn and use as many skills in the digital humanities, and then answer interesting research questions.

• Collaborate with others.

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

I got to try out teaching, and I did not like it. I wanted to live where I wanted and not where the jobs are.

It was a challenging process from grad school classes training exclusively for academia to realizing it was not for me, and that is ok.

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

1. Do the work that you enjoy and find out how you can do more of it.

2. Work with nice and kind people.

3. Try things out. You can always change your mind.