Research Analyst Reminds Us of Our Incredible Skills & Knowledge

Name: Francisco Santamarina (he/him)

PhD: Public Policy and Management, University of Washington, 2023

What is your current job?

I am a Research Analyst for the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee, based in Olympia, Washington.

I conduct studies specified by the State Legislature to understand if a policy, law, or agency is functioning as expected. I use a mixture of methods, primarily qualitative, to understand and evaluate performance over the course of the study. A big piece of my work is being nonpartisan and focused on collecting and reviewing data objectively. Once we finish our analyses and data collection, we write up our key observations. We then take those and distill the main information that someone needs to know, to understand what we found regarding performance.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I am always learning something new and exploring issues that directly affect countless people’s lives.

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

• Flexibility and adaptability - the ability to pick up information quickly and efficiently.

• Finding the right articles or studies to help me get at the core of an issue and, for example, determine what best practices are and should be.

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

I was in an interdisciplinary program, and whenever I went to presentations or spoke with classmates in other departments, I often felt like I was learning something for the first time. Getting comfortable with that feeling and learning how to identify critical information quickly was key. Also, learning the three-pass method for reading articles helps!

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

Through connections with people who had graduated from my department and moved on to work at the agency.

PhD graduate ➡️ temporary position (for the duration of a particular study) ➡️ permanent position

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

Exploring program and policy evaluation methods. These often consist of learning how to apply social science methods. Also learning how to be a generalist - having a robust toolbox and knowing how to apply those tools as needed.

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

I struggled with this for a while. Hearing folks’ stories of all the extra work, the politics within departments, and the ongoing imposter syndrome was starting to “kill my vibe” as I progressed through my program. Ultimately, when it came to the job market, I knew where I was willing to live, which shaped where I applied to. I had several fly-outs but no offers. Ultimately, in my field(s), this becomes a matter of nuance and personalities within a department more so than the quality of the candidates or their capacity to succeed in the role. That’s what my friends said when I was applying, and that’s what they say to me now. Apparently the market has become supersaturated and quite tough with the pandemic, and it seems to be getting worse.

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

You have an incredible set of skills and knowledge.

Two things that will go hand-in-hand is to learn ways to overcome an imposter syndrome as well as learn how to communicate what you do and have done to someone who knows nothing about academia, using their language. It can be a pain but it is essential.

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

I was diagnosed as autistic and with ADHD after I defended. Having those diagnoses ahead of time would have allowed me to access resources that would have made a world of difference.

I also struggled with depression and anxiety. I began treatment and therapy when I was writing my thesis, but starting that when I began my PhD would have also been a huge help.

And for those interested, what was your main area of research?

I studied how nonprofits are supposed to evaluate their work, some problems with the data that nonprofits should collect but often don’t, and how machine learning can help us think about how well nonprofits operate beyond just the dollars they spend.