Going Alt-Ac

A growing number of peoplecompleting or holding graduate degrees now seek non-faculty positions-alsocalled alternative academic, or &quote;alt-ac&quote; positions-at different stages in theircareers. While an increasing number of people with doctoral degrees are huntingfor a diminishing pool of tenure-track faculty jobs, most degree-grantinginstitutions do not adequately prepare their graduate students to enter the newreality of the alt-ac job market. Yet the administrative ranks in highereducation institutions are growing, as colleges and universities are creating adiverse range of positions that support teaching and learning efforts.Focusing on therange of potential alternative career choices, this highly practical bookoffers tools and prompts for readers who are:Consideringwhether to choose an alt-ac career pathSeekingspecific alt-ac positionsAdvisinggraduate students or mentoring recent professional graduatesEncounteringalt-ac career challengesThe authors offer casestories-their own and those of colleagues across North America in alt-acroles-with concrete examples designed to help readers pursue, obtain, and excelin a wide variety of alt-ac positions. The book can equally be used as aresource for graduate courses on professional development and job-marketpreparation.