{"id":2672,"date":"2019-05-21T11:24:20","date_gmt":"2019-05-21T11:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-plan-to-do-with-that-degree\/"},"modified":"2025-04-04T09:32:46","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T09:32:46","slug":"alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-plan-to-do-with-that-degree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-plan-to-do-with-that-degree","title":{"rendered":"Alternative answers to &#8220;So, what do you plan to do with that degree?&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">Does anyone else get tired of hearing the question \u201cSo, what do you plan on doing with that?\u201d whenever you tell them your academic plans?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">My plan involves getting a PhD in philosophy. When I tell people this, I get responses that range from \u201cOh, what a unique career path!\u201d to \u201cThat sounds\u2026 interesting?\u201d to \u201cSo you want to work in retail?\u201d By far, the most common response, however, is \u201cSo, what do you want to do with that?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">Being home for the holidays has meant answering that question a total of eight times already (and it\u2019s only week one), so I\u2019ve decided to have some fun with it instead of justifying the same career plans over and over.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">Here are fun, alternate ways of answering the question &#8211; So, what do you want to do with that?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"tab-stops: list .5in;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">\u201cBecome a better person so I\u2019m more likely to wind up in the Good Place (the real one, not the one that Kristen Bell got sent to).\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"tab-stops: list .5in;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">\u201cLearn the best way to indoctrinate your children into my socialist cult.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"tab-stops: list .5in;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">\u201cFind a way to stay in school so long, that I never have to pay off my student loans.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"tab-stops: list .5in;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">\u201cI\u2019m just making it up as I go. On an unrelated note, do you need a babysitter?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"tab-stops: list .5in;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">\u201cDo research on things that I love but probably not get paid enough because academia is undervalued in our society.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"tab-stops: list .5in;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">\u201cRead a bunch of abstracts and pretend like I read the whole paper.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"tab-stops: list .5in;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">\u201cBe the reason rich, white, 20 year old men lose their scholarship.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"tab-stops: list .5in;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">\u201cRun for President.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"tab-stops: list .5in;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">\u201cNot fix the relationship I have with my mother, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"tab-stops: list .5in;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">\u201cI thought I\u2019d give new meaning to the term \u2018Influencer.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"tab-stops: list .5in;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">\u201cSingle-handedly keep my counselor in business.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"tab-stops: list .5in;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">\u201cOh wait, I have to do something with my degree after I graduate?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"tab-stops: list .5in;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">\u201cInvest in stocks for wine, then buy a whole bunch of wine. That\u2019s how economics works, right?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"tab-stops: list .5in;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">\u201cI haven\u2019t figured it out yet. Can I shadow you?\u201d (this only works for people who clearly hate their job or are perpetually and unwillingly unemployed)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"tab-stops: list .5in;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">\u201cBe incredibly pious.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"tab-stops: list .5in;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">\u201cBe happy. I like what I do.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">In the end, it doesn\u2019t matter what these people think about your career path. Keep kicking ass and ignore the cynicism. We go into our fields because we love it, so don\u2019t feel the need to justify it. If you\u2019ve had a glass of wine or four, you may even become sassy enough to give one of these reasons.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><i>PhDoing Life is a Philosophy graduate student. This story was published on December 20, 2018, on the blog, <\/i><a style=\"color: blue; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/\"><i><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">PhDoing Life<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"> (available<\/span><\/span><\/i><a style=\"color: blue; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/\"><i><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\"> here<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%;\">), and has been republished here with permission.<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Does anyone else get tired of hearing the question \u201cSo, what do you plan on doing with that?\u201d whenever you tell them your academic plans? My plan involves getting a PhD in philosophy. When I tell people this, I get responses that range from \u201cOh, what a unique career path!\u201d to \u201cThat sounds\u2026 interesting?\u201d to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1470,"featured_media":33313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2414],"tags":[2666,2454],"new_categories":[],"new_tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-2672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiring-researcher-stories","tag-phd-life","tag-researcher-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Alternative answers to &quot;So, what do you plan to do with that degree?&quot;<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Does anyone else get tired of hearing the question \u201cSo, what do you plan on doing with that?\u201d whenever you tell them your academic plans? Being home for the holidays has meant answering that question a total of eight times already. So, I\u2019ve decided to have some fun with it instead of justifying the same career plans over and over.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alternative answers to &quot;So, what do you plan to do with that degree?&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Does anyone else get tired of hearing the question \u201cSo, what do you plan on doing with that?\u201d whenever you tell them your academic plans? Being home for the holidays has meant answering that question a total of eight times already. So, I\u2019ve decided to have some fun with it instead of justifying the same career plans over and over.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Editage Insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Editage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-05-21T11:24:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-04T09:32:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"PhDoing Life\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Editage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Editage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"PhDoing Life\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-plan-to-do-with-that-degree\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"PhDoing Life\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/bca2b9cd502d0301fd42c3e43bc04181\"},\"headline\":\"Alternative answers to &#8220;So, what do you plan to do with that degree?&#8221;\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-21T11:24:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-04T09:32:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-plan-to-do-with-that-degree\"},\"wordCount\":464,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"PhD Life\",\"Researcher Stories\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Researchers and Their Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-plan-to-do-with-that-degree\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/\",\"name\":\"Alternative answers to \\\"So, what do you plan to do with that degree?\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-21T11:24:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-04T09:32:46+00:00\",\"description\":\"Does anyone else get tired of hearing the question \u201cSo, what do you plan on doing with that?\u201d whenever you tell them your academic plans? Being home for the holidays has meant answering that question a total of eight times already. So, I\u2019ve decided to have some fun with it instead of justifying the same career plans over and over.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp\",\"width\":656,\"height\":336},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Alternative answers to &#8220;So, what do you plan to do with that degree?&#8221;\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/\",\"name\":\"Editage Insights\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Editage Insights\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/editage-insights-logo-1-scaled.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/editage-insights-logo-1-scaled.webp\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":324,\"caption\":\"Editage Insights\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Editage\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Editage\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/bca2b9cd502d0301fd42c3e43bc04181\",\"name\":\"PhDoing Life\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/517c115236a37958ec168ab7f9fafc413830ffb4433a7d778efcbe5d5b636679?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/517c115236a37958ec168ab7f9fafc413830ffb4433a7d778efcbe5d5b636679?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"PhDoing Life\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/phdoing-life\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Alternative answers to \"So, what do you plan to do with that degree?\"","description":"Does anyone else get tired of hearing the question \u201cSo, what do you plan on doing with that?\u201d whenever you tell them your academic plans? Being home for the holidays has meant answering that question a total of eight times already. So, I\u2019ve decided to have some fun with it instead of justifying the same career plans over and over.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Alternative answers to \"So, what do you plan to do with that degree?\"","og_description":"Does anyone else get tired of hearing the question \u201cSo, what do you plan on doing with that?\u201d whenever you tell them your academic plans? Being home for the holidays has meant answering that question a total of eight times already. So, I\u2019ve decided to have some fun with it instead of justifying the same career plans over and over.","og_url":"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/","og_site_name":"Editage Insights","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Editage","article_published_time":"2019-05-21T11:24:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-04-04T09:32:46+00:00","author":"PhDoing Life","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Editage","twitter_site":"@Editage","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"PhDoing Life","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-plan-to-do-with-that-degree"},"author":{"name":"PhDoing Life","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/bca2b9cd502d0301fd42c3e43bc04181"},"headline":"Alternative answers to &#8220;So, what do you plan to do with that degree?&#8221;","datePublished":"2019-05-21T11:24:20+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-04T09:32:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-plan-to-do-with-that-degree"},"wordCount":464,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp","keywords":["PhD Life","Researcher Stories"],"articleSection":["Researchers and Their Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-plan-to-do-with-that-degree","url":"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/","name":"Alternative answers to \"So, what do you plan to do with that degree?\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp","datePublished":"2019-05-21T11:24:20+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-04T09:32:46+00:00","description":"Does anyone else get tired of hearing the question \u201cSo, what do you plan on doing with that?\u201d whenever you tell them your academic plans? Being home for the holidays has meant answering that question a total of eight times already. So, I\u2019ve decided to have some fun with it instead of justifying the same career plans over and over.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp","width":656,"height":336},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/phdoinglife.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/20\/alternative-answers-to-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-with-that\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Alternative answers to &#8220;So, what do you plan to do with that degree?&#8221;"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/","name":"Editage Insights","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization","name":"Editage Insights","url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/editage-insights-logo-1-scaled.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/editage-insights-logo-1-scaled.webp","width":2560,"height":324,"caption":"Editage Insights"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Editage","https:\/\/x.com\/Editage"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/bca2b9cd502d0301fd42c3e43bc04181","name":"PhDoing Life","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/517c115236a37958ec168ab7f9fafc413830ffb4433a7d778efcbe5d5b636679?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/517c115236a37958ec168ab7f9fafc413830ffb4433a7d778efcbe5d5b636679?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"PhDoing Life"},"url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/phdoing-life"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1470"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2672"},{"taxonomy":"new_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/new_categories?post=2672"},{"taxonomy":"new_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/new_tags?post=2672"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=2672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}