A vague idea I have is that, instead of being an academic or doing a post-doc (there are no jobs anyhow), I should become a consultant, earn money from writing reports or doing consultancy (whatever that means in practice), and generally have a good life and avoid all the negativity associated with academia (the need to publish constantly, bureaucracy, etc). My point is that once you have done some work and know enough people that you should find subsequent projects easier to obtain.

I take the view that consultancy work is associated with expertise - you have to be an 'expert' in order to get employed and paid, which, of course we are because we have a PhD in a defined topic. I would take the view that expertise is a socially constructed idea - there is no empirical definition. If other people think that you are an expert then you are one.

This is a nebulous post but I'm in the early stages of thinking this idea through.

Any comments? Criticism? Support?

Is any one else a consultant? Or have done some kind of consultancy work?

To be a consultant is not just about doing research and getting a PhD: it's about practical experience (and many years of it). You're right in that experience is a constructed idea- but most of the time if you want to act as a consultant especially to private-sector companies they'll ask for your work experience in the field.

If I were you, if you want to become a consultant, I'd apply for a major consultancy firm that has a desk specialising in your field (for ex: McKinsey, Bain and Co., etc…), get two-three years experience there, and then start your own consultancy. Without knowing what your field it's very hard to give you concrete advice. I've also been thinking about it, and I worked as an economist in the private sector for 4 years. Only caveat in my case is networking- you also need to effectively network if you're going down the consultancy route, which is why working for a company like the ones I mentioned would help you generate a client base that you can then use when you start your own consultancy.

In the past four or five years I have seen five of my peers break away from academia and very quickly develop solid careers in equality consultancy. It isn't a secret that, in the UK at least, the new gender equality guidelines (e.g. Athena SWAN, project JUNO etc) are being taken very seriously by universities. In many cases funding from the major bodies (e.g. NIHR) depends on departments adopting the new regulations, and there is still a long way to go before all regulations are in place. I'm not in a position where I can go into consultancy, but equality consultants are doing a great job not only for women's rights, but have the potential to keep institutions afloat because the departments who don't adopt the guidelines are going to notice the drop in funding very soon!

Hey there. Very first post but here goes. As someone who was consulting for a UN org (Geneva) while working on my master's dissertation its not incredibly hard to get into the field. I am speaking form the perspective of working in Switzerland which is the heart of the UN and other satellite orgs.

What happens is you can come in as an intern (paid or unpaid) and then through networking can get a consultancy stint lasting on average 3 months to a year. The pay was 3.5K GBP a month (no taxes as you for for an intl org). My main gripe is that moving my wife to Switzerland was not an option since she earns more as a Doctor, and 2) with the really short contracts you really cannot plan a proper life.

Making permanent staff is tough, but most friends who chose to stay on manage to find ways to extend their contract or get fresh consultancies in different departments. I was working a very operational organization which was focused on projects being implemented on the ground. If you have that philanthropic blood pumping in you by all means give it a shot. There are the much more report/research based organizations however like WIPO, UNCTAD, WTO, ICTSD, etc..

Why am I starting a PhD in April? well really because I have come to believe that development orgs are just all talk..a lot of BS and politics and no real bleeding edge work. 90% of their reports are just based off academic's work. Their original input is limited, however I suppose one can argue that databases like the World Bank are invaluable.

In the UK I know there is ODI which seems to be research based. I have worked with some of their people. I wasn't terribly impressed with the depth of reports being produced. However if you like dressing up, getting paid obscene amounts, travelling non stop and shaking lots of hands and attending lots of cocktail parties do give it a try.

I second that- I know a lot of guys who worked for consultancies/int'l organisations and they tell me it's all about connections and shaking hands with little originality in their work. One of these guys quit UNESCO after a few frustrating years and is now doing a PhD in my uni (should say ex uni now) hoping to go into teaching later on