Hi – I am a first-generation college student who made it as far as ABD for a PhD in Sociology. For reasons I don't want to get into, I'm looking for work outside of academia. I am looking for research/analysis type jobs – preferably that blend qualitative and quantitative research/analysis.
But as a working class person/sociologist, I've come to realize that I just can't make it in a super corporate environment. I don't have the “right” cultural fit, and my antiwork attitudes don't help. I'm currently a business analyst, but in a field that serves no function other than to keep this capitalist hellscape moving along. I didn't have much choice when I took the position because I was desperate for income, but I'm now looking to find work that has some purpose or “meaning” to it.
The problem is, I have always had a poor relationship with work and was raised to believe that I should take whatever I could and feel lucky that I wasn't unemployed. I am working on the mental parts of this in therapy, etc., but another issue I face is not really knowing what fields/opportunities there are out there for someone like me. I'm trying to brainstorm organizations that do useful things – nonprofits, companies that actually provide some benefit to humans, etc., but I have no mentors, advisors, or family that can really help me out with this. I also have ADHD which adds another small complicating layer to things.
What I'm looking for is advice about fields that I might look into or types of work I might want to consider where I can just not feel disgusted by what I do – would be an even bigger bonus if it was actually useful. I don't know if this is an appropriate place to look for this, but I want to use my brains and education to serve someone besides corporate overlords and stockholders. If anyone has advice, or is willing to talk to me about their experiences/transitions/how they have worked through similar challenges, I would be so grateful. If this isn't the right place to ask, my apologies and I'll look somewhere else.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, I appreciate all of you.