Sarah Melton is a Product Education Strategist at Sprout Social, where she creates educational content and training materials. She previously worked in academic libraries and digital scholarship centers. Most recently as the former Head of Digital Scholarship at Boston College, Sarah led a group that teaches technical topics to learners of all levels. Her team facilitated data-driven research, digital project creation, and digital publishing. Sarah received her Ph.D. from Emory University in 2017.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed many individuals’ outlooks on their professional and personal life choices, which lead to the ‘Great Resignation’ in 2021 and 2022. Additionally, market trends in both academia and the private sector have changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. While individuals might decide to stay in academia or leave, their skill sets are transferable between both sectors. These transferable skills can include writing instructional materials, researching specific topics, and communicating with a wide audience. While academic and non-academic careers both have tradeoffs, starting a career in one pathway does not mean an individual cannot transfer to a different pathway later in their career. The choice to decide between an academic and non-academic career is often personal and difficult.
Learn more about CITI Program: https://about.citiprogram.org/