Karen Kelsky

Karen Kelsky is an academic career consultant and former tenured professor who founded The Professor Is In, a widely-known academic career consulting business and blog. She gained prominence for providing advice to PhD students and early-career academics about navigating the academic job market and career transitions. After serving as a tenured professor of anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and head of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Oregon, Kelsky left academia in 2010. Her experience in academia and understanding of its hiring practices formed the basis for her career consulting work and her book "The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide to Turning Your Ph.D. Into a Job." Kelsky has written extensively about the challenges facing academic job seekers and has been featured in publications including The Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed. Her work focuses particularly on helping academics understand the unwritten rules of academic culture and job searching. Through her consulting practice and writing, Kelsky has become known for her direct, practical advice about academic career development and for addressing the realities of both academic and non-academic career paths for PhDs. She maintains an active social media presence where she continues to share career advice and commentary on higher education issues.

Karen Kelsky's readers value her direct, practical advice about academic careers, particularly in her book "The Professor Is In." Many readers credit her guidance for helping them secure academic positions and navigate the job market. Readers appreciate: - Specific examples and templates for CVs, cover letters, teaching statements - Clear explanations of unwritten rules in academia - Candid discussion of academic career realities Common criticisms: - Tone can come across as harsh or negative - Focus mainly on R1 institutions - Some advice feels outdated for current job market - High consulting fees mentioned in book Ratings across platforms: Goodreads: 4.2/5 (2,100+ ratings) Amazon: 4.6/5 (890+ ratings) One reader noted: "Brutal honesty about academic careers that I wish I'd had years ago." Another commented: "Great tactical advice but sometimes discouraging tone." Reader reviews consistently highlight the book's practicality while noting its occasionally blunt approach.

The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide to Turning Your Ph.D. into a Job (2015) A comprehensive handbook that covers academic job searching, hiring processes, and career development for PhD holders seeking academic positions.

Succeeding Outside the Academy: Career Paths beyond the Humanities, Social Sciences, and STEM (2018) A collection of essays and practical advice about transitioning from academia to non-academic careers, co-edited with Joseph Fruscione.