Abstract
After a +E1:E27stint in academia, author Camille M. Busette highlights her life at The Brookings Institution, a policy think tank.
A few months prior to defending my dissertation, I entered the academic job market. My Dad was an academic, and during his first stint in the profession, I saw first-hand what happens when racism intervenes in the decision around tenure. It was great life lesson. So, while I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to be an academic for life, it seemed that I really only had my academic background as something that could be parlayed into an actual job.
After several interviews, I had a few offers; I chose the place where I had the least awkward interview. The idea of having a multilingual African American political scientist was a bit novel for most departments at the time, and interviews were a good way to figure out for whom it was least exotic. In spite of myself, I started down the academic path.
Fast forward to now, I can tell you that I’m no longer an academic. However, I do conduct research in a policy think tank, The Brookings Institution. While one might think the two are very similar, they are not.
When I arrived at my new academic job, I noticed that there appeared to be a methodological split between the department faculty. There were those who prized only quantitative work and those who would have nothing to do with it. It seemed that the feud was long-standing. Then I started, a new Assistant Professor, a young African American woman in a predominantly white male department. Almost immediately, each side started trying to recruit me.
I found that once it was pretty clear that I had elected not to choose sides, I pretty much lost out on summer funding and a range of other academic perks that the chair or senior members of the department could confer onto those they choose. However, I was lucky. I was “saved” by the head of the Eastern European Studies Center, who was incredibly generous and a helpful mentor.
I also found out that not engaging in the methodological battle had other consequences. I was overloaded with committee assignments, three in total, which was a pretty heavy load for a new professor. Not to mention, I had some pretty unsettling interactions with my colleagues.
For example, one of my colleagues came by my office to offer advice about what I should be working on from a research perspective. When I told him that I would be working on something totally different from the topic of my dissertation, he told me that, “actually, it wasn’t wise to wade into areas where I might be seen as unqualified.”
This was my experience as a junior faculty member at one particular institution, but as I compared notes with my peers who were at other institutions, it did seem as though being a woman and being African American did not augur well for making it through the tenure process in many other institutions as well.
That experience taught me a couple things about navigating organizational dynamics and discrimination that have worked to my advantage. First, never spend a lot of time in any organization where you and your experience are devalued. Second, know what motivates you and don’t hesitate to make changes that will allow you to do something that is rewarding to you.
These lessons led me to public policy combined with research— first in the private sector, then in the non-profit sector, followed by a stint in a federal agency, the World Bank, and now Brookings. What I discovered about myself is that I love solving really difficult problems and that I am able to draw upon my experience in a variety of sectors and domains to address new challenges.
I joined Brookings almost three years ago and there are real differences in being here versus an academic department. Some of these are obvious—no tenure and no teaching. For many, the business model—one where you have to raise the money that will allow you to do your research—can be daunting. Many academics just aren’t comfortable pitching themselves and marketing their research interests to foundations, corporate and individual donors. Because scholars are self-financed, and are not vying for tenure or a higher position, we tend to feel secure in our positions. The combination of security, relevance, and the lack of a career ladder seems to relax folks and allow them to be generous with their time and intellect.
While I certainly need to continue to figure out how to finance my research projects, I have found scholars across Brookings very welcoming, supportive, and most importantly, interested in understanding what is happening in a range of fields that are not their own. Of course, it is hard to compare my experience as someone who was just starting out in her career with my current experience as someone who is fairly seasoned. I have, however, found the atmosphere much more affirming.
Given the fact that the academic job market remains tight, it is certainly worth considering a role in a think tank. You might find that the research latitude and the general good nature of your colleagues might be addictive.