Leave academia for industry, in 2025.
After Academia Essentials is the proven, self-paced system for PhDs who want to stop spinning their wheels—and start signing job offers in industry.
You’ve done everything right—and you’re still getting ghosted.
You’ve applied to dozens of jobs. You’ve rewritten your resume again. And again. And again. You’ve attended webinars, downloaded guides, and read endless LinkedIn posts.
But still... nothing. No interviews. No job offers. Just silence.
Now you're starting to wonder:
Am I doing something wrong? Or is this just the job market in 2025?
Here's the truth:
Academia taught you how to stay, not how to leave.
You’ve been surrounded by academics for your entire career:
- They never showed you how to write an industry resume.
- They never told you which jobs would actually value your PhD.
- They never taught you about transferable skills, or how to translate them.
You spent a decade in higher education, and no one prepared you for a job outside of it. You’ve been expected to figure it out everything on your own.
No wonder you feel confused, exhausted, and discouraged.
That's not your fault. That's the system.
And that’s why I created Essentials.
What's included in Essentials?
Essentials is the streamlined, high-impact version of what I used to teach in the After Academia Incubator—my multi-month, intensive coaching program for PhDs.
It includes:
The Essentials Course
2.5 hours of self-paced lessons and hands-on exercises, designed for PhDs (no vague or generic advice)
After Academia Community
Join 150+ PhDs pivoting from academia to industry, many of whom have landed jobs—great for networking!
Instructor Support
Ask me questions, and I'll answer them live every week. Schedule 1:1 sessions if you need more support.
All the knowledge that you need, and nothing that you don’t. Just the Essentials so you can start signing job offers in industry.
Everything you need to leave academia for industry—without burning out.
Essentials gives you the structure, tools, and support to land your first job in industry, even if you have no idea where to start.
How to leave academia in 2025
Discover why the job market feels awful, and how you can still win with the G.R.O.W. formula—most PhDs struggle because they skip the first two steps.
Develop your strategic plan
Review the 12 different factors that impact your career change and create a detailed plan to keep you on track. No more second-guessing your next move.
Choose an industry career
Don't pick your next career from a list! Identify which industry roles actually care about your PhD, and, more importantly, which roles you actually care about.
Overcome fear and doubt
Understand how choice overload and loss aversion are sabtoging your job search, and how treating your career as a research project will help you move forward.
Academia vs. Industry
There are 5 major differences between academia and industry—once you understand these differences (and why companies hire), you'll start landing interviews.
Translate your transferable skills
You're not overqualified—you're under-communicating. Identify your in-demand skills and translate them into language that hiring managers actually understand.
Build your network, authentically
Networking never feels transactional with the S.E.E.D. method—designed for introverts, by an introvert. I use it for all my LinkedIn connection requests!
Stand out on the job market
In 2025, you need more than just a resume to land a job. Conduct an audit of your LinkedIn profile, and finally see yourself as more than "an academic."
Apply for industry roles
Choose one of four application methods that actually lead to interviews, including a method used by the top 1% of job seekers (I've used it—it really works!)
Ace your interviews
I have a 100% job offer rate after final round interviews (5 offers). Get my extensive interview preparation system and negotiate the salary you deserve.
Templates, exercises, and guides
Essentials is more than just information. Apply what you've learned with detailed guides, structured exercises, and templates for all your materials.
With Essentials, you’ll understand exactly why your applications have been getting ignored, and how to fix them so you can start signing job offers.
But don't just take my word for it:
Ready to Join Essentials?
For PhDs who want to start signing job offers in industry.
After Academia Essentials
2.5 hours of self-paced video lessons
Guides, templates, and hands-on exercises
Learning community of 150+ PhDs
Instructor support for all your questions
Lifetime access and updates
$400
$250 until May 1
Satisfaction Guaranteed. Payment plans available.
FAQs
I've personally talked to thousands of PhDs, just like you, who have already tried everything—rewriting resumes, mass applying, reading all the advice—and still aren’t getting interviews. Every single person struggles in a few key places. That's why I built Essentials: to show you exactly why your applications aren't working, and how to fix them.
This is actually the best time to join. By starting now, before you start applying, you'll avoid all the mistakes that I (and most PhDs) made when leaving academia. You don't need to struggle on the job market like we did.
I've been there, and so have most of my clients. That's why I designed Essentials to be self-paced and completely async—there are no live calls or deadlines. You can start slow, pause, come back, and do it in the way that works for you. This is structure without pressure, for tired, overwhelmed PhDs.
Yes. Essentials has supported PhDs from 10+ countries, every discipline, and every career stage. Regardless of your background or career goals, you'll face the same core challenges as every other PhD. Essentials gives you the structure to overcome these challenges, however they show up for you.
When you join Essentials, you'll receive access a "Ask Ashley" space. You can post your questions here, anytime, and I'll respond async, every week (Tuesdays at 9am PST).
If you want in-depth, 1:1 support, you'll be able to schedule discounted Strategy Sessions and/or Coaching Sessions with me, anytime.
There are many free communities, podcast episodes, and inspirational LinkedIn threads created for PhDs leaving academia. These free resources can help you feel seen, but they rarely help you get hired—otherwise, you'd have a job offer by now.
If you're reading this, then you know that you won't benefit from another free webinar or coffee chat with a stranger. It's time for structured, professional support, from someone who has actually made this career change. That's what you'll find in Essentials.
Hi there, I’m Ashley :) In 2022, after earning my PhD in Developmental Psychology, I quit my prestigious post-doctoral fellowship for a career in industry. I felt burned-out (and burned) from my time in higher education, and I knew there had to be something better for me.
Leaving academia was hard. I made many mistakes. I received rejection after rejection after rejection, until finally landing my first job offer. That's when I started sharing my career story online. And that's when thousands of PhDs started asking for my help. Turns out, this was hard for everyone.
So, I created Essentials. It's all the knowledge I've gained from my three years as an industry professional, my personal experience as a hiring manager, my ICF-certified coach training, and my private 1:1 conversations with hundreds of PhDs. It's the system I wish I had when I was leaving academia.
Because leaving academia is hard, but it doesn't have to be. Essentials will help.
I stand by my work. If you are dissatisfied with the value received from Essentials, e-mail me and I'll work with you to make it right. My goal is to help you, not to leave you regretting your decisions—that's what PhD programs are for :)
Email me at hello@ashleyruba.com!