By Dr. Jarrod Sadulski, Faculty Member, Criminal Justice
Earning a doctorate is a major accomplishment in life. While many students pursue a doctorate to teach—often graduate-level courses—a doctorate can also be applied outside of academia.
Using a Doctorate Beyond Teaching
A doctorate identifies someone as an expert in their field and it is a natural progression to get involved in public speaking. My background is in criminal justice. Shortly after completing my doctorate, I volunteered to present at as many academic conferences as possible to gain experience. Although they typically are unpaid – or an employer may cover travel costs – these conferences provide valuable experience because they build a name for the presenter in the field and enhance public speaking skills.
After speaking at numerous domestic and international conferences, I became equipped to pursue paid speaking engagements – further demonstrating that I was a highly sought speaker.
As a result, I have engaged in television interviews, radio interviews, and have developed an international audience that has led to speaking engagements at various private and government organizations around the world. This occurred because I presented myself as a subject-matter expert and displayed competency to speak on specific topics through attaining my doctorate.
To build name recognition in my field, I also found it helpful to conduct podcasts. Podcasts are a great tool for doctoral practitioners because they provide a platform to interview other experts in your field and are an easy and accessible way to reach a wider audience.
Unique Insight as a Consultant
Being recognized as an expert by earning a doctorate may also lead to consulting opportunities. Earning a doctorate often requires considerable research and in-depth study of a subject area. As a result, those with a doctorate often have a great understanding of their field and can often provide unique insight into an industry, which may be valuable to organizations.
Since there is a lot of competition in the United States, I have found more success in serving as an international consultant. Since my background is in criminal justice – and crime is a global problem – I have reached out to international universities, government organizations, and non-government organizations that combat crime in different parts of the world, and I have received a very warm welcome. This has led to several international media contributions, publications within the international organizations, paid speaking events, and various consulting opportunities. The development of a consulting website – offering services associated with the doctorate – is also helpful.
My research was published in the United Nations Office on Drug Control World Drug Report and I served as a consultant in the role of reviewer of organized crime in Belize for the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime’s Global Organized Crime Index. Other doors opened due to networking with the international community and leveraging the Ph.D. include collaboration with INTERPOL in South America, consultant work in Central America, and international media interviews.
[Podcast: Role of INTERPOL in Fighting International Crime]
These opportunities have led me into important humanitarian missions as well. For example, I serve as the advisor, consultant and instructor for the only prison in Belize, which is operated by a faith-based, non-profit organization called Kolbe Foundation. Pursuing consulting opportunities has also been effective in the United States as I have served as an external consultant for a university by reviewing their graduate program, developed training curriculum for various organizations, and spoken at government functions on relevant criminal justice topics.
In conclusion, earning a doctorate can be used beyond the classroom to help educate others working in your field of expertise.
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