Why do experienced academics tend to have a hard time transitioning to consulting?

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I came from an academic background. What you learn in academia is completely different than business.

In academia, nuance is your sole focus. You write long papers detailing the existing research before getting to the point. You’re also largely insulated from real world consequences. I view it more as about precision than accuracy.

In business, being concise is key. You don’t generally have time for super detailed models and digging in the weeds. The business ultimately needs to make a decision in a timely manner and whether or not something was the right decision will often be seen fairly quickly. The only time one generally writes long form articles is in thought leadership.

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Very different skill sets? Very different timelines?

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Completely different soft skill base in academics than in consulting

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Yup. Pure disciplinary ability (and grant writing lol) is the trump card that beats all others. If you’re good you’re good, and everyone else has to deal with it. You have to play nice in consulting in ways you don’t have to in the academy.

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Being an academic has nothing to do with consulting at all. You have to produce deliverables (publications, peer review, presentations) and sell work (to departments, funding agencies) but those are pretty loose connections. The closest might be public sector consulting but again there's not much of a connection there.

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Given how long it takes for academics to get draft papers out, it is a pretty rough landing in consulting lol.

Because they are academics….

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