Alt-Ac Careers AI and Changing The University from the Inside Out

Unruly Life welcomes, supports, and inspires people making bold, unconventional choices in order to build lives that feel deeply meaningful. Having worked in academia and academic-adjacent roles for much of my career, I have a deep interest in how PhD students and PhD-holders are working through these decisions, and am pleased to be in conversation with Dr. Alvin Henry about professionalization, AI, Alt-Ac careers, and the public humanities. Professionalization during the PhD is a major throughline for our conversation. We talk about how students preparing for non-academic career paths need to start sooner rather than later, and why learning to work with AI is a non-negotiable skill set. Continuing with AI, we discuss its use in the hiring process and put together a “must-watch: section on the Do’s and Don’ts of using AI on the job market. About Unruly Life Podcast: Hosted by cultural historian and author Rebecca Peabody, Unruly Life is for PhDs, academics, scholars, creatives, and ambitious thinkers navigating life and career transitions beyond academia. Each episode combines practical guidance, honest conversations, and lived experience to help you move forward with clarity, confidence, and purpose. #TheUnrulyPhD, #Alt-Ac, #publichumanities FOLLOW REBECCA: Instagram: LinkedIn: Bio: Alvin Henry, PhD Dr. Alvin Henry is the Inaugural Chair and Associate Professor of Asian American Studies at San Diego State University, where his research interrogates ideologies at the heart of racial subjectivity. He is also Faculty Fellow for Student Career Readiness at SDSU, where he is building a career readiness infrastructure that includes asynchronous modules on career exploration, personal branding, resume writing with AI, cover letters, and interviewing with AI. In addition, Dr. Henry is working with faculty and students to build a culture around professionalization that helps students envision their careers down academic or alt-ac pathways. Most recently, Henry received a California State University Chancellor's/Mellon Foundation grant to build sustainable internship experiences for humanities and social science students. At his previous institution he redesigned career education along with career services itself to better prepare undergraduate students and the institution for the modern workplace. At San Diego State University, Dr. Henry recently developed a new curriculum in Asian American Studies to include public humanities coursework as well as a course in applied social justice so that workforce skills would be built into the major. Resources: Dr. Alvin Henry | Faculty Page https://aas.sdsu.edu/faculty/henry Dr. Alvin Henry | LinkedIn   / alvinhenry   SDSU | College of Arts and Letters Career Page https://cal.sdsu.edu/careers/advance The Unruly PhD by Rebecca Peabody | Book Rebecca Peabody | Instagram Rebecca Peabody | LinkedIn Rebecca Peabody | LinkedIn Rebecca Peabody | Website