In this episode of Exiting Academia, I walk through what it can look like to take a PhD—specifically a PhD in Marketing—and pivot into an industry role as a Consumer Intelligence Analyst. The big point I want you to take away is that this kind of transition isn’t about “starting over.” It’s about translating what you already do in academia (research design, data interpretation, theory-to-practice thinking, and clear storytelling) into the language that hiring managers and business teams actually use. I also frame this conversation the way I coach it: get clear on the target role, map your PhD skills to the actual deliverables of that job, and then build proof. Proof can be a resume that reads like an industry document, a LinkedIn profile that matches the role title you want, and concrete examples of how you’ve answered questions with data—because consumer intelligence is ultimately about turning messy information into decisions. If you’re trying to leave academia, my goal is to give you a realistic path: focus your narrative, make your experience legible to industry, and move with intention rather than panic.