Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: Your favorite boss (you)

 Your favorite boss (you)

You have a CTPS degree of some sort. Each degree from each institution is unique; some were founded by a psychology professor and are heavily favored with coursework that emphasizes that. Some degrees are developed and founded by a sociology professor and feature courses that tilt toward that corpus of knowledge. Other common founder specializations that lead to degrees oriented toward their origins: Political Science, Law, Religion, History, and Philosophy. Note that only Law (Alternative Dispute Resolution) leads naturally toward noted non-academic (teaching/research) employment. Other degrees stretch further and further toward acquisition of terminal degrees in order to teach in higher education.

However. There is a grand tradition of simply declaring yourself as available to do certain paid work. Using what students learn in some CTPS programs, there is really no limit to what a graduate may decide is their chosen profession and they may offer their services to the marketplace of potential clients, none of which generally involve government licensing or mandatory legal requirements aside from legal business practices, including but not limited to: 

·       peace journalism content creator, either to a publisher or as monetized creator content in any number of forms on any number of platforms

·       conflict coach

·       facilitator: general, consensus, retainer

·       public office (school board, city council, city manager, etc.)

·       consultant to local or state government offices, either with elected officials or with agencies

·       tutor, research assistant

·       expert witness for litigators[1]

·       development director for a nonprofit or advocacy group

Any of these may require further development of a curriculum vitae that shows subject matter expertise; this can be gained in a number of ways, including but not limited to: 

·       academic peer-reviewed journal article publishing

·       volunteer experience

·       entry-level experience

·       establish your own specialized non-profit to provide services either as fee-for-service or funded by grants or a combination

While it is, to be blunt, a dreary chore to upkeep your c.v., do so. It should be ready to send out to clients at a moment's notice. While there are many intricate guidelines for preparing a proper c.v., here is what I stumbled across after a university administrator rejected my curriculum vitae in one promotion process: I asked a senior, highly accomplished professor for her c.v. She sent it to me, I saved it as mine, and then cleared all the content except the categorial headlines. Then I filled in my own credentials, publications, education, university service, community service, and awards. When I resubmitted, it passed through without a hitch. When I told this senior scholar what I did she burst into laughter. It remains my c.v. to this day. Thank you, Dr. Schechter.

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[1] This occurred a few times for me. I volunteered as an expert witness in civil resistance necessity defense cases because I have a fairly strong personal history and knowledge that qualifies me. That is in cases of accused criminal behavior. However, somehow this came to the attention of some litigators and they paid me to testify in civil cases, including wrongful death, which was both satisfying (we won a great deal of compensation to the family of a man wrongfully killed by police) and lucrative. I was compensated for a day in court at a rate approximately equal to a full month of teaching as Associate Professor at my university. The pro tip: keep your c.v. up to date. Seek an occasional media exposure--law offices take notice.