Should I Work in Psychedelics?
Probably the number one question people ask me on LinkedIn is “Should I work in psychedelics?”
The answer is “it depends”, almost invariably.
So how do you figure out if you should?
What criteria are important?
How do you know if a career in psychedelics is for you?
In this article, I present the major considerations to make if you’re interested in a career in psychedelics and how you can avoid mistakes that can cloud judgement. Please note: I orient this information towards opportunities at psychedelic businesses, primarily for-profit companies. Also, I do not cover specifics for becoming a psychedelic therapist or guide here.
Is Working In Psychedelics Right For Me?
Let’s get the most difficult news out of the way: not everyone should try to work in psychedelics - not right away at least.
Here’s why:
There are limited opportunities: despite media hype, the psychedelic space is still small.
There aren’t clear pathways for professional (and financial) growth: organizations are scrappy, working with limited funds and resources.
There might be better paths out there: you can explore psychedelics in other ways before attempting a career change.
The psychedelic space is growing, but it’s still very young and, while some individuals have career prominence, e.g., they go on podcasts to talk about their work, their stories often omit the difficult realities they face: limited funds, novel business challenges, and complex role demands.
I share this not to scare you, but to help you think critically and determine if it’s the right time to make big changes.
Motivations: Why Am I Looking For A Job In Psychedelics?
At the end of this article, I provide seven steps aimed to aid your discernment. But I want you to first consider motivations that inspire you.
Ask yourself:
“Why am I looking for a job in psychedelics?”
Take out a pen and paper and write down some ideas before you continue. Just jot down whatever comes to mind when you imagine this work. What does it look like? How does it feel? Why did you make this change?
Here are some of the biggest reasons I hear from clients:
Money
Purpose
New Challenges
Professional Development
Alternative Wellness
We’ll next explore the best conditions to search for a job in psychedelics - I title them “Strengths: When To Search For Psychedelics Jobs”. This will describe when you are in good shape to make a pivot into psychedelics.
After we cover the good conditions, we’ll note the challenges - I call this “Limiting Conditions: When Not To Search For Psychedelic Jobs”. This is when you may want to look elsewhere, when you and/or the psychedelic space would benefit from some time, some maturation.
At the end, we’ll circle back to discernment action steps.
Strengths: When To Search For Psychedelic Jobs
It’s best to search for a psychedelic job when you’re #1 really good at tasks already and #2 you can see yourself making a positive impact at a specific job.
#1 When you’re skilled at tasks + you enjoy thoroughly doing those tasks.
The easiest way to both land and enjoy a job in psychedelics is to be the best fit for the role - simple.
If you have relevant skills, recruiters will look at your application. If you enjoy exercising your skills AND you’re passionate about the space or “industry”, you can excel.
The operative word here is “industry change,” rather than “career change”. In this case, you’re set out not to change what you do or how you do, but what you do it for - in this case the advancement of the psychedelic organization. You’re also still very much committed to working, just in this niche space.
A psychedelic job is still a job. Do you actually enjoy working? The Protestant Ethic compels Americans to prioritize work above most everything. Does that feel authentic to you? If you’re unhappy at your current job, there may be nothing wrong with you. You may just not want to work. That’s pretty normal: our ancestors spent a small fraction of their day working (literally 2-3 hours) and mostly doing “enjoyable” things like fetching wood to build a fire, gathering or hunting, playing with children. Few of us can say the same today.
When people say they’re “tired of their job” and they seek something new in psychedelics, I gently remind them that to work a desk job in psychedelics is still 8+ hours a day, sedentary, before a computer screen.
#2 When you want to make an impact.
You want your work to have purpose and positively impact people. Admittedly, most of us need to work. Not working isn’t on the table. So if you’re gonna sit at a desk and plug away, why not do it for something meaningful, something you believe in! This is a wonderful, good reason to consider work in psychedelics.
The key here is to get clear on the direction you’d like to see things unfold (e.g., psychedelic access). Then, stay mindful of the players in the space, so that you work at a place that shares your vision.
To this point, I invite you to note two things:
1. That shiny psychedelic organization might not share the same vision you do for these plants.
Do you believe in equitable access to psychedelic treatment? That’s seriously great if you do, but the for-profit group might not, as they face pressure to deliver results to shareholders.
Do you strive for a safe, holistic, accepting approach to drugs? Also great, but best believe some companies don’t. They may want the status quo: keep drugs behind gatekeepers, inaccessible to folks who can’t clear social biases and the capitalist paywall.
2. Just because you use psychedelics, doesn’t mean you’ll enjoy working in psychedelics.
Have you had profound psychedelic experiences? That’s wonderful for you and it’s a good minimum criterion for psychedelic work, but it’s just the minimum. It won’t do you much good if you work on tasks you don’t enjoy. It won’t help if you’re at an organization you don’t align with.
Do you love talking about psychedelics with friends and family? Depends on the job, but generally your discussions with coworkers at a psychedelic organization will only touch on psychedelics. I’ve seen several coworkers leave their roles because they’d prefer to keep a distinct line between their professional work and their use of plants.
Limiting Conditions: When Not To Search For Psychedelic Jobs
It’s just as valuable to consider the conditions that make it less than ideal to look for psychedelic career opportunities.
I provide these to help you think realistically about when it’s the right time, not to cause undue stress.
Here are conditions that make it hard to work in psychedelics:
When you’re unemployed.
While the use of psychedelics is as old as human history, the “psychedelic space” is young. Job opportunities are limited, as organizations navigate limited funding, prohibition, and uncharted business terrain. On top of this, there are lots of people interested in psychedelic work, which makes any application cycle competitive. If you’re out of a job, I wouldn’t seek work in psychedelics. Get a different job first, then you can consider psychedelic opportunities with less financial stress.
When you’re looking to advance your career.
There are few opportunities to actually advance as a professional in the psychedelic space. You can get better training, development, and pay in other industries, like mental health or healthcare more broadly. You can develop skills and specialize in something much better outside of this space.
When you’re looking for a career change.
Similar for development, psychedelics aren’t great if you want to pivot into new work. Most companies, certainly the “startups”, focus on hiring candidates skilled at the tasks they need done right away. Most orgs don’t have the bandwidth to train you. And even if they did, they probably wouldn’t, because they have no problem attracting qualified applicants to their job postings. If you want to change your career, it’s easier to do so outside the psychedelic space.
When you’re looking to make more money.
Psychedelics are a new space. Reliable pathways to profit don’t exist just yet. Unique challenges keep psychedelic companies conservative, with tight budgets and limited funds for hiring. Most jobs pay better outside of psychedelics for the same work.
Job Application Scenarios
You may want to apply to jobs after you sift through your motivations, strengths, and limiting conditions for a psychedelic career change.
Before you do this, consider how a recruiter or hiring person might evaluate your candidacy with these three scenarios:
Scenario 1 - Applied > Interviewed > Job Offered: This is best case scenario! You applied to the job, went through some interviews, and received the offer. Now, you choose to accept or decline. Woohoo!
Scenario 2 - Applied > Interviewed OR Not-Interviewed > No Offer: Ahh, sadly no offer this time. You gave this a good shot and you should keep your eyes open for more opportunities.
Scenario 3 - Applied > Not-Interviewed > No Offer: Just like scenario 2, you didn’t receive an offer. But there’s something different here in Scenario 3 and it’s critical you understand it.
Scenario 2 and Scenario 3 have the same result: no offer. To your applicant mind, these scenarios look and probably feel the same.
What’s different is your “goodness of fit” for the role. You’re a good fit in Scenario 2. You’re not a good fit in Scenario 3. Fit is the difference. Here’s how this plays out:
Scenario 1: Qualified, Role Aligned, Mission Aligned = good fit,
Scenario 2: Qualified, Role Aligned, Mission Aligned = good fit, no bandwidth to interview
Scenario 3: Some combination of Not-Qualified, Not-Role Aligned, and/or Not-Mission Aligned = not a good fit.
The Hiring Team’s Perspective
Assume the perspective of the recruiter or hiring person who reviews your application.
In Scenario 2, they seriously consider you. They may even invite you to interview. But if they don’t interview you, it’s not necessarily because they weren’t interested in you. There could be a few reasons, but most likely it’s because they have oodles of other qualified applicants and they just couldn’t make time for you.
Scenario 3 is different because they were NOT interested in you. And Scenario 3 stinks because you will likely never learn WHY they weren’t interested.
It’s up to you to decipher if you were seriously considered (Scenario 2) or not (Scenario 3).
Before you apply to a job, I want you to do everything in your power to move yourself from a Scenario 3 candidate to a Scenario 2 candidate: an applicant that’s qualified, aligned with the role, and aligned with the mission of the organization - a good fit.
Do this consistently and eventually you’ll become a Scenario 1 candidate, you’ll get the offer.
Psychedelic Vocational Discernment Steps
In this section, I want to highlight some ideas to evaluate yourself and explore options. Real world experience will trump almost any reflection activity, but use these for inspiration and take action:
Rank your motivations in order and review them. Consider things like money, purpose, taking on new challenges, professional development, and alternative wellness. What on your list is “critical” and what is “nice-to-have”? What are some ways you can achieve your goals?
Take inventory of your resources. Do you meet your resource needs? Are you in a financial position to make the same or less money than you currently do?
Calibrate your compass. Do you want to make an impact with your work? What are the types of organizations that would allow you to do that? Do you see certain companies more aligned with what you want than others?
Career change vs Industry change. It’s much easier to shift into the psychedelic industry than it is to shift careers. Are you seeking a career change or an industry change? If you do want to make a career change, what are the realistic next steps you can take and build towards a vocation in psychedelics?
Get a “microdose” of psychedelic experience. Could you scratch the psychedelic-itch by getting involved on a local level? Could you volunteer or help organize something nearby?
Apply with purpose. Set aside specific time to build the best application you can for any psychedelic job. Carefully review each job description, determine if you’re a good match, and if so submit a polished resume and cover letter.
Keep living and learning. After you apply, move on with your life. Stay curious about what’s most important to you. And if you followed Step 5, keep exploring opportunities local or accessible to you - this will help you stoke the psychedelic fire even if you don’t land a job right away.
Psychedelics invite us to reflect on our lives. I’ve benefited from applying reflection to job searches as well. Pair this with on-the-ground experience to see where you’re at, where you want to go, and how to get there.
