My advice for you is the same as my advice for anyone smart and ambitious without terribly relevant experience.
Take an entry-level non-technical job at a startup that's grown large enough to actually have entry-level non-technical positions. Customer support, inside sales, community management, traffic acquisition, etc. You won't be in charge of that function, you'll be reporting to someone and learning.
Work your ass off, learn everything about the business, contribute ideas, look for opportunities for internal advancement and promotion. Startups, even bigger ones, can be pretty chaotic. At the right startup, you can advance in responsibility reasonably quickly if you're good.
Once you've gotten some startup experience under your belt, and hopefully a promotion or two, you can job-hop to a better role or a smaller 'more startuppy' team. After a few jobs and a few years, you'll be where you want to be.
This is pretty much what I did eight years ago when I dropped out of a Ph.D. program in Russian history. It takes time - you've got to pay your dues - but it doesn't take as much time as starting over in a more traditional career.
I'm in NYC - if you are too and want to chat, feel free to send me an email.
Comments
My advice for you is the same as my advice for anyone smart and ambitious without terribly relevant experience.
Take an entry-level non-technical job at a startup that's grown large enough to actually have entry-level non-technical positions. Customer support, inside sales, community management, traffic acquisition, etc. You won't be in charge of that function, you'll be reporting to someone and learning.
Work your ass off, learn everything about the business, contribute ideas, look for opportunities for internal advancement and promotion. Startups, even bigger ones, can be pretty chaotic. At the right startup, you can advance in responsibility reasonably quickly if you're good.
Once you've gotten some startup experience under your belt, and hopefully a promotion or two, you can job-hop to a better role or a smaller 'more startuppy' team. After a few jobs and a few years, you'll be where you want to be.
This is pretty much what I did eight years ago when I dropped out of a Ph.D. program in Russian history. It takes time - you've got to pay your dues - but it doesn't take as much time as starting over in a more traditional career.
I'm in NYC - if you are too and want to chat, feel free to send me an email.