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Similar to this question How to secure recommendations and apply for PhD after having worked outside of academia for two years? but more specifically if you've been out of school and self-employed for a while, what options do you have for letters of reference? And AFAIK you need two letters, so if answers could provide multiple potential options that would be ideal :)

personjerry
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    Get letters from your clients, suppliers, or both. – user2768 Feb 03 '21 at 14:00
  • @user2768 Would that have as much pull as a letter from a professor for example? – personjerry Feb 03 '21 at 14:03
  • You don't have a professor to ask. Regardless, the answer would depend on the professor's relationship with the applicant. – user2768 Feb 03 '21 at 14:25
  • Apply to places which don't require recommendation letters. – user151413 Feb 03 '21 at 22:46
  • @user151413 Are there a lot of such places? Could you link some of the top institutions with no such requirement? – personjerry Feb 03 '21 at 22:48
  • The world is a big place. Maybe you want to narrow down your question? For instance, in most places in Europe you apply with individual supervisors, who can apply their own standards. Not to mention that you don't mention a subject either, or that it has to be a "top institution". – user151413 Feb 03 '21 at 22:49
  • How does this differ from your very own old question: https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/115822/where-should-i-get-my-letters-of-recommendation-coming-from-outside-academia – user151413 Feb 03 '21 at 22:52
  • @user151413 The self-employed part – personjerry Feb 03 '21 at 22:54
  • @user151413 Well, I would prefer a good institution of course, I presume one of the ones ranked higher would be better. I'm still figuring out what subjects I might be going into, and I'm open to institutions in different continents, although mostly North America and Europe. I have very limited knowledge of broad trends, but I've looked at a few universities such as Oxford, University of Toronto, UC Berkeley, and they seem to all require recommendation letters. You seem knowledgeable on the subject, so if it's too broad, could you recommend some sources for me to begin looking? – personjerry Feb 03 '21 at 23:06
  • To start with, for a PhD in most places in continental Europe, you apply with a PhD advisor, not the department. So they set the standards. If they are happy without letters, all good. – user151413 Feb 03 '21 at 23:07
  • @user151413 Cool, I will look into opportunities there for sure then. Thanks! – personjerry Feb 03 '21 at 23:17

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The source of the letters matters less than what they can convincingly say about your chances of success in the program you are applying to.

So choose referees who can write such letters. They might be clients, or managers, or former professors, or people you consulted professionally while self employed. People who know your work and your work ethic.

Ethan Bolker
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  • Are letters about work ethics? "He is working very hard." – user151413 Feb 03 '21 at 22:46
  • @user151413 "Work ethic" might include "learns new subjects quickly", "asks and answers questions easily", "writes well" ... all valuable skills in grad school. independent of the discipline. – Ethan Bolker Feb 03 '21 at 22:51
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    True. It's just that I value letters most which come from someone who has worked with the applicant on a non-trivial scientific project (not even the case in all undergrad systems), as they can assess how good they are in research, which requires certain skills which are different from those needed e.g. in coursework. But I agree, any assessment has its value. – user151413 Feb 03 '21 at 22:53