Academic Escape & Career Clarity Coach for PhDs | Job Search & Career Educator | Keynote Speaker & Workshop Facilitator | Online Community Builder
The thing about academics thinking “I love this work more than anything” is a) I believe you but b) you don’t know what you don’t know. Leaving academia—any career change—is an act of hope for a better tomorrow, and faith that you can have these feelings about another job. It’s helpful to get more specific about what part of this work you love, what you don’t mind doing, and what you prefer to avoid in future. Because I’m willing to bet that not every minute of every day as a faculty member fills you with joy or deep appreciation for what’s going on. Doing that specifying is going to make it a lot easier to recognize what you want to keep in your career and what you’d be okay with jettisoning. The step after that (in addition to keeping the faith) is exploring in what other roles in what other places do folks experience these things. Because I ASSURE YOU that academia isn’t unique in giving you an opportunity to, for example - Mentor young people - Act as an expert advising policymakers - Write thoughtfully about important social issues - Conduct exacting science experiments - Prepare teaching materials that have an impact on learners - [Fill in your own key thing here] I can hear some of you right now: “Oh but I love everything about this. No other job has this balance of A, B, C.” Hold up. Because, again, you don’t know what you don’t know. And hey, it’s always possible another situation would actually be even better?for you and your family! Something different will be different, but that's true in academia as well. Every department, university, region is its own thing. If you’re feeling disrespected, undervalued, or simply exhausted by the demands of your current job it’s worth the effort to figure out whether you might be better served elsewhere. That doesn’t mean quitting tomorrow! (Unless you want to.) It?does?mean employing your critical thinking, information gathering, and analytical skills to your career instead of just your academic subject matter. Please do that. — ???? I'm Jen! I help professors, postdocs, and other PhDs ready to leave academia land meaningful jobs where they’ll be valued and respected. ?? See my profile for a link to a free resource ("For PhDs leaving academia").
