For some people, the process of leaving academia involves a kind of drifting away; for others, it can be quite an abrupt slamming of the door. The people who drift away may have work opportunities opened to them before or after they finish the Ph.D. that are too good to turn down, and they just never go back. For others, there is a decision-making process that involves a decisive moment when they leave.
My situation was the latter. This is what I wrote on my old blog about that moment when I just decided to finally admit to myself that academia was not the path I wanted to take:
Here I am, looking at my stack of printouts of contract teaching jobs offered here in Toronto and in nearby cities. Part of me is just drawn to applying for these jobs like a caffeine addict is to Starbucks, because that’s simply what grad students do. When you finish your Ph.D., you either a) head off to your new tenure-track job that you freakishly managed to score before you even graduated, b) head off to your cushy, teaching-free post-doc that you freakishly managed to score whilst in the final throes of dissertating, or c) farm yourself out to whatever university (or, for the more desparate/less picky among us, college) will take you and hold your breath while you apply for tenure track jobs. THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION.
But contract teaching serves as a crutch, keeping you tied to academia in the most exploitive way possible. People who are talented and bright and could land themselves in satisfying careers in the non-academic world stay in the rut of contract teaching because it’s something they can rely on, without having to stand up and challenge themselves to move beyond it. Oh, wait a minute, is that ME?
Ok, ok, ok. I could very well be the aforementioned bright individual who could seek a satisfying career beyond academe. And I am! Sort of. I think. Yes! It’s just that, the idea of not applying for any more contract teaching jobs feels much more scary than I ever thought it would. It feels like it would be a major symbolic severing of me from academia.
It felt like it because it was. The moment I threw those contract teaching applications in the bin, I knew it was up to me now to find that first post-academic job (which I did, and I survived). This was simultaneously terrifying and thrilling–and you know when you have that feeling that you are doing something so right.
How do you feel about the prospect of leaving academia? Are you scared and thrilled, daunted and curious, tired and ready to go? Are you drifting away or will there be a moment of severance for you?
Tagged as:
contract teaching,
leaving
One of the strangest parts that you may find about landing that first post-academic job is that the culture of your workplace may be completely different from the one you’re used to. In the saddest sense, getting a job outside the university sector can underscore–on a very visceral level–just how tough the working conditions for grad students really are.
When my friend H. got a government job after finishing her Ph.D. in history, she said that, even after several months of settling into the job, she still wasn’t quite used to actually being treated well by her colleagues. She couldn’t believe that people respected her opinion, consulted her expertise and wanted to listen to her presentations and viewpoints (after all, that was why they hired her). Not only that, she loved having the unlimited photocopying access, plus her own office that she didn’t have to share with 5 other people.
These might be things that your average professional probably takes for granted, but for grad students, this stuff is heaven.
If you’ve already left academia, have you found the same kind of “culture shock” in your other workplace? If you’re thinking of leaving, what kind of work environment do you think you’d really relish?
Tagged as:
benefits,
work culture
Back in 2007, I conducted a small series of interviews for the first incarnation of the Leaving Academia podcast. Some of those interviews ended up being hosted by University Affairs. This is one of them.
This interview is with Gaby Zezulka-Mailloux, a Ph.D. from the University of Alberta who took her background researching environmental issues for her dissertation and parlayed them into a job as a “rabblerouser” in the not-for-profit sector.
My interview with Gaby highlights a few things:
- Gaby’s passion for her topic material (the environment) guided her Ph.D. research and guided her into her first post-academic job.
- She wanted her dissertation to be a practical document with real working solutions in it, so she took a legal angle. This interdisciplinary approach made it difficult for her to get an academic job in an English department (or in any other discipline) but fed directly into her post-academic job.
- One of the key benefits she got from her grad school experience was that it thickened her skin, which helped prepare her for the work she does speaking to the media and politicians.
- She also notes that her research skills were a key transferable skill.
- Gaby’s advice for those thinking of leaving academia? “Go for it.”
A final note: at the time of this interview, Gaby wasn’t 100% certain that she had left academia forever. As it turns out, she has returned to the ivory tower. I will be posting a follow-up interview with her within a few weeks.
Listen to the 13-minute podcast here.
Tagged as:
not-for-profit,
podcast,
profile
As the dismal news about the current state of universities keeps on rolling out, it’s hard not to think the whole university sector is going to hell in a handbasket. The most disheartening thing I probably heard last week was this shit nugget:
Waterloo is not eliminating specific programs, but is discouraging undergraduate classes with fewer than 10 students, a move Dr. Chakma said will likely lead to fewer courses, especially in smaller departments. Classes of fewer than 10 students will no longer be counted in a professor’s teaching load.
I was an undergrad at the University of Winnipeg in the 1990s, and by the time I hit fourth year, most of my classes had 10 students or fewer. That kind of intense learning experience was a major factor in my decision to go to grad school. I really hate to think that this is the direction Waterloo is going in, and that other schools could follow. And isn’t it convenient for Waterloo that they don’t have to make this a formal policy. They can just force professor’s hands instead.
I would love to hear from grad students, administrators and profs who are living through these kinds of cuts and changes right now. Is this kind of news something that you can just ignore until September? Or is it affecing your work and study environment already?
Tagged as:
bad news,
hiring,
reality check
Ah, you’ve found this blog! Before its official launch! You intrepid researchers, you!
In my desire to get this new incarnation of Leaving Academia off the ground, I’ve let it leak here and there that I’ve moved the site to this here location. But in my desire to get my other website off the ground, Leaving Academia has been left behind.
So you might have come here, seen some random collection of old posts in various states of disrepair, and thought, “What the hell? I thought this refurbished site was supposed to be all tidy and content-rich!”
Well, that is still the plan, only we’re all going to have to wait until next week to make sure the site is real nice and purdy before I get any solid content really socked away here.
I promise, though, that things are going to get rolling here shortly. I’m lining up interviews with former academics, scouring the web for the most useful resources and brainstorming a whole host of topics that will address the most pressing issues you may be facing at this point.
So stay tuned!
Tagged as:
admin
