Man, these former-academic-bloggers are just coming out of the woodwork now, aren’t they? Here’s Tony Funk, a man with three university degrees under his belt who became The Accidental Agrarian. His tales about farming and raising animals in British Columbia kinda remind me of former academic Jo Van Every. Jo supports researchers–and yes, I mean those of you who are struggling to finish your dissertations, or land funding for your project, or figure out how to push through that last chapter of your book. Like Tony, Jo lives on a farm with her partner and child, and they raise animals. I’ll spare you the details of all that is involved when you’re living cheek by jowl with nature, and let Jo share that with you instead.
Then there are the people out there who may make you feel a little less alone, like the tenure track prof who suddenly feels like bailing. There’s also the very interesting discussion about using the recession as an excuse to bail from academia. But you can’t have a link roundup without the slightly more jaundiced view, this time from an economist talking to humanities folks.
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Hi folks. This is a very interesting website, something I wish I had encountered years ago as I struggled with the decision to leave my place of work. I spent nearly 20 years teaching college and while there were many wonderful years, the pressure of politics and power finally became too much and I fell ill because of it. Some of you may have absolutely no idea what is possible after academia, since our degrees, nature of study and years of dedication lead us to believe we will always do what we’re engaged in (like our profs were at our respective universities). As an encouragement to you all, I would never ever – and I mean never – have guessed that I would end up a farmer. But truthfully, it has been the best direction for me and my family. I have become the student and learn each day from both my animals and nature around me. As John O’Donohue once wrote “what is it that you fear?” I feared that in leaving I would lose the identity I had developed within teaching. The truth is, my movement away from academia has led me closer to who I think I am still becoming. Adieu mes amis!