This post might be a bit random but there are some thoughts mulling in the back of my head and I figure if I get them out of my head where other people can engage with them, they might grow into something more coherent. Please treat what follows as preliminary thinking. Thinking aloud. An invitation […]
Read More »You don’t have to know what you’re going to be when you grow up
It is not uncommon to hear glib statements about how the era of the job for life has passed. And yet, people still routinely ask kids what they want to be when they grow up. And we still talk about education as if you get educated in your youth, which prepares for the job you’ll […]
Read More »Technical difficulties
I have a bunch of posts in draft and lots of updates I want to make on the site. Unfortunately, we had thunderstorm on Tuesday (April 6) and it knocked out my internet. We are waiting for someone to come around fix it but there was another storm in the area on Thursday and they […]
Read More »A job search is a 2-way process
In my last two posts, I suggested that you can decide what kind of academic career you want, and that it’s a good idea to get information and advice from a variety of sources, including informational interviews, to help you figure that out and learn more about the kind of academic career you want. When […]
Read More »How an academic job search is like any job search
In my last post, I proposed that you are likely only interested in a subset of all the academic jobs that are advertised in your field (no matter how sparse or plentiful those jobs may be). If this is a new way of looking at your academic career, it might be unsettling. You might be […]
Read More »There’s more than one kind of academic career
In all the debates about the academic labour market, it seems that an academic career is an academic career. The academic labour market is a mess. Funding is squeezed. Tenure lines (or, in the UK, open-term positions) are not being replaced. There is a huge increase in insecure and poorly paid teaching and research jobs with […]
Read More »More on writing
In my last post, Rebecca Leigh talked about the physical way you write — pen and paper vs. computer. Her main point was that we should do it the way it works for us and not get all worried about how we should do it. There is another big should in the writing world, especially […]
Read More »Give Yourself Permission
I’ve subscribed to smart fresh updates from my friend and business writer Rebecca Leigh. The other day, I got this great story in my inbox. I immediately thought of you. Because writing is that thing you want to do but struggle with. And what Rebecca wrote was so inspiring and powerful. So, I asked Rebecca […]
Read More »Starting to think about working in teams
Are you thinking it’s time to hire a research assistant or collaborate with a colleague or hire an editor? Whether you feel pushed by external pressures or by the internal recognition that there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do all the things you want to do, this transition is hard. In addition to the practical […]
Read More »Teaching the lecture class
I encourage you to read this excellent post from the Tenured Radical on how to teach lecture classes well. As she puts it: The lecture class is worth learning to teach well because this is where you will build your reputation as a teacher. It is where you will recruit students into your upper level […]
Read More »Considering going on to PhD
In the full knowledge that you might ignore any and all of this information, I present you with some things to think about as you consider going on to a PhD. Do you want to study for a PhD? I know this seems like an odd question to ask, but the first step is to […]
Read More »Where do you start with doctoral fellowship applications?
I received the following question from a reader: My MA is completing end of August this year, and I plan to go on to PhD. My department has recommended I apply for SSHRC and other grants. I am completely green when it comes to applying for grants/scholarships, and have no idea where to start. There […]
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