Every week or so we see another article in the mainstream or Higher Education press telling smart young people that going to graduate school in the humanities is a waste of time and money. We seem to be coming to the point qualitative researchers would call “saturation”, where new data doesn’t really add anything knew […]
Read More »Finding Your Way: Academic life as a journey
One of the great attractions of an academic career is the level of autonomy and freedom that you have. Some possible paths are clearly marked. Others are less obvious. Roadblocks are a frequent problem. Regardless of your stage of career, posts in this section help you identify the signposts and make decisions.
Start thinking about your post-doc early
Are you within 12 – 18 months of finishing your dissertation? I know that’s a hard question. And you can’t really know with any certainty. Do you feel like you are approaching the end of this process? Have you considered a post-doctoral fellowship? Even if you are closer to finished or have already defended your dissertation, […]
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What would your Fairy Godmother help you do?
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · What would your Fairy Godmother help you do? Cinderella didn’t think she was good enough to marry a prince. She certainly couldn’t have asked for all the things she needed to go to the ball. Her fairy godmother just knew she was more amazing than her current circumstances suggested. […]
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Guilt is complicated
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Guilt is complicated This is the 2nd post in a short series about guilt. You may also be interested in Stop feeling guilty, and Take guilt off your to do list. To further complicate the guilt thing… let me throw in that much of it for me stems […]
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Stop feeling guilty
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Stop feeling guilty This is the first post in a short series about guilt. You may also be interested in More on guilt, and Take guilt off your to do list The other day a couple of my Twitter followers mentioned that they were getting better at following my […]
Read More »The Spectre of Professionalism: Field, discipline, interdisciplinary
Chances are you were not attracted to academia by the professional identity of “Historian” or “Literary Scholar” or “Sociologist” or whatever they call people in your field. You were attracted by the possibilities of particular research questions. You selected a program that would enable you to explore those questions. That may have been in a […]
Read More »A lot can happen in 10 years
A new start. Ten years ago today, on January 7, 2003, I arrived in Ottawa with a suitcase and my ruby iMac with the intention to find a job so that I could move my whole family here. I had been living in the UK since September 1988, having initially gone as an undergraduate exchange […]
Read More »You are not a procrastinator: Is this a “no” in disguise?
I’ve had more than one client recently worry about their inability to get down to their writing. This is not a minor problem. It can lead you to question your ability to do the work you are doing and to question your own identity. If you aren’t an academic and a writer, who are you? […]
Read More »You are not desperate
Do you feel like you need to apply for all of the opportunities out there? Even if they are only vaguely related to your career objectives? Do you even have career objectives? Are you spending so much time sending out applications that you don’t seem to have time to do anything else? Does crafting a […]
Read More »Does it matter for tenure whether you’ve published from the PhD?
Recently, I received this query: Hi Jo, I’ve been trying to publish my dissertation for a while now since completing it 7 years ago. The manuscript has been rejected twice and reviewers have noted that the data is too dated. My question is should I keep trying or just let it go? I am applying […]
Read More »Tough decisions: turning down a job offer
Sometimes I help clients decide whether to turn down a job. Yes, that’s right. Even in this tough labour market some of my clients are deciding not to take jobs. These aren’t easy choices to make. I’ve written before about how you are not desperate. That post focused on applying for the right jobs. What […]
Read More »Proactive professional development
Under no circumstances should you wait around for someone to notice what a good fit you would be for a particular role/position/committee and sponsor you out of the goodness of their heart.
The people with the power and influence to do that are very busy. They aren’t spending a lot of time looking around for hidden gems. Prepare your case and go to them.
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