Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Take guilt off your to do list This is the third post in a short series about guilt. You may also be interested in Stop feeling guilty, and More about guilt. As I was writing the post on making difficult choices another important aspect of this discussion about guilt […]
Read More »Love Your Work
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 »Letting go of unfinished projects
Every once in a while my knitter friends have a friendly contest for finishing UFOs (UnFinished Objects, a.k.a WIPs or Works in Progress). Sometimes there is a prize for finishing the oldest UFO in one’s possession. Do you have UFOs on your desk or in your files? conference papers you meant to turn into articles […]
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 »Volunteer before you’re drafted
If your level of frustration with your working hours is more about what you are doing in them than how many of them you are working, how do you increase the proportion of your time spent doing things that are meaningful? Try this suggestion from the #femlead Twitter chat. (Which sadly doesn’t happen any more.) […]
Read More »Is “number of hours” the right measure?
Recently a client asked me to help her figure out how to work less. She is frustrated by long hours, working weekends, and so on. She figures at this stage of her career, she should be able to have a better balance. As we worked together, it became clear to me that the number of […]
Read More »Are you treating your research like a hobby?
Most academics are paid to do research. Research is part of your job description. Research figures prominently in the criteria for hiring, tenure/confirmation, and promotion. This can feel out of sync with the reality of your daily life in the university. You teach. You attend meetings. You do the work necessary to do those 2 […]
Read More »Work-Life Balance in academic careers
I read a thought provoking piece on Work-Life Balance recently. Thinking about this in relation to academic careers, I realize that the choice you face is actually more complex. And that that complexity might make it easier to address the problem (if there is one).
The issue for you might not be a work-life balance issue, it might be a work-work balance issue.
Read More »Approach the CV/resumé actively
My friend and colleague Julie Clarenbach has written an excellent post on building your resumé. Think about the job you’d really love to have. Think about what skills and qualifications you would need in order to land that job. … what would your resume (not someone else’s, or your resume from a different, parallel life, […]
Read More »Maybe I’m not crazy
Sometimes I think that you will all just think I’ve lost my mind. (cue Robbie Williams “…It was mine to give away…”) The academic labour market, heck the entire labour market, is going to hell in a handbasket and I’m telling you to think about your passion and your best contribution. I’m suggesting that you […]
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 »Don’t let obligation get you down
You got into academia because you were excited by ideas. Particular ideas. Stuff you read made you think “But what about …” Or “I wonder if …” You do research to answer those questions and contribute to the conversations that inspired them. Have you lost that excitement? All research goes in phases. Sometimes you do have to […]
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