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Recovering Academic — Personal Journals
Recovering Academic

There is sunshine outside the ivory tower

Latest Episodes:

Shows a boardwalk with different arches receding into the distance — Season 2 Episode 12: Perspective Feb 14, 2018
Show notes

Merriam-Webster defines PERSPECTIVE as:
1a : the technique or process of representing on a plane or curved surface the spatial relation of objects as they might appear to the eye; specifically : representation in a drawing or painting of parallel lines as converging in order to give the illusion of depth and distance b : a picture in perspective 2a : the interrelation in which a subject or its parts are mentally viewed

places the issues in proper perspective

; also : point of view
b : the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance

trying to maintain my perspective

3a : a visible scene; especially : one giving a distinctive impression of distance : vista b : a mental view or prospect
Life Imitates Art

Keeping things in perspective when in the middle of a transition or just in the middle of day-to-day life is… well.. hard. Similarly, keeping a proper perspective in works of art is also difficult. In this episode, we discuss maintaining perspective and keeping what matters in focus.

New Dish Rack! — Season 2 Episode 11: Find Your Fungus Jan 24, 2018
Show notes

How do you find your happy? Do you have to make big changes? Or can small changes be enough?

In this episode, we talk about figuring out what will make us happy. Sometimes these involve big changes (like moving) and sometimes small changes (like buying a new dish rack). There’s a lot of emphasis on making decisions that are right for your career or will open up opportunities for a new career. However, in the end, we’re human. We need to consider our lives and overall happiness.

Maybe Humans Are Like Orchids?

However, sometimes the grass isn’t always greener—but how can you tell that before you take the leap? As academics, we’re trained to always look for something more. Keep going to that next step. We’re trained to never be satisfied. But maybe that next step won’t make you happy. How do you know if you should keep going? Humans could be like orchids. They’re finicky plants that have strict living conditions and their seeds must have certain types of fungus to grow.

So, we all need to find our fungus to flourish.

Mentioned in This Episode

Orchids Are as Finicky as the Fungi That Nourish Them

Satisfied from Hamilton

Season 2 Episode 10: Interview with Sara Langworthy Jan 10, 2018
Show notes

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Sara Langworthy of, well, just about everything.

Team: Do All The Things!

Sara is an author, consultant, speaker and YouTuber with a degree in Developmental Psychology. In 2013, she co-founded an organizational advancement and evaluation consulting group, The Exchange Loop, LLC to use her research skills to benefit organizations looking to grow their work. In 2015, to hone her science communication skills, she wrote an award-winning book, Bridging the Relationship Gap (www.drlangworthy.com/book), which addresses how educators can build resilience with children who experience stress and adversity in early life. During that year she also started a YouTube channel, Developmental Enthusiast, where she creates videos on a variety of subjects and research on human development across the lifespan.

In early 2017, Sara took the leap into self-employment full time and now does “all the things.”

You can find out more about Sara at www.drlangworthy.com.

Mentioned in This Episode

Science Museum of Minnesota

Oregon Trail and the MECC

Season 02 Episode 09: Reflections and Resolutions Dec 27, 2017
Show notes

In this end-of-the year episode each one of us reflect about our recovering 2017 year and come up with resolutions for the 2018. Thank you so much for listening to our podcast! It is really rewarding for us to feel that we’re able to help you cope with your transition in some way.

You are constantly transitioning. Life is about change. And change can be good. – @L adyScientist

Transition is a constant in everyone’s life and no job is really forever. – @IHStreet

Don’t be too hard on yourself. We can always work more, and be better. But there must be room for rest and fun without guilt. – @Doctor_PMS

We wish you all Happy Holidays and a terrific 2018!

Six matches in different degrees of burning. One is entirely burnt out. — Season 02 Episode 08: Burnout and Transition Dec 13, 2017
Show notes

In this week’s episode, we’re discussing burnout and transitioning. We all think that once we’ve made our decision that all our problems will be solved. We’ll take all that energy we spent on fretting over leaving and put it into side projects. But it seems like it rarely works out that way…

Managing Your Energy

Even if you don’t move locations (like Doctor_PMS and Amanda), you still have to adjust to your new situation. If you move (like Ian), then you have this extra layer of fatigue on top of adapting to a new job.

Even just getting used to sitting in front of a computer all day can be exhausting. – @IHStreet

You have decisions to make about prioritizing your work, learning about a new job, and finding out where to find the best coffee in a new city! If you work from home, then that can present another set of issues. From Doctor_PMS who dealt with distractions to Amanda who didn’t have enough distractions, you have to work on enforcing limits.

I had a hard time enforcing boundaries. Because there’s always work to be done. – @LadyScientist

Under Pressure

Academia tells us to always be hustling—always working. If we’re not working, then we’re lazy. Oh, and, if you’re not perfect from Day 1, then you are letting yourself and everyone down. This isn’t true! Be kind to yourself. No matter how qualified you are for a new job, you are still learning. You’re still new there.

I do better when I work for a bit and take a break. When I come back to it, I’m better. – @Doctor_PMS

Mentioned in This Episode

The Quiet Branches – Ian’s science writing

Science Reverie – Cleyde’s personal blog about her experiences

Busyness as a badge of honor – A good article about how busyness can affect your life and why we should stop

Busyness and creativity – A good article about why being busy isn’t always helpful.

Season 02 Episode 07: Interview with Chall Nov 29, 2017
Show notes

Out of the gray zone.

We’re joined by Chall (@challdreams) who left academia behind as a postdoc and currently a Project Coordinator in pediatric cancer via a job in pharma quality control science.

Getting out of the Gray Zone

We discuss characteristics PhDs have that might lend them or not to careers beyond the bench. Academia is ostensibly creative and measurements do matter, but in pharma or other fields, precision and accuracy of claims made about products matter and quality testing has to occur. Those cannot be in a gray zone, where in academia, that gray zone may be a hint of something.

Similarly, in academia it can be hard to know what your skills are and what value you have. Beyond academia, it becomes necessary to know and assert what you know and the value you bring to a team

Chall talks about her career transitions, realizing that any hobbies she had as a postdoc fell away, only to be regained after leaving academia, being professionally happier, and realizing her value and skills. Having a sense that there is real opportunity beyond academia has also been a confidence booster.

Quotes:

-“Be able to ask someone else, not you, and go through the experiment with you to see if there’s something you can salvage. Get a pep talk and get someone else to evaluate things” – Chall

-“The other thing that makes me more happy professionally is that I see opportunity. Not feeling as unsure now that she’s beyond academia whereas as a postdoc, that was harder.” – Chall

-“Believe in yourself and think that you know it” – Chall

-“There are multiple paths through the maze” – Ian

-“You’re testing and don’t really know what’s going to happen”.- Doctor_PMS

Mentioned in the show:

Chall’s post on getting promoted and the difference between contentment and complacency.

PhDs in microbiology have wide applicability: sterility and environmental quality monitoring, food production, making beer, and more.

Picture of hands and feet of a group of people on grass — Season 02 Episode 06: Interview with Jennifer Polk Nov 01, 2017
Show notes

In today’s episode, we talk with Jennifer Polk of PhD to Life. She’s a life coach and entrepreneur and has a PhD in History.

Everyone Feels This Way Sometimes

We ask Jen about her transition out of academia and into entrepreneur life. She shares with us the high and low points of her transition—and how many of her clients feel (or felt) the same. She discusses her many business ventures. In addition to life coaching in her PhD to Life business, she also runs Self-Employed PhD (a community for other PhD entrepreneurs) and Beyond the Professoriate (a community that she runs with her business partner, Maren Woods, that focuses on professional development for alternative careers).

Mentioned in This Episode

From PhD to Life – Jen’s life coaching business

Self-Employed PhD – Community for Self-Employed PhDs (full time or part time!)

Beyond the Professoriate Community – Community that focuses on professional development for alternative careers

S1E10: Asking For Help – Recovering Academic episode where we discuss getting help from career coach (or others) to navigate your new career path.

Shape of woman moving quickly possibly in outer space. — Season 02 Episode 05: Identifying skills Oct 18, 2017
Show notes

You always hear about transferable skills—and how PhDs have them. But how do you identify them? How do you know what skills to develop? In this episode, we discuss how you can identify them and how to develop them.

What’s Your Super Power?

All of us have a tendency to discount things that we find easy. Is it easy for you to pick out grammatical errors? Is it easy for you to develop your own voice in writing? Is it easy for you to connect with anyone? All of those (and many more!) are skills that are transferable.

Also, skills are environment dependent. Skills that you may have developed outside of your current career might be applicable in your next career.

Mentioned in This Episode*

The Turnaround with Jesse Thorn: Ira Glass – Discussion of identifying skills

Synesthesia – Super powers

The Greatest General Ever – You have to be in the proper setting to fully use your skills.

Do you know what’s your dream job? Try the Flower Exercise! – Doctor PMS’s blog about the Flower Exercise

What Color is Your Parachute? – Book about identifying your skills and what career would suit you

So Good They Can’t Ignore You – The opposite approach to the above book

* I couldn’t find the twitter thread where someone was translating academic skills to resume speak/transferrable skills. If anyone has the link, please send it to us! (Comment here or send us a tweet @RecoveringAcad)

Picture showing many hats on a hat rack. — Season 2 Episode 04: Interview with Ian Oct 04, 2017
Show notes

This week we interview (interrogate?) Ian about his recent transition outside of academia.

The Many Hats that Ian Wears…

Ian shares his venture outside of academia in which he fills a bunch of roles. His current day job is a lab manager with a company that specializes in helping scientists procure lab reagents and equipment. This might seem like an unusual job for an introvert, like Ian, but he explains how it actually can suit him. He also writes for his science blog, other websites, and a magazine. On top of that, he is a volunteer associate editor for the POSTDOCket, the monthly newsletter for the National Postdoctoral Association.

During his interview, Ian talks about the ups and downs of his transition _and_ if he’s happier now.

Mentioned in This Episode

Workflowy – A bullet point-based to-do web app

The Quiet Branches – Ian’s Science Blog (we encourage everyone to check it out!)

The Postdoc Path: Understanding the Value of a Postdoc Before You Commit – Article by Ian Street and Irina Tiper

POSTDOCket: Newsletter of the NPA

Season 2 Episode 03: Interview with Doctor_PMS Sep 20, 2017
Show notes

In this week’s episode, Ian and Amanda interview Cleyde to get the in-depth story of her experience as a recovering academic.

Cleyde’s Advice: Have a Plan

Photo by: Steven Johnson

Cleyde talks about her reasons for leaving academia, including her relationship with academia. She also talks about what her goals are for her career. We also briefly discuss if it’s possible to control your productivity—that is to avoid having 100 publications in one year and only one the next. Cleyde also brings up a very important point about how your job needs to fit your personality and how your work environment can affect you.

Her best advice? Have a plan before leaving if you can. If you know that you want to leave academia (or are even just considering the possibility), start planning as soon as you can. This allows you to find out all the options (there are a lot!) for PhDs and former academics.

Mentioned in This Episode

The Year Of Albert Einstein: His discoveries in 1905 would forever change our understanding of the universe. Amid the centennial hoopla, the trick is to separate the man from the math

Zadra, Dan. 5: Where Will You Be Five Years from Today? 2009. Compendium, Inc.

Diversity Journal Club. The premise of this journal club is to discuss articles and blog posts about Diversity in academia. We choose the paper on Mondays and the discussion happens on Mondays at 2pm EST, every other week, under #DiversityJC.

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