Recovering Academic

Have you ever felt 'decision paralysis'? With so many choices and not sure which way to go? Hesitant to put all your eggs on a single basket?  Well, you are not alone!

In this week's episode we discuss how to define your career path when you leave the ivory tower. Academia has a defined career path, but that may not be the case once you leave it.

There isn't a unique answer to these questions, but we discuss the importance of taking breaks to analyze and reflect about these things.

Not making a decision is also making a decision - @ladyscientist

 

We've noticed that a lot of new people have subscribed to the Recovering Academic podcast. Here's your chance to listen to our very first episode when we started on our path to recovery.

Keep an eye on this space for our next episode!

In this week of the Recovering Academic podcast we talk with Dr. Dennis Eckmeier, his journey outside academia and his actual advocacy projects, including the Science for Progress podcast and its twitter rotating twitter account @SfPRocur.

This was a joint podcast between the Recovering Academic and the Science for Progress podcasts, so we all discuss our reasons for leaving academia and realized Amanda was the only one of us that never did any experiments in the dark!

There's always the transition period, but after you decide that you're going to do it, it feels good. @Doctor_PMS

One of the challenges Dennis is facing is that, although advocacy is supposed to be for free, he is still trying to find alternatives of how he can proceed with this and make money with it.

Some people make it sound like networking is like another skill, is like learning to act, but I've learned that it's not like that @DennisEckmeier

The goal of the Science for Progress podcast is to explain how academia works to people that are not academics. What is sort of the opposite of our recovering academic podcast that tries to show what PhDs can do outside academia.

You can contact Dennis through his webpage or his Twitter account: @DennisEckmeier

Mentioned in this podcast:

Marcha pela ciencia // March for science Lisbon

EAT CHEESE LIVE FOREVER

This Is Why The 2018 Nobel Prize In Physics, For Lasers, Is So Important

Science Magazine article: Sunshine outside the ivory tower

Science for Progress podcast: The Journal Impact Factor: how (not) to evaluate researchers – with Björn Brembs

Dr. Kristen Witte, Ph.D.

We sat down and spoke with Dr. Kristen Witte, an exhibit developer at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago Illinois. They discuss their transition story, taking some time away from academia to find what's next and the challenge of getting to know yourself in an all-consuming environment that is earning a PhD.

"Once I was able to release my identity as a scientist, it allowed space for understanding the other parts of myself that just didn't have space before"

Kristen is a recent museum transplant with a scientific background in pipetting - er, cell biology. Having most enjoyed the literature research and storytelling aspects of their Ph.D., Kristen now spends their time in exhibit development at the Museum of Science & Industry where they discover and define the compelling and fascinating stories that resonate with the museum’s diverse audience.

Speaking of diversity, Kristen identifies on the non-binary side of the gender galaxy and uses they/them pronouns. They are committed to increasing the visibility of the queer science community and to deconstructing systems that result in the diminution of the queer experience in science and science-adjacent fields.

"There has been innumerable amounts of research that highlight how much better work is done when diverse voices are in the room"

Kristen’s brightest moments occur when excited, young, queer museum visitors share how welcomed they feel by Kristen and their “They/Them” pronoun pin.

Kristen holds a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Chicago and received a B.S. in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Wisconsin. You can follow they on Twitter @KristenWitte

Mentioned in the Episode

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

Proper PPE (Personal protective equipment) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_protective_equipment

Cheapest source of black nitrile gloves: Lou's Gloves

The British Museum

Image by Richard Stephenson

Adaptation. It’s not just a macroevolutionary term. It applies to all of us in our transitions, too. In this episode, we discuss how we’ve adapted to life outside of academia.

What changes around you? What changes do you have to make? Do you have to wear sunglasses to handle all that sunshine? A lot of things do change, but most of those changes are for the better.

One of the hazards in transitioning is a more sedentary lifestyle and needing to learn new life skills.

“Moving to a big city means figuring out new life skills… like navigating without a car.” @IHStreet

We also talk about how it is difficult to make friends in new places and finding a new tribe. But making those new friends allow us to hear new viewpoints and break out of academia bubble.

“We’re not the owners of the truth.” - @Doctor_PMS

It can also push us to do new things outside of our comfort zones—which isn't bad.

“I enjoyed the experience of talking to someone I don’t know. I was surprised!” @LadyScientist

Mentioned in This Episode

Metropolitan Brewing

Astronomy on Tap (in Chicago) You can also follow them on Twitter (@AoTchicago)

You can Invite the Recovering Academic to a conference, and we’ll do a live show tailored to your group! Contact us at [email protected] or DM us on Twitter.

Google form to apply for our ROCUR account (@RecoveringAcad)

 

 

Welcome back to the Season 3 of our Recovering Academic Podcast! We missed you, and hope you missed us as well :)"

For this first episode of this season, the recovering trio discuss a very important topic: NETWORKING

But what is networking? And how do you do the networking as a recovering academic? And more importantly, how do you get into the headspace of networking? What is your ultimate goal with networking?

 

"[Networking] It's not who you know, it's not what you know, but who knows what you know" – @Doctor_PMS

Interesting to notice the differences between the takes on networking as an introvert (like Amanda and Ian) or an extrovert (like Cleyde). There are many 'alternative' forms of networking that doesn't require you actively talking to people.

"I try to think about a connection of how do I think I can help them out – @LadyScientist"

See if you can spot the moment when Ian's cat interrupted the discussion!

 

"Remember n equals 1 is success" – @IHStreet

 

 

Mentioned in This Episode

Beyond the bench podcast SC 04: Engineering a Career with Family: Dr. GDale Wesson from @DrQualls

Networking event mentioned by Amanda was by Dr. Thierry Dubroca, you can see the slides here and contact him at [email protected]

Recovering Academic series 1, episode 8 on Linkedin

Adam's Rib Co 

Dave Shiffman's (@WhySharksMatter) tweet on how many faculty jobs people applied to before getting one

 

Photo Credit: Chris Potter (www.ccPixs.com).

Flowers blooming in the snow.

Out of the snow and into Spring! Could there be a better metaphor

This is the last episode of our Second season! And it's packed!

We answer listener question about balancing work and family in the private sector and the best advice we received that helped us during our career transitions, including applying anyway if you only meet some of the listed qualifications and the usefulness of informational interviews.

We also check in with each other about our status and how we're feeling about Recovering Academics a year, a year and a half, and three years out of academia.

"I watched a frog jump into a lake, and suddenly, I got it!" - Ian on how realizations occur when you're out doing other things.

We talk about design thinking (have you listened to this episode of Hidden Brain?), when creative ideas land in a sudden moment.

And last, we also announce a new initiative to launch ahead of series 3. We're turning our @RecovAcad account into a rocur account for fellow recovering academics to talk about their lives beyond the ivory tower and where they've found sunshine where they are.

Today InBabyAttachMode joins our hosts to discuss her transition story.

Everything Was Now Open – InBabyAttachMode

We know InBabyAttachMode (who we affectionately refer to as IBAM) from twitter and her Scientopia blog. She discusses her transition to industry in a Scientist position. She talks about her work in public-private collaborations and variation in job duties—even with the same job title.

IBAM also shares how leaving academia can lead to a wide-open world and how she found her way. Finding her own voice and navigating this new world presented new—but not insurmountable—challenges. In the end, IBAM found a better work-life balance and the light outside of the ivory tower.

You can find IBAM on twitter @InBabyAttachMode or on her blog at Scientopia.

In this episode, Chemjobber joins the Recovering Academic co-hosts to discuss his transition and his blog.

Quantifying the Chemistry Job Market Since 2008

Chemjobber now works in industrial chemistry. He started his job search in March of 2008 and started his blog nine months later in December 2008. His blog aims to help chemists find jobs in a tough market. Also, he works towards a quantitative understanding of the quality of the chemistry job market.

He discusses his transition story and motivations for moving away from the academy. In his discipline, Chemistry, does present industry as a viable (and reasonable) alternative.

Also, Chemjobber reveals the secret behind his avatar!

You can find Chemjobber on twitter @Chemjobber and on his blog at Chemjobber.

In this episode we're joined by Dr. Chris Humphrey of Jobs on Toast.

You Are More Than an Academic

Chris received his PhD in medieval studies from the University of York. His first post-PhD job was working as content analyst for an e-learning startup. Currently, he's a project manager at a bank in England. Chris shares with us his transition story and why he started Jobs on Toast.

Chris's transition story exemplifies the transferable skills that all PhDs have in their toolkit. We just need to reframe them and translate them to the language that employers understand.

You can find Chris on the web at JobsOnToast.com, where you can find information about job hunting in the post-academic market. You can also find him on twitter @ChrisHumphrey