I’ve never been much of a fan of romantic comedies. I mean, even before spending 8 years as a humanities student analysing and deconstructing narrative tropes and gender stereotypes (!), I never bought the way that so many of them end with the wedding, as if to say ‘ok, job done, it’s official now… story’sContinue reading “‘What if I hate life beyond academia?’ When the move doesn’t go to plan”
Category Archives: Mental health
Silencing self-criticism & redefining ‘success’: maintaining mental health in your post-PhD job hunt
Found yourself contemplating these questions when looking to job hunt beyond academia? Then read on… A Tale of Two Mindsets Fawzi Abou-Chahine’s opens his book A Jobseeker’s Diary with the confession that he never anticipated ever developing a mental health issue. Fast forward to months of fruitless job hunting post-postdoc and his mental health startedContinue reading “Silencing self-criticism & redefining ‘success’: maintaining mental health in your post-PhD job hunt”
Non-academic job interviews: convincing your interviewers that you’re “just the job”
‘Just the job’: [British. Informal. Idiom] – exactly what is needed. E.g. ‘I was so thirsty, that cup of tea was just the job.’ Synonyms: excellent, ideal. This post is based on a recent interview with Grad Chat for PhD Balance on top tips for PhD career transitions beyond academia, available as a podcast orContinue reading “Non-academic job interviews: convincing your interviewers that you’re “just the job””
When leaving academia isn’t ‘giving up’… it’s actually finding yourself
‘Changing your goal or vision is ok. You can be happy beyond academia: it’s not second best, it’s an alternative.’ – Dr Naomi Tyrrell One of the most confusing conversations I had in my PhD went something like this: Me: Yeah, I’m properly looking into careers in university professional services for after my PhD. FellowContinue reading “When leaving academia isn’t ‘giving up’… it’s actually finding yourself”
Leaving Academia, Grieving Academia: a message of hope from the other side
‘For me, the grief of leaving academia feels about the same as the loss and grief of the end of relationship. Even when you know that the relationship wasn’t right for you […] loss is loss.‘ – Lisa L Munro, PhD Out of my box of theatre and gig tickets that went unused due toContinue reading “Leaving Academia, Grieving Academia: a message of hope from the other side”
Expert, or imposter? Why post-PhD careers can take time to gel
‘We like to think that we should make a living based on what we enjoy doing. However it’s often the opposite way: we start enjoying jobs in which our expertise is respected. […] Passion and fulfilment often come after reaching some level of proficiency in a certain area and not the other way around.‘ –Continue reading “Expert, or imposter? Why post-PhD careers can take time to gel”