Here's your homework (to figure out a better job)

Dear Reader,

It’s really cool to get paid for doing work that feels meaningful or fulfilling, or is engaging and enjoyable to carry out; ideally both.

I want this experience for every one of us.

Sometimes you have to do things that aren’t much fun, but the outcome is a win.

In your home life, that might mean doing laundry or washing the dishes or vacuuming the rug or scrubbing the toilet.

In your professional life, that could mean answering a few emails from students, even annoying ones, as long as there aren’t too many.

Solving a problem, one you can actually handle, often feels great.

That could be changing the settings on your Zoom account (mute upon entry, or allow name changes, for example). Maybe it’s buying a new pillow for your bed, or springing for a rowing machine to put in the basement.

Getting positive feedback about an action you took or a choice you made is great too. Like, yeah, I did that and it was appreciated by other people I care about or respect.

Adding up these moments of fulfillment, meaningfulness, positive feedback, problems solved, and fun had—that makes for a good life, eh? (Yes.)

And what counts as fulfilling, meaningful, or fun to you is an individual thing!

That’s why just because the last colleague who left your department got himself a job as an analyst for a state health department (cool gig), doesn’t mean you’d thrive in the same role.

Maybe you’d do a lot better in instructional design for an industry association, or leading up a research team for a small company.

Or perhaps it’s time to make your long-standing side hustle a full-time thing, knowing you can rely on your partner for decent health insurance.

If you’re not yet clear on what makes sense for you, that’s totally okay!

You can figure it out.

Start by paying attention to the specific bits and pieces of your life past and present that did it for you.

Meaningfulness, fulfillment, joy, connection, experiencing a state of “flow”—those are all signs of a moment in time worth noting.

You want to have more good times in future, even if the details (people, projects, physical spaces, etc.) may necessarily differ.

Let me assign you some homework this month:

1️⃣ Reflect back on how you were and what you did in different contexts and times in your life over the years. And then ask yourself, “When did I feel most successful, energized, or engaged?”

2️⃣ Write down a handful of moments. Hint: Not “teaching,” but something really specific. Think minutes or hours, not weeks or months.

3️⃣ Add a few details for each moment—who you were with, where you were, what you were doing, what other people did that mattered to you, what the outcome was and how it felt.

Metaphorically speaking, you’ve just created recipes for your good life.

These are solid base recipes you can riff on over the course of the rest of your life, so you’ll never go hungry (in your soul, or something).

But more immediately, they’ll give you clues into the kinds of dishes (jobs) and meals (careers) you could really, er, chow down on and relish!

So, there’s your homework. Report back what insights you have 😀

What’s Happening

The PhD Career Clarity Program is open for enrollment! Perfect for professors, postdocs, and other PhDs who are ready to leave academia and land meaningful jobs where they’ll feel valued and respected.
Free Wednesday co-working continues; sign up on my website.
Want more co-working? Sign up for Flow Club, where I’m a regular host. Use my link to get a free two-week trial.
The last monthly workshop for program members will be a goal-setting and planning session! Details to come but heads-up, folks! Friday, 13 Dec, starting at 12pm EST. End this year with some clarity about what you want in 2025, and how to achieve it.

Until next week!

Cheers,

Jen

P.S. Want to explore working with me? Visit my Services page to learn about options, or reply to this email and let me know what you want my help with!

Jennifer Polk, PhD