What to do after breaking up with academia

Dear Reader,

If you’re letting go of academia as the guiding framework for your life and career, welcome.

What do I mean?

Well, education is good! Critical thinking is essential! Research is awesome. Writing for others is a gift to the world.

What’s less great is

the culture of publish or perish,
the shame you feel for not getting that tenure-track role at a research-intensive university (or the guilt you’re feeling about quitting!),
the pressure to overwork and accept your (undervalued) lot in life because of the privilege of shaping young minds or the freedom to do what you want (🤨)—more on that below.

In last week’s workshop, someone shared this:

“I need to remember that I don’t have to hate every part of my job to know it’s not sustainable.”

Right! Yes.

And that clarity about your relationship with academia (as a culture, a total institution, a way of making decisions about your time and energy)?

Good. Welcome.

You don’t have to wait until you’re totally burnt out, or until you’ve identified precisely the kind of job you want next, to start on figuring it all out.

If you’re feeling done with academic culture and you’re ready to explore what could be next in a strategic, supportive way, the PhD Career Clarity Program is for you.

👉 Learn more or join the program.

One theme during last week’s workshop was freedom.

So, here’s a question: What kind of freedom do you want?

A lot of folks stay in academia because it’s supposed to offer freedom.

Freedom to set your own research agenda. Freedom to teach what you care about. Freedom to think and speak and live on your own terms.

But here’s what I’ve seen, and what many of you said in the workshop, too:

You can’t speak freely about certain issues without risking backlash, up to and including getting fired.
You have to go where the job is instead of getting a job where you want to live.
You can’t do what you want because you continually have to convince other people to give you the money, time, space, equipment, and other resources you need to get it done.
You’re constantly working around other people’s needs, schedules, and priorities.

As one workshop participant reflected on their relationship to academic work:

“It’s a trap – and the longer I delay this, the worse the transition will be.”

Okay! Delaying it stops today.

If you’re ready to figure out what comes next, now’s the time.

You can:

👉 Join the program here.

📩 Or reply to this email and let me know what’s on your mind as you work out your next best steps.

Want help deciding? Let’s set up a quick 15-minute chat this week.

Remember, this isn’t about leaping into a job search before you’re ready.

Instead, it’s about choosing to prioritize yourself, maybe for the first time ever.

And then starting to plan a career pivot based on what you value and prioritize, no matter what anyone else thinks about it.

Cheers,