Author: Jennifer Polk
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Should You Quit Your PhD?
Earlier this year I published “It’s OK to quit your PhD” on my University Affairs blog; it was later reposted on the Shit Academics Say blog and shared thousands of times on social media. This post struck a chord with many people. To quit or not to quit a PhD is a fraught topic, heavy…
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Jennifer Askey, Project Coordinator, Transition Q & A
Jennifer Askey earned tenure and enjoyed her job, but found her husband’s career opportunities limited where they were located. When he got a great offer elsewhere, she quit and moved with him. Fast forward a few years and Jennifer’s now working part-time for the YWCA — a position she got after volunteering at the organization…
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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham, Social Media Manager, Transition Q&A
Maura Cunningham is a history PhD turned writing and social media manager for a scholarly association. Maura knew when she entered her program that she wanted to work as a historian, but not as a professor. So she did things during her degree to set herself up for the career she wanted.
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Social media manager
I’m hiring a social media manager for From PhD to Life. The mission of From PhD to Life is to help graduate students and PhDs launch meaningful careers. I do this by providing 1-on-1 coaching and mentoring. Learn more about my services here. My clients range from current graduate students who are working on dissertations…
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Support and community for graduate students and PhDs
My most recent post for University Affairs suggests ways students and PhDs can find or create structure, accountability, and support for themselves and their work. It begins: I work for and largely by myself, and I love it. My graduate school experience was similar in important ways: I worked at home without much externally-imposed structure.…
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Support and community for graduate students and PhDs
I work for and largely by myself, and I love it. My graduate school experience was similar in important ways: I worked at home without much externally-imposed structure. It was challenging, and remains so. Even so, this is how I work best. But I do have support. I do have community. These days I have…
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Congratulations to me!
Last night I won the gold award for best blog or column in the b2b/academic category at the Canadian Online Publishing Awards. I won this last year, too, so that “read her award-winning blog…” bit is staying in my bio 🙂
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What is a PhD, anyway?
My latest post for University Affairs is a reflection piece on the many lived definitions of what PhD is and means and individuals. This may seem like a facile question. A PhD is a doctorate (thanks Google), the terminal degree in many fields. It’s what else it is that’s hard to pin down and get…
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Anne Trubek, Writer and Author, Transition Q&A
Something that surprises people is that tenured professors do indeed leave their jobs to move into other careers! Anne is one example of this. Here’s a bit about her journey. About Anne Trubek Anne Trubek earned her PhD in English from Temple University. She was formerly associate professor at Oberlin College and is now self-employed…
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The next (scary!) step for me: building a formal community
How is it that I am more than three years into this job and I still feel like a n00b? Well, I know why – there are so many good, reasonable reasons. But one of the answers is that my role is adaptable, because I am self-employed and it is entirely up to me to make…