Author: Jennifer Polk
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Wasted talent?
When my time came to be “on the market,” I wasn’t. I never applied for an academic job. This wasn’t so much because I decided not to; rather, the thought of doing so made me cringe. Big time. Luckily, I’d gotten some decent scholarships, lived cheaply, and at the end of my PhD could afford
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Informational interviews
All the “how to get a job” books emphasize the importance of networking. Informational interviews, they say, are a great way of meeting potential career contacts and learning about job options. For an academic seeking post-PhD work, or anyone transitioning from one career to another, networking is often essential but it’s not always obvious where
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Scheduling
I’m an organized person, mostly. But I am easily distracted, and often forget to keep focused. I make endless to-do lists, cross some things off, and then the rest of the items just sit there, never getting done. It’s not that I don’t want to do them, or can’t, or don’t have the time. I
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I want to be a magazine writer?
I love a good non-fiction book. Fantastic feature writing makes me swoon. A great documentary is a beautiful thing. It’s no wonder I took to history and do lots of writing. During my undergrad I enjoyed writing essays: not the stress of having too little time, but doing the research and thinking and writing and
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Where are the History PhDs?
As I search for what I can do to happily earn an income post-PhD, I’ve looked to others for inspiration. I’ve found examples of history PhDs outside the academy, but most of them have been online. When I think of my own grad school colleagues, most of those who’ve finished are teaching; they are, at
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Self-employment
I’ve been thinking about my post-academic career for many months now. What exactly lies ahead isn’t yet clear, but I’m pretty sure of one thing: I want to be self-employed. I am already, really—taking a break right now—but I haven’t been making it work for me. For most of this year I was giving freelancing
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“What are you up to?”
Now that I’m done my PhD, friends and acquaintances often ask me what I’m up to. “What are you doing these days?” It’s a standard question, akin to “What do you do?” But for a long time I didn’t have a good answer. Unemployed wasn’t right and doesn’t seem appropriate now, even though I don’t have
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Starting fresh
On Monday I quit my main freelance client, an independent consultant who does interesting work and from whom I’ve learned a great deal. Although I wasn’t doing much work for him just then, I knew things were going to get busy and I wanted to make my move before they did. I don’t necessarily consider
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Welcome
I defended and finished my dissertation in February 2012, graduated in June, and now we’re in December. It’s been six month since I received my PhD, and I’m still not sure what I want to do with my life. And that’s ok. I wish the transition process was faster, but you can’t hurry progress. And