Category: Reflection
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Exploration
When I hired my career coach, Hillary Hutchinson, back in the fall, I had no idea what a coach did. I’d heard—and laughed about—life coaches but had never heard of a career coach. I’d reached a impasse, though, and was determined to move forward. Since what I’d been doing thus far hadn’t been working, it…
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Scholarship and life
Scholars are almost always academics. We assign the designation to professors and researchers with university posts who get paid to research and publish. The term “independent scholar” only proves this: The qualifier is necessary because “scholar” by itself implies an academic position. I think this is why I’ve been uneasy about my desire to continue…
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A job interview
I had a job interview a couple weeks back. I wasn’t offered the position, but I still consider it a success. A celebration, even. Here’s what happened: Earlier this month, after talking with Natalie Zina Walschots, I started to be much more active on social media. That Friday, I mentioned Jessica Langer in a #FF…
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The importance of blogging
Reading an interview with #altac blogger Liana Silver got me thinking about the importance of blogging in my life. I first started to blog in June 2006. Life was pretty good: I was nearing the end of my second year of my PhD, was finishing up a stint as president of our graduate history society, my comprehensive exams…
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“I’m a loser”
A lot has changed since the fall. Back then, my dissertation defence was several months old and the final version was long handed in. But I felt I’d barely progressed. My post-PhD job prospects seemed poor, and I felt pretty low. When friends and acquaintances asked me what I was up to, I would tell them,…
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Transitions, transitions
On Monday I conducted an interview with a guy I’ve decided to write about. It’ll be my first real stab at a non-blogging, non-work, non-academic writing project, and I’m excited to see where it will go. Shandy Brown is a great subject. We met in 2006 on a plane leaving Toronto for San Francisco, and…
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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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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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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…