Category: Reflection

  • 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…

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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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