I spend a lot of time listening to unhappy academics and thinking about ways to help unhappy academics — but I know that my experience, even with my clients, is always limited. There will always be questions or situations I haven’t encountered directly. But I don’t want to leave them — or you — out.
So this post is an opportunity for you to tell me what you want to hear about — no matter where you are in the academic process, no matter what kind of unhappiness you’re experiencing.
Are you a grad student wanting to find ways to make graduate school less painful? Tell me what you need.
Are you looking for a job and finding the experience demoralizing? Tell me what you need.
Do you have a tenure-track job but you’re struggling with your research? Tell me what you need.
Feel free to comment anonymously, making up a name and an email address. That’s always okay around here.
I could use…
…ways to make grad school less painful.
…support for finishing grad school even if I don’t know whether I’m staying in academia after I graduate.
…case studies of people’s processes in building a career they’re happy with (in or out of academia, or both).
I am definately looking for…
…ways to survive/finish grad school without giving up (too far in to leave now)
…surviving the demoralizing job search thing (in and out of academia)
…figuring out if leaving the ivory tower is the right thing or not
…figuring out if my feeling that I should leave is real or just a reaction to the hell that is dissertation-land
…how to market myself outside of academia
I could use some advice with…
…how to maintain motivation to finish the degree while in lapsed status.
…how to manage a dissertation committee that is not supportive.
Is academia what I want or is it what I’ve been programmed to want?
How to cope with the feeling that THE BOOK will remain undone?
How to deconstruct and overcome the “loser” feeling that overcomes me when I meet academics who “made it”?
Good grief, I’m in real trouble! 🙂
I really have enjoyed your take on the pressures of “having a career” both in and out of academia. Why is a “career” considered to be so important?
Why is it so bad to aspire to simply have a paycheck and attempt to pursue interests in one’s free time?
Sorry about the back to back postings.
Well, I think I’ll just add a resounding ‘me too!’ to all those suggestions. 🙂