For those of you in academia, have you ever thought of quitting? What does that actually mean? Well, that’s something we tackle this episode (listen here). In this case, what we mean by “quitting” is leaving that imaginary path towards the ideal of a tenure track job towards some other pursuit. In this episode, Zach interviews Dr. Rebecca Shuman, who gained a degree of infamy in academic circles for her harsh criticism of the academic job market as turning out too many PhDs with unrealistic expectations of success. But, she has paved her own path as a consultant and author, with a social media presence.
Her answer to whether having a PhD predicts success in career paths outside the academy? Essentially: “It depends, and move to Europe if you want it to count for something.”
Everyone thinks about it from time to time. But what would you do instead? Zach bemoans that it’s not always clear what skills are transferable into the private sector, and that it’s not clear where someone would go for mentorship during the PhD program for taking an alternative track. Kristen calls it our failure to think outside the box. Rachel says PhDs need to be craftier than those in other fields might need to be in order to find a path outside the academy.
Some resources recommended during the course of the show:
– Academics Say Goodbye (Facebook group)
– Recovering Academic (Podcast)
– Movies Anywhere (Kristen’s new favorite app)
And if you listen allll the way to the end, you’ll find the didactic trio riffing on a fun/silly song from this movie. It will, perhaps, make your evening a little more survivable with it’s adorable cuteness.