Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Recovering Academics. Its mission: to explore different and new industries. To seek out life outside of academia To boldly go where no former academic has gone before!

In this episode, our intrepid trio discusses the importance of giving yourself space to try out new things. The trio will also take our own advice and give ourselves some space. This is the end of season three, but don’t despair! We’ll be back for season 4 in the fall.

Mentioned in this episode:

Show notes for our Space ep (at least things I mentioned):

Kati Morton’s series on Burnout

Lisa Loeb’s “Stay” video.

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We’ve noticed that a lot of new people have subscribed to the Recovering Academic podcast. Here’s your chance to listen to our very first episode when we started on our path to recovery.

Keep an eye on this space for our next episode!

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Adaptation. It’s not just a macroevolutionary term. It applies to all of us in our transitions, too. In this episode, we discuss how we’ve adapted to life outside of academia.

What changes around you? What changes do you have to make? Do you have to wear sunglasses to handle all that sunshine? A lot of things do change, but most of those changes are for the better.

One of the hazards in transitioning is a more sedentary lifestyle and needing to learn new life skills.

“Moving to a big city means figuring out new life skills… like navigating without a car.” @IHStreet

We also talk about how it is difficult to make friends in new places and finding a new tribe. But making those new friends allow us to hear new viewpoints and break out of academia bubble.

“We’re not the owners of the truth.” – @Doctor_PMS

It can also push us to do new things outside of our comfort zones—which isn’t bad.

“I enjoyed the experience of talking to someone I don’t know. I was surprised!” @LadyScientist

Mentioned in This Episode

Metropolitan Brewing

Astronomy on Tap (in Chicago) You can also follow them on Twitter (@AoTchicago)

You can Invite the Recovering Academic to a conference, and we’ll do a live show tailored to your group! Contact us at show@recoveringacademic.net or DM us on Twitter.

Google form to apply for our ROCUR account (@RecoveringAcad)

 

 

 

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Today InBabyAttachMode joins our hosts to discuss her transition story.

Everything Was Now Open – InBabyAttachMode

We know InBabyAttachMode (who we affectionately refer to as IBAM) from twitter and her Scientopia blog. She discusses her transition to industry in a Scientist position. She talks about her work in public-private collaborations and variation in job duties—even with the same job title.

IBAM also shares how leaving academia can lead to a wide-open world and how she found her way. Finding her own voice and navigating this new world presented new—but not insurmountable—challenges. In the end, IBAM found a better work-life balance and the light outside of the ivory tower.

You can find IBAM on twitter @InBabyAttachMode or on her blog at Scientopia.

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In this episode, Chemjobber joins the Recovering Academic co-hosts to discuss his transition and his blog.

Quantifying the Chemistry Job Market Since 2008

Chemjobber now works in industrial chemistry. He started his job search in March of 2008 and started his blog nine months later in December 2008. His blog aims to help chemists find jobs in a tough market. Also, he works towards a quantitative understanding of the quality of the chemistry job market.

He discusses his transition story and motivations for moving away from the academy. In his discipline, Chemistry, does present industry as a viable (and reasonable) alternative.

Also, Chemjobber reveals the secret behind his avatar!

You can find Chemjobber on twitter @Chemjobber and on his blog at Chemjobber.

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In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Chris Humphrey of Jobs on Toast.

You Are More Than an Academic

Chris received his PhD in medieval studies from the University of York. His first post-PhD job was working as content analyst for an e-learning startup. Currently, he’s a project manager at a bank in England. Chris shares with us his transition story and why he started Jobs on Toast.

Chris’s transition story exemplifies the transferable skills that all PhDs have in their toolkit. We just need to reframe them and translate them to the language that employers understand.

You can find Chris on the web at JobsOnToast.com, where you can find information about job hunting in the post-academic market. You can also find him on twitter @ChrisHumphrey

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Merriam-Webster defines PERSPECTIVE as:

Life Imitates Art

Keeping things in perspective when in the middle of a transition or just in the middle of day-to-day life is… well.. hard. Similarly, keeping a proper perspective in works of art is also difficult. In this episode, we discuss maintaining perspective and keeping what matters in focus.

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How do you find your happy? Do you have to make big changes? Or can small changes be enough?

In this episode, we talk about figuring out what will make us happy. Sometimes these involve big changes (like moving) and sometimes small changes (like buying a new dish rack). There’s a lot of emphasis on making decisions that are right for your career or will open up opportunities for a new career. However, in the end, we’re human. We need to consider our lives and overall happiness.

Maybe Humans Are Like Orchids?

However, sometimes the grass isn’t always greener—but how can you tell that before you take the leap? As academics, we’re trained to always look for something more. Keep going to that next step. We’re trained to never be satisfied. But maybe that next step won’t make you happy. How do you know if you should keep going? Humans could be like orchids. They’re finicky plants that have strict living conditions and their seeds must have certain types of fungus to grow.

So, we all need to find our fungus to flourish.

Mentioned in This Episode

Orchids Are as Finicky as the Fungi That Nourish Them

Satisfied from Hamilton

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In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Sara Langworthy of, well, just about everything.

Team: Do All The Things!

Sara is an author, consultant, speaker and YouTuber with a degree in Developmental Psychology. In 2013, she co-founded an organizational advancement and evaluation consulting group, The Exchange Loop, LLC to use her research skills to benefit organizations looking to grow their work. In 2015, to hone her science communication skills, she wrote an award-winning book, Bridging the Relationship Gap (www.drlangworthy.com/book), which addresses how educators can build resilience with children who experience stress and adversity in early life. During that year she also started a YouTube channel, Developmental Enthusiast, where she creates videos on a variety of subjects and research on human development across the lifespan.

In early 2017, Sara took the leap into self-employment full time and now does “all the things.”

You can find out more about Sara at www.drlangworthy.com.

Mentioned in This Episode

Science Museum of Minnesota

Oregon Trail and the MECC

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In this week’s episode, we’re discussing burnout and transitioning. We all think that once we’ve made our decision that all our problems will be solved. We’ll take all that energy we spent on fretting over leaving and put it into side projects. But it seems like it rarely works out that way…

Managing Your Energy

Even if you don’t move locations (like Doctor_PMS and Amanda), you still have to adjust to your new situation. If you move (like Ian), then you have this extra layer of fatigue on top of adapting to a new job.

Even just getting used to sitting in front of a computer all day can be exhausting. – @IHStreet

You have decisions to make about prioritizing your work, learning about a new job, and finding out where to find the best coffee in a new city! If you work from home, then that can present another set of issues. From Doctor_PMS who dealt with distractions to Amanda who didn’t have enough distractions, you have to work on enforcing limits.

I had a hard time enforcing boundaries. Because there’s always work to be done. – @LadyScientist

Under Pressure

Academia tells us to always be hustling—always working. If we’re not working, then we’re lazy. Oh, and, if you’re not perfect from Day 1, then you are letting yourself and everyone down. This isn’t true! Be kind to yourself. No matter how qualified you are for a new job, you are still learning. You’re still new there.

I do better when I work for a bit and take a break. When I come back to it, I’m better. – @Doctor_PMS

Mentioned in This Episode

The Quiet Branches – Ian’s science writing

Science Reverie – Cleyde’s personal blog about her experiences

Busyness as a badge of honor – A good article about how busyness can affect your life and why we should stop

Busyness and creativity – A good article about why being busy isn’t always helpful.

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