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In this episode, we discuss how to tell your story of leaving academia. The age-old advice of staying positive about why you left your previous position can be difficult—especially because academia is held up as this ideal position. We talk a bit about how we handled or are handling telling this story through our cover letters and CVs. Telling this story isn’t only about spinning it as positive—in many cases it is positive.

 

Don’t feel like you’re not doing enough.  Sometimes doing more is not necessarily better. -@Doctor_PMS

Mentioned in this episode:

Quantum tunnelling

The Secret

Ask a manager

 

 

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:43 — 57.4MB)

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Getting over the fear of failure. As academics, we are inherently perfectionists. There’s nothing like applying for jobs to bring out those tendencies. In this episode, we discuss our fear of failure, what causes it, and how we got over our fear.

And Ian makes us laugh hysterically over an extended metaphor.

 

 

Even if it’s n=1… you still have to do the experiments with your life. –@IHStreet

Mentioned in this episode:

Dunning-Kruger Effect

Dealing with Impostor Syndrome

The Expanse (TV Show)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:29 — 40.7MB)

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In this episode, we discuss asking for help. There comes a time in the transition process where you may want (or need!) someone’s assistance. This comes in many forms: talking to friends, reaching out to your network, finding a career/life coach. We talk about what a career/life coach is (and isn’t), tips on how to find one, and why you might want to talk to a coach. We also assert that you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help!

Don’t be afraid to ask for help because you will be surprised of how people are willing to help you. -@Doctor_PMS

Links for this episode:

Reading Rainbow

One Hundred Years of Solitude (Family Tree)

Workflowy

Career/Life Coaches:

From PhD to Life (Jen Polk)

Lilli Research Group (Maren Wood)

Entropia Consulting (Dr. Marquita Qualls)

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:00 — 39.0MB)

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Making the transition requires you to take on extra work. Work in the form of side work (a new side hustle), informational interviews, going to conferences in your new field, attending workshops, making different versions of your resume, and so on. How do you stay productive during this time? How do you stay on track? In this episode we discuss our difficulties with staying productive (you’re not alone!) and the tricks we’ve figured out along the way.

 

Discussed in this episode:

Slap Productivity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:02 — 40.2MB)

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What’s so great about LinkedIn? In this episode, we discuss our thoughts about LinkedIn. We all know about it as the professional networking site. It has its upsides (at least two of us have received jobs) and its downsides (the somewhat clunky user interface). So, how do we use it? Why do we use it? What could you use instead of it?

 

Also mentioned:

• Scicurious (also known as Bethany Brookshire) wrote about LinkedIn as how you keep in touch with all the people who you don’t want to friend on Facebook.

We also discuss other social networking sites:

• Trellis Science (You can also join the Recovering Academic Podcast group when you register.)
• ResearchGate
• Academia.edu
• Plantae: The Digital Ecosystem for Plant Science

Our LinkedIn profiles:

• Amanda
• Cleyde
• Ian

Another Use for LinkedIn (Addendum)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:55 — 38.9MB)

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Following up on our previous episode, we talk about things that many academics are not good at taking: risks.

• How do you know if taking a particular risk will pay off?
• Is academia really less risky than non-academic careers?
• Why do transition stories always seem really well planned?
• How do you deal with Imposter Syndrome?

 

I believe that anything you put energy into will eventually pay off one way or another. —Doctor_PMS

Also, mentioned in this episode: Conan O’Brien’s commencement speech to Dartmouth College in 2011. You can view the full 24-minute speech or the 4-minute highlights that Dartmouth College posted.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:53 — 29.7MB)

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In this episode, we discuss when to spend (and save) your money and time to invest in your future career.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:34 — 36.2MB)

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In this episode, we discuss the transition in identity when leaving academia. You’ve spent 10 years (or more!) inside of academia. Most of your friends might be inside academia. You likely derive a lot of your identity from your work. What happens when you decide that you’re going to leave?

One question that we address is: Are you still a scientist after you leave academia? Is it an intrinsic part of your identity or is it something that you do? There’s feelings on both sides.

We’re scientists. That’s what we do. We go and learn. –@Doctor_PMS

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:01 — 37.8MB)

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In this episode, we discuss unique skills that we gained in academia. When looking to leave academia, you might think, “What do I know outside of pipetting?” …Just for example.

As it turns out, working in academia we gain a lot of unique skills. For example, you can prioritize. You’ve spent years deciding what to do first—what to do to get you closer to your goal of publishing that paper or getting that grant. Also, highly-motivated and self-directed aren’t just buzz words in academia—they’re highly sought after characteristics in other industries. And by virtue of being in academia, you’re both of those words.

There are many more examples of transferrable skills that you’ve learned during your time in academia.

What makes these transferrable skills hard to see? Why do we hesitate to put these skills on our resume or CV? We discuss a bit about getting out of our own way and sharing these on a CV/resume.

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:33 — 32.7MB)

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