Interestingly, you were one of the few people who really inspired me to pursue graduate school, namely a Ph.D (and yes, I am one of your Hairpin followers). This piece does nothing to degrade that! I'm your reverse. I spent 15 years of my career writing online, and wanted to do more. I wanted to go bigger. I looked at writers like you an…
Interestingly, you were one of the few people who really inspired me to pursue graduate school, namely a Ph.D (and yes, I am one of your Hairpin followers). This piece does nothing to degrade that! I'm your reverse. I spent 15 years of my career writing online, and wanted to do more. I wanted to go bigger. I looked at writers like you and Emily Oster, and thought... I need more school to tell the stories I want to tell, in the way they ought to be told.
My husband was like... I don't think you need to go to school to write what you want to write about, and sure, he's right. But if I wanted to write at your level, I did. I wanted to just be a talking head. And, now two years into my master's (with a continuation to my Ph.D in Positive Organizational Psychology.), I completely see why. The way I write and the way I think is totally cracked open. I'm more thoughtful, more diligent, and I question more. My still novice ability to research has helped me tremendously in all areas of my life.
Ultimately, I'd love to teach for fun, but my goal is applied work in the field, working with creative leaders and organizations to shift work culture. After being in the corporate world for so long, I could not entertain academia full time. It's too limiting financially and in mindset. (I also do not understand the race for journal pubs.. it's weird to me. Why wouldn't you want a NYT piece???) As one of the "elders" in my program, I can see younger students getting sucked into the vortex you described, so I am grateful you wrote this.
I was always wary of grad school, and now I am not. However, grad school should not be for when you are lost, but rather FOUND, and the education will put you on a clear path. The moment I read the description for the program I ultimately joined, I didn't want to waste a single moment not pursuing that work (a la NYE Harry monologue). I was six months pregnant with my second child when that happened. As a result, grad chool has become an absolute joy and respite from my work in advertising/PR and my responsibilities at home with two small kids. I'm taking it slow and savoring every class. Anyway, I'm so sorry you had to go through so many challenges in academia to get where you are. But, I'm so so glad you're hear. And, I'm so so glad you inspired me to go into higher education. I promise not to chase a tenure track or a million journal pubs 😆.
I hear you HARD on this, Heather! I actually never considered grad school, had many careers, wound up in a realm with loads of writing and editing, and found my way to a creative writing MFA. All the while (a) I never considered academia (not avoided, it just didn't cross my mind). Which is wild, because (b) my husband was on the academic ecology track the whole time! When he moved into a postdoc, I did the MFA (which I didn't realize was a prestigious one because it was just the one where we were and I was naive to all that). And, I taught English Composition to get paid, which, along with the MFA being a terminal degree, opened doors I didn't know existed for me as a 1st-gen kid. I've been contingent since 2017, but in 2021 found/negotiated a role that is incredibly fulfilling. It weaves together so many of my skillets from previous lives. I have some flexibility in what I do, and it's not a lectureship, so I'm allowed to "count" a mix of admin, scholarship, teaching, service, etc. I feel like I've hit my stride. (But, I'm also always looking over my back knowing this job could evaporate. And, I am a bit of a loud-mouth and pushing always for systems change, so I'm probably sticking my neck out.) For now, though, I'm really enjoying what I do and want to keep doing it, though *every* criticism AHP listed is very real. All that to say, there is no chance on the planet I'd have been able to do, appreciate, or secure this position and work therein if I had gone to grad school straight out of undergrad. I was 10 years post BA before I came back. Made a massive, positive difference. I write a lot about threading all these needles in my blog/newsletter Zest: Makin' Academic Lemonade: https://www.commnatural.com/blog
Hooray! It's just wonderful to connect with folks who are coming to cademia with intention, later in life. I really appreciate connecting with people like you who see what we can get from (and contribute to) academia without being shocked that it's not all warm and fuzzy in this space. I often critique it, but I come from community non-profit work, and I really do believe we can make some changes. And in the meantime, academia is currently a good fit for me. I try to remember that every time I get really frustrated or burned by it.
Yoga girl is what I'm trying to channel this month! I'm on a 9-month contract, and for a decade, that just meant working g all au.mer for free. But I fried myself this spring (extra fried, I guess). And I've at least now learned to recognize the symptoms. So, I'm taking this month away. It's hard...I have at leat 5 projects I'd like to finish before stepping away. But I'm gonna try to sustain enthusiasm for my work, which means I need to take a break if I'm not getting paid. So, hooray for yoga girl! :)
Interestingly, you were one of the few people who really inspired me to pursue graduate school, namely a Ph.D (and yes, I am one of your Hairpin followers). This piece does nothing to degrade that! I'm your reverse. I spent 15 years of my career writing online, and wanted to do more. I wanted to go bigger. I looked at writers like you and Emily Oster, and thought... I need more school to tell the stories I want to tell, in the way they ought to be told.
My husband was like... I don't think you need to go to school to write what you want to write about, and sure, he's right. But if I wanted to write at your level, I did. I wanted to just be a talking head. And, now two years into my master's (with a continuation to my Ph.D in Positive Organizational Psychology.), I completely see why. The way I write and the way I think is totally cracked open. I'm more thoughtful, more diligent, and I question more. My still novice ability to research has helped me tremendously in all areas of my life.
Ultimately, I'd love to teach for fun, but my goal is applied work in the field, working with creative leaders and organizations to shift work culture. After being in the corporate world for so long, I could not entertain academia full time. It's too limiting financially and in mindset. (I also do not understand the race for journal pubs.. it's weird to me. Why wouldn't you want a NYT piece???) As one of the "elders" in my program, I can see younger students getting sucked into the vortex you described, so I am grateful you wrote this.
I was always wary of grad school, and now I am not. However, grad school should not be for when you are lost, but rather FOUND, and the education will put you on a clear path. The moment I read the description for the program I ultimately joined, I didn't want to waste a single moment not pursuing that work (a la NYE Harry monologue). I was six months pregnant with my second child when that happened. As a result, grad chool has become an absolute joy and respite from my work in advertising/PR and my responsibilities at home with two small kids. I'm taking it slow and savoring every class. Anyway, I'm so sorry you had to go through so many challenges in academia to get where you are. But, I'm so so glad you're hear. And, I'm so so glad you inspired me to go into higher education. I promise not to chase a tenure track or a million journal pubs 😆.
I hear you HARD on this, Heather! I actually never considered grad school, had many careers, wound up in a realm with loads of writing and editing, and found my way to a creative writing MFA. All the while (a) I never considered academia (not avoided, it just didn't cross my mind). Which is wild, because (b) my husband was on the academic ecology track the whole time! When he moved into a postdoc, I did the MFA (which I didn't realize was a prestigious one because it was just the one where we were and I was naive to all that). And, I taught English Composition to get paid, which, along with the MFA being a terminal degree, opened doors I didn't know existed for me as a 1st-gen kid. I've been contingent since 2017, but in 2021 found/negotiated a role that is incredibly fulfilling. It weaves together so many of my skillets from previous lives. I have some flexibility in what I do, and it's not a lectureship, so I'm allowed to "count" a mix of admin, scholarship, teaching, service, etc. I feel like I've hit my stride. (But, I'm also always looking over my back knowing this job could evaporate. And, I am a bit of a loud-mouth and pushing always for systems change, so I'm probably sticking my neck out.) For now, though, I'm really enjoying what I do and want to keep doing it, though *every* criticism AHP listed is very real. All that to say, there is no chance on the planet I'd have been able to do, appreciate, or secure this position and work therein if I had gone to grad school straight out of undergrad. I was 10 years post BA before I came back. Made a massive, positive difference. I write a lot about threading all these needles in my blog/newsletter Zest: Makin' Academic Lemonade: https://www.commnatural.com/blog
I love your story!! I’m going to give you a subscribe. Thanks for sharing ☺️☺️🧘♀️
Hooray! It's just wonderful to connect with folks who are coming to cademia with intention, later in life. I really appreciate connecting with people like you who see what we can get from (and contribute to) academia without being shocked that it's not all warm and fuzzy in this space. I often critique it, but I come from community non-profit work, and I really do believe we can make some changes. And in the meantime, academia is currently a good fit for me. I try to remember that every time I get really frustrated or burned by it.
Didn’t mean to press yoga girl but why not!
Yoga girl is what I'm trying to channel this month! I'm on a 9-month contract, and for a decade, that just meant working g all au.mer for free. But I fried myself this spring (extra fried, I guess). And I've at least now learned to recognize the symptoms. So, I'm taking this month away. It's hard...I have at leat 5 projects I'd like to finish before stepping away. But I'm gonna try to sustain enthusiasm for my work, which means I need to take a break if I'm not getting paid. So, hooray for yoga girl! :)