Planning a trip on the non-academic trail: If academia isn’t calling you, though, what are your options? How can you translate your degree into action in non-academic spaces?
Bryn, what wonderful ideas to share with students that are engaging and reflective as well as practical for them as they contemplate “next steps”! The piece that really spoke to me is about relationships…we are never alone…truly…and as you say in the title…it can be dangerous to go alone!
Bryn, as you know I’m a PhD who eschewed the academic path and it turned out for the best. But I didn’t know it would at the time! For me, it was just a lucky opportunity that I seized upon in my first year of the PhD program: I scooped up some freelance work for the publishing company I worked for in the year between MA and PhD. I liked the work and they liked me, and so there was more of it, enough that we were asked to edit a book (I should note, my whip-smart wife joined me in taking on the freelance work). By the time I was ready to receive my degree, I had the choice between continuing to bash my head against a terrible job market or expanding this small book-packaging business I was running with my wife. The choice was easy.
Bryn, this is such a good talk. I love how in all of your academic time you found art. I love people too, and of course art. My youngest was an extreme academic (he's 29 now), went to an Ivy League and majored in anthro certain he would end up in research somewhere, went to the Amazon, hurled himself literally into studying monkeys. Came home with a continual draw to writing, the arts (as he had begged to and attended an art high school previous), recovered for a period (his mind on fire, complicated, etc), was accepted to med schools of dreams, turned it down, went to civil law, turned some gray hairs and found his way into his heart for mental health/drug addicted souls, the last two years., working in a safe house, back in school, etc.
It's definitely a journey to find your purpose and it can be anywhere if you keep in communication as you say with all that surrounds your journey.
I love this and will be saving it to share with any of my students who might need it! (Just because I’m back in academia doesn’t mean I’m drinking their Kool-Aid!)
One of the best decisions I made during college was to take a year off. I had been a Russian Lit major but realised that I liked to read and didn't have a clue what to do with this as a career. It was illuminating to have to support myself during that year, working three jobs. But more importantly, I allowed myself time to dream and in my dreaming, I discovered a calling. Now, after a 44 year career in Physical Therapy, I know how fortunate I was to find my path.
Bryn, what wonderful ideas to share with students that are engaging and reflective as well as practical for them as they contemplate “next steps”! The piece that really spoke to me is about relationships…we are never alone…truly…and as you say in the title…it can be dangerous to go alone!
Bryn, as you know I’m a PhD who eschewed the academic path and it turned out for the best. But I didn’t know it would at the time! For me, it was just a lucky opportunity that I seized upon in my first year of the PhD program: I scooped up some freelance work for the publishing company I worked for in the year between MA and PhD. I liked the work and they liked me, and so there was more of it, enough that we were asked to edit a book (I should note, my whip-smart wife joined me in taking on the freelance work). By the time I was ready to receive my degree, I had the choice between continuing to bash my head against a terrible job market or expanding this small book-packaging business I was running with my wife. The choice was easy.
Bryn, this is such a good talk. I love how in all of your academic time you found art. I love people too, and of course art. My youngest was an extreme academic (he's 29 now), went to an Ivy League and majored in anthro certain he would end up in research somewhere, went to the Amazon, hurled himself literally into studying monkeys. Came home with a continual draw to writing, the arts (as he had begged to and attended an art high school previous), recovered for a period (his mind on fire, complicated, etc), was accepted to med schools of dreams, turned it down, went to civil law, turned some gray hairs and found his way into his heart for mental health/drug addicted souls, the last two years., working in a safe house, back in school, etc.
It's definitely a journey to find your purpose and it can be anywhere if you keep in communication as you say with all that surrounds your journey.
I love this and will be saving it to share with any of my students who might need it! (Just because I’m back in academia doesn’t mean I’m drinking their Kool-Aid!)
One of the best decisions I made during college was to take a year off. I had been a Russian Lit major but realised that I liked to read and didn't have a clue what to do with this as a career. It was illuminating to have to support myself during that year, working three jobs. But more importantly, I allowed myself time to dream and in my dreaming, I discovered a calling. Now, after a 44 year career in Physical Therapy, I know how fortunate I was to find my path.