Looking back at the post-doc journey

This week we have a guest post by an academic who has stitched post-doc contracts into a career that provides a desired work-life balance. 
(Name withheld, but known to editors).
 

So you’ve finally graduated with your PhD…. now what? Well, believe it or not, there is life after a PhD, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a full-time position in academia.

I was perhaps unusual in doing a PhD, as I started for fun (yes, fun!) and personal interest, rather than with the goal of a career. My final year was a whirlwind of tying up loose ends: book in a time to graduate, finish off my tutoring contract, sort through the endless amounts of paper generated over the years (it’s amazing how unimportant those articles are once you’re all done and dusted – I filled the recycling bin!), and generally go through a mourning period as I adjusted to life beyond.

Yes, that’s right I mourned. I went through all the typical stages: 

• Shock & denial
• That such vital part of my life for so long had ended so suddenly, and it does end suddenly. One day working over 8 hours to polish the last parts, the next day it’s like hitting a brick wall – that’s how sudden an ending it is when you hand in. You feel lost.
  

• Anger
• I was angry at the system (no jobs), and in part angry at myself for handing in - I could have done more! I wanted a job darn it! I had  slogged for years, proved myself, and yet no, it wasn’t to be. So my anger was both directed outwards and inwards. Which is quite funny really. I did not start a PhD in the hope of having an academic career, yet here I was angry because I wasn’t having one! What was wrong with me? (Eventually I shook off the anger….but it’s still amusing to reflect on years later.)

• Bargaining
• I submitted my thesis for examination towards the end of one academic year, and got it back five months later at the beginning of a new academic year. I took a few days to do the changes and wondered what to do for the rest of the year after writing some articles...I know, I’ll tutor both semesters! I realise that I was delaying the inevitable ‘leaving of the nest’, but back then I think I was still hopeful for a job. Still hopeful that I could prove myself. If I could go back in time, I’d probably tell myself to just leave and make a clean break.

• Depression and Reflection 

• Ohhhh this so goes with the bargaining above! Although I say I’d tell my past self to just leave, that year was actually quite useful in terms of reflecting on all I’d been through. Plus, it was a useful transition winding down from academic thinking ( the joy at being able to read a ‘normal’ book without analysing it like I’d been doing for years was pure bliss!). One thing to take note of: you’ve trained your body and mind for a couple of years to work at a high pace, then you just stop…it does take time to adjust to a lower level of intensity. It is a shock to the system, I don’t know whether I was depressed, but I did feel down sometimes because I was no longer working on something big.

• Acceptance         

• That it was time to move on - that hit me sometime in the second semester after it was clear there were no jobs coming up. I still had some tutoring and marking to do, so I worked out the last day of my contract, circled it on my wall calendar to give myself an incentive…and knuckled down to finish with a flourish. Cleaning out my office on the last day was really cathartic…not that there was much to get rid of by then.

So life goes on. Ironically, since my leaving I have ended up being asked to do some contract work at the university. Over the last few years I’ve done research, transcribed, developed questionnaires, written articles, polished articles, written reports, and polished reports. I’ve contract marked for various papers in multiple departments, and undertaken comprehensive literature searches for staff looking at writing a paper, but with no time to sort through the chaos that is out there in journals. I work for staff who have previously employed me, as well as those who get my name through word of mouth. Such jobs can range in duration from being merely a week to being occupied for over a year.

I have a more varied life now post doc, than I ever had before. Plus there is a certain amount of freedom in being able to pick and choose the work I want to do (and that I find interesting) and when I want to do it (yes, they fit in around my schedule, not the other way round!). In a nutshell I get to live my life as I see fit, and go play part-time in academia. For the moment it’s the best of both worlds

I’ve made a niche for myself. A niche that works for me. A niche that other completed PhDs sitting around twiddling their thumbs, asking themselves “what now?” might find appealing. Certainly, if you Google “what to do after the PhD” you’ll find numerous sites all detailing what that person did, and the stages of ‘grief’ that they went through after realising that an academic career may not eventuate immediately, or even at all (for instance, see this recent post at the Thesis Whisperer - Ed). It seems that increasingly a PhD won't lead to a full-time academic career - but sometimes what you end up with turns out to be better than you expected.

More than a 'talkfest'

 by Keely Blanch, Kim Brown, Rafaella, Sarah Bartley, Maxine, Shannon, Byron, Prof. John Tarter, and Dr. Keryn Pratt.

This post is a collaborative effort from the last session of our research symposium. We asked the attendees at this final session to join us in blogging about what they had taken from the day. 

We've put this post together after spending the day at the inaugural UOCE Education Graduate Research Symposium. Kim Brown has written in the previous post about the value of research symposia as a way of drawing upon collective knowledge to iron out some of the issues in your research. As she noted in her post, Kim saw this concept in action in another department and, luckily for us, imported it into the UOCE.

As well as providing an opportunity to discuss our research, the 'talkfest' let us meet new people, hear about a variety of research topics and approaches, and create a collegial atmosphere. We've already started discussing when we will repeat the experience later in the year - although there are a few points noted by the experienced academic researchers who attended.

Kim:

Finding commonality of experience takes effort. To learn that there are people encountering similar dilemmas or challenges means making the time to listen. Talking about research with peers and academics does not avoid asking the hard questions, but provides the opportunity to ask in a supportive way. 

Rafa: 

It has been a very fruitful experience because the forum gave me the opportunity to debate issues of my research and gave new perspectives for my research problem. In addition, discussing other people's studies provided me with numerous methodological insights.

Sarah:

Today was a great opportunity to hear the 'process' and journey and pain of the other postgrads. It gave me a real sense that I wasn't alone in my struggles with the aspects of research like methods design and question design. As a new research student, it is easy to get the impression that everyone else has it all sorted. 

Maxine:

I found today helped me consolidate some of my thinking and provided me with new ideas to consider in my research. I thought today was timely to get me back into study for the year. It was also a good time to reconnect with people and share ideas about a range of different topics. 

Shannon:

The research forum today was a good use of time as it sparked new questions and introduced other ideas and methodologies which could be applied to my own thesis. The informal nature of the setting (around the table, not standing up in front of others) and the varied methods of sharing ideas (writing/ pairs/ chatting/ discussing) added to the ease in which ideas could be discussed. Great coffee and food too!

Byron:

Benefits included the identification of a research community of people on the same path; sharing of ideas and troubleshooting, but always allowing me to reflect on my own research. The topics may not all be linked, but methodologies, theories etc could be exactly what you're looking for; friendly faces that you now feel you can ask, "Hey, where is....?" or "How do I....?"; a chance to 'escape' journal articles, library shelves and office space for the day. 

John:

Some tips: in presenting a study, use a theoretical framework - why would one expect a given outcome from a study? The question presupposes a rationale that argues for the 'so what' of a study; give a conceptual definition of the idea being considered and if possible, an operational one as well; research should try to look at the relationship between two variables at a minimum.

Keryn:

It's been great to have an informal opportunity (i.e. not lots of preparation) to get feedback from people in a wide variety of areas/ expertise.There is a danger though that it could be distracting/ confusing to students, especially those new to the research process!

Keely:

There is a risk when introducing something new that the proposed concept may not be clear, and thus not valued as a beneficial form of research engagement. I admit that, even though I had seen a similar format of this in action as an observer, I underestimated the benefits of participating in a symposium. I would say that I am now convinced that no matter how far through the research/thesis process you are, a symposium like this can be helpful. For instance, the discussion in response to my question was robust (and at times put me on the spot!), and the points raised initially mirrored what I had been reading and writing about. However, I also came away with new leads, new phrasing to search, and questions that hold implications for my data analysis. It can be easy in thesis study to become immersed in our narrow fields of knowledge. For me, the research symposium allowed me to draw upon the collective knowledge of people with different theoretical frameworks, methodological understandings, and research experiences.