Archives for Mama PhD

Working with a career/life/transitions coach would be a great idea! Coaches have been trained to administer wonderful exercises that can assist you in making a decision such as this one. As Megan mentioned in her response, doing your research and testing out some of your possibilities is going to be an important step for you. Think of some of the elements that clarify your ideal life/career...your values, goals, skills, strenghts, etc. Good Luck!

Paige, at 12:00 pm EDT on June 2, 2008

Abigail,I am having the same struggle. I started in a PhD program right out of college and hated it. I chose the wrong field and should have worked first. Since leaving grad school I’ve worked in business and higher ed administration on and off for the past 15 years. I still want the PhD. I’m 38 with two elementary school-aged kids. I cannot move to another city. I won’t make any more money having a PhD than I make now as a low to mid-level admin employee at a state university. I want to study History and know that I will face an uphill battle finding work. It’s not a rational decision. Why am I still considering it? Because if I don’t do it, I’ll always regret it.

Ohio Mom, at 11:30 pm EDT on June 2, 2008

What They Dont Tell You...

Abigail,

Free advice is always questionable. So here is my free advice: Transitioning is never easy — academia to Corporate or vice versa.There are some “truths” about academia that you will not find in books and that career coaches are unlikely to share because they may not know themselves. It is unlikely that you will get a job with tenure. It takes 6 years to apply and get tenure. Depending on the institution, the next six years of your life will be marked, if not sprinkled, with committee work, politics, and sucking up to some senior professor who will sit on your tenure committee but would not have even read a cutting-edge research paper, let alone having written one. Academia is renowned for pettiness and long-drawn meaningless meeetings. Those who transition from the corporate world roll their eyes and say — Are you kidding me??

I suggest the following: 1. Teach a course in the evening. Be an adjunct. 2. Be a guest speaker. You will get to know faculty and ask them about the “politics’ in their institution. 3. Read the Promotion and tenure guidelines (it can be found on the web) before you make a decision. 4. Read the Faculty Senate meetings (on the web) and see if the issues appeal to you. 5. Submit a paper to a conference and interact with faculty. Over a glass of wine, attendees will pour their hearts out to you about their work challenges. I have a few more suggestions, but for now this will do!

Better alternative:Seek a position in a research lab in a company. Adjunct to stay in touch with students. If you like it, then jump into the world of academia!

Best wishes!

HoldingHands, at 8:00 am EDT on June 10, 2008

Essential Gap Year

This is such a wonderful thing that you are promoting for your daughter. I didn’t take a gap year between high school and college but I did take one before going off to grad school. During that year I signed up for an AmeriCorps program and worked in local nonprofits in my community. It completely changed the focus of my life, allowed me to reflect on where I wanted to go and gave me the opportunity to breathe after many years of running. I think that every young person should have the opportunity to explore, set their own schedule and travel. Unfortunately more and more people are having this opportunity taken away from them because of the financial crisis our country is in right now. Hopefully those young people will look at paid options for that gap year that will benefit their communities as well.

Christina A., at 8:50 am EDT on June 3, 2008

I agree

I completely agree. One of my favorite resources as a new parent is the Berkeley Parents Network discussion boards. For any question you might have, someone already asked it and you can see 5 to 100 responses. When it was time to night wean my daughter it was great to read all the different things that I might try and then decide what I thought would work best for my daughter. It was great to know others had done it and, based on the accounts, in many different ways! I also knew if it didn’t work at first their were a host of other ideas I could try.! One thing we miss in today’s society is “the village,” having lots of other mothers around who can share their ideas. I like that the internet at times creates a virtual village.

Physiology Mama PhD, at 8:05 am EDT on June 4, 2008

this is lovely, Della—thank you!

Libby, at 5:35 pm EDT on June 5, 2008

Thanks for this post!

Your students are blessed to have you. Wow, your teaching them early on that life doesn’t need to be filled with drama... Bravo!

P.S. Thanks for your comment on my blog! I’m a huge fan of the Mama PHd crowd... I know Libby, Caroline, and more from Literary Mama!

Rachel Sarah, at 12:35 pm EDT on June 11, 2008

Megan offers some great advice. What do you want? It seems it is a great time for you to explore some of your values and aspirations and consider working with a career coach to weigh out your options and make the best choice for yourself. Good Luck!

Paige, at 10:25 am EDT on June 9, 2008

This is a great article that needs to be read by every person. It is the best article I have ever read. I am her son- so I have experienced every word of this.

Colin F., at 11:45 am EDT on June 13, 2008

i was on Colins team, the Rays.

Turtle, at 2:45 pm EDT on June 24, 2008

Good luck to you. I hope things work out. Its tough moving with kids, but that’s life in academia. I’ve had trouble making my kids understand that. In fact I think due to changing economic conditions no one really gets a chance to live in one place too long except for service professionals who can change jobs within one city. Not just academics, but professionals and most mid-level managers need to go where the job is.

jane, at 9:40 am EDT on June 16, 2008