Category: Your Career

This post is by a British post doc working in Scandinavia on European Studies. In the weeks and months leading up to the submission of my PhD, I found myself imagining what life would be like on the ’other side’. As a means of forcing myself over the final hurdle, I visualised how amazing it would …continue reading.

Early this year the Australian Prime Minister, who was under a bit of pressure about a questionable decision at the time, dismissed social media as ‘electronic graffiti’. People in my networks were outraged and, of course, took to social media to express their outrage. For a few days feelings were high, which resulted in a …continue reading.

This post is written by Brian Flemming, a mathematician working as a Systems Engineer in Edinburgh.  He has recently completed an Engineering Doctorate (EngD) as a mature student at Heriot Watt University, which he found an intensive and enjoyable experience, and which he credits with greatly increasing the effectiveness and authority of his work.  He …continue reading.

This month, all around Australia, there will be a whole crop of PhD students starting their degree. It’s an exciting time, but a nerve-wracking one as well. Here’s another post to help you start your journey! This post is by Erika Harris, PhD Candidate. Erika has a Master’s degree in Education, General Education and has …continue reading.

I want to tell you a story about a friend – let’s call him Todd. Todd used to work in an academic ‘think tank’ run by a famous professor, let’s call him Kenny. Kenny and Todd worked together for a number of years. Kenny was a demanding boss. He consistently tasked Todd with a series …continue reading.

Who can help you get a job outside of academia when you finish your PhD? Career counselling professionals with a special interest in PhD student issues are rare. In December last year I was invited to give the keynote at the annual meeting of Australian post graduate careers advisors in Sydney. Naturally leapt at the …continue reading.

This post was written Dr Kathy McKay,a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of New England. Her work revolves around listening to stories of suicide, healing and resilience within communities and within literature. It’s a sobering reflection on this academic life – but I thought it articulated views and feelings that need an airing in …continue reading.

PhD students can make a bigger impact by sharing their data, but this requires more mature data management practices. You have an oppotunity that other’s before you haven’t: to be focus on data alongside publications as a valuable output of research. Richard Ferrars and Amir Aryani of the Australian National Data Service tell us how …continue reading.

Alex Strike (@AlexxxStrike) is a graduate of New York University who will start his PhD in journalism next year. Alex works as a freelance blogger now, trying to improve his writing skills and become a more experienced writer after graduation. He has written for ProBlogger, Uloop and Lifehack. In this post Alex shares some of …continue reading.

This post was written by an ANU colleague, in their mid 40’s, who would prefer to remain anonymous – for good reason. The post articulates the inter-generational resentment brewing inside our universities. It expresses sentiments I have heard often from my peers in their 30’s and 40’s in the tea rooms of academia. Rarely however, …continue reading.