There's a sentence a lot of people thinking about leaving academia say to themselves, usually late, usually alone. My PhD will have been wasted. Why leaving academia can feel like wasting your PhD It sounds like a conclusion when you say it. And most people leave it as is, because arguing with it feels likeContinue reading "Will my PhD be wasted if I leave academia?"
I did everything I was supposed to do. I still wanted to leave academia.
The screenshot is from someone on my email list who finished her PhD in English in 2022 and moved straight into an assistant professorship. When doing everything right still doesn’t feel right “Then came the top-tier journals, university presses, competitive grants from the NEH and the Mellon Foundation.” She wrote about her experience after sheContinue reading "I did everything I was supposed to do. I still wanted to leave academia."
How to know it’s time to leave academia (even before you know what’s next)
You're not staying in academia because you love it anymore. You're staying because every time you picture leaving, the same question shuts you down: to do what, exactly? You don't have an answer. So you stay. Another semester. Another cycle. You tell yourself you'll go the moment you figure out the next thing. The nextContinue reading "How to know it’s time to leave academia (even before you know what’s next)"
Academia isn’t a family. Here’s what that belief costs you.
I landed my second tenure-track job in 2017: political science, a 3/3 load at a small liberal arts college on the east coast. The salary was $62,000. At the time, that felt okay. Here's what doesn't feel okay. Almost 10 years later, people are still being offered that same number (or sometimes less) for thatContinue reading "Academia isn’t a family. Here’s what that belief costs you."
How much is the prestige actually doing for you?
When I was in grad school, my advisor was a prominent congressional scholar, genuinely well known in the field. Everyone knew who he was, and he was, for the record, a lovely person and a wonderful advisor. But I remember the moment it hit me that literally no one outside of congressional studies had anyContinue reading "How much is the prestige actually doing for you?"
The cliff edge isn’t the only option
When I left academia, I didn't have a plan. I was on the phone with my provost, who was trying to talk me into staying, and somewhere in that conversation it clicked for me, all at once and very physically: no matter what I did next, I was never going to be happy as anContinue reading "The cliff edge isn’t the only option"
Who are you without the title?
How do I find a new job? How do I become a different person, when all I know how to be is an academic? Which do you think is the most common question I get from academics wondering if it's time to leave academia? Would it surprise you that it's the second question? Earlier thisContinue reading "Who are you without the title?"
Why I’m Teaching 47 Strangers My Entire Business Framework for Free
A smart business person would keep their secrets. Here's why I don't. On January 29, I'm hosting a free call – 3 Steps to Your Dream Academic Business – where I'll teach the exact three-step framework I used to build a six-figure academic editing business. I'll show you examples of real academics who've launched successfulContinue reading "Why I’m Teaching 47 Strangers My Entire Business Framework for Free"
The Academic Entrepreneur’s Guide to Marketing (without feeling gross)
The first time I tried to write a LinkedIn post about my editing business, I wrote and deleted the post 5 times. Every version sounded wrong, and not like me. Eventually, I realized that academia had trained me to think marketing equals manipulation. Selling equals sleazy or self-promotion equals desperate. The "gross" feeling I wasContinue reading "The Academic Entrepreneur’s Guide to Marketing (without feeling gross)"
Start Ugly: How I Wrote Toilet Paper Descriptions and Still Built a 6-Figure Business
When I started as an academic editor in 2020, I found this website where you could write descriptions for products. You know when you go to Walmart.com and you want to buy toilet paper, and there's this little description about how it's the best, softest, most absorbent toilet paper? Yeah, I wrote those. Remote carContinue reading "Start Ugly: How I Wrote Toilet Paper Descriptions and Still Built a 6-Figure Business"