Highlighting another posting from one of the best new blogs I've come across. Jess' descriptions of #LeavingAcademia are heartfelt and will resonate strongly with those in a similar situation.

https://totalinternalreflectionblog.com/2023/09/05/jess-is-on-a-break-the-first-30-days/

New posting! After #LeavingAcademia at the end of April, my "jobseeker" status lasted exactly 2 weeks in the end. As of Friday I have now started a new career direction in #MedComms - some thoughts on that in the posting 👇

http://totalinternalreflectionblog.com/2023/09/03/a-new-direction-the-switch-to-medcomms/

While employed at a #University as a Lecturer, I frequently requested (in writing) mentorship on how to apply for large-scale #funding schemes like NESP. It never happened. In the 9 months since #LeavingAcademia, I’ve been included on 2 NESP bids and an application for ship-time (very nearly submitted an ARC grant too). We can do better, #academia is choosing not to #WomenInSTEM

“…we find that, as they currently are, #universities actually act as barriers to the kinds of systemic transformations needed to secure a safe and secure future for all. This should be viewed as a dereliction of that duty - to students, staff and wider society…chasing infinite growth on a finite planet is an #ecocidal pursuit. Without challenging it, universities are facilitative and complicit” #ToxicAcademia #LeavingAcademia https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsus.2023.1166642/full

Of interest to #AcademicChatter #AltAc #LeavingAcademia #RecoveringAcademics #phd

43% of companies already have or plan to adopt AI interviews by 2024. Are you ready?

People #leavingAcademia need to know how to ace their #interviews, get their #CV / #resume past automated systems, and how to stay informed on what companies are looking for.

They use #AI, so we have to use it too!

If this all sounds like a lot, it's the conversations I have most week with my community.

There are still spaces to join BBA for $30 USD/ £25.

Doors close Friday 30th!
https://www.resumebuilder.com/4-in-10-companies-will-be-using-ai-interviews-by-2024/

New paper out about #StudentEvaluations and the law:
- Most #universities operate outside the law in how they use evaluations.
- If you've been denied promotion/employment because of your evaluations, you potentially have a legal case
#bias #discrimination #ToxicAcademia #LeavingAcademia #promotion #bullying #Australia
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02602938.2023.2225806

A thought...
Is it emotional baggage or emotional walls meant to protect you from the institutional harm that's been perpetrated?

#academia #academic #altAc #leavingAcademia #academics #AcademicChatter #ucu

New posting! This is the latest in the series of postings examining my departure from #academia, and the way that taking part in the #GreatResignation has shaken me out of a torpor that took hold several years ago. #LeavingAcademia

https://totalinternalreflectionblog.com/2023/04/30/goodbye-to-all-that/

New posting! Another more personal one, this time focusing on why although I'm #LeavingAcademia I have no regrets for staying as long as I did. And why perhaps all #academics should regularly ask themselves why they're staying, to be sure they're making positive #career choices.

https://totalinternalreflectionblog.com/2023/04/16/no-regrets-a-salute-to-all-my-students/

I'm looking for someone that can help me convert an academic CV into a professional resume. This is the kind of task I could agonize over for years, so for the sake of time I really need to outsource it. Has anyone used a resume conversion service before, and if so, how did it go? I'd be grateful for any recommendations, tips, etc.
#LeavingAcademia #AltAc

New posting! And a very personal one.

In January I handed in my resignation, and will be leaving the Department of Cell & Developmental Biology, the University of Würzburg, and the Physics of Parasitism network at the end of April.

I am #LeavingAcademia.

More discussion of this decision, the reasons for it, and what it means for TIR, in the posting below.

https://totalinternalreflectionblog.com/2023/03/19/changing-lanes/

Fed up and burnt out: ‘quiet quitting’ hits academia
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00633-w
"…they’re neither quitting nor being quiet about their desire to create healthier work–life boundaries, prioritize their #MentalHealth and reject toxic workplace cultures"

#work #WorklifeBalance #academia #leavingacademia #altac #careertransition

Today is my last day in a university position so I wanted to write a few things about #leavingacademia⬇️

A thread on #NLP, Computational Linguistics and #Meaning. Above all: on loving your object of study and owning it. \1

By the way, I forgot to say I am co-hosting a free 3 day masterclass on Facebook and LinkedIn on Empowering Your Academic Career Pivot. Let me know if you'd like the catch-up website link!
#AltAc #AcademicChatter #LeavingAcademia

Do you want to leave academia? Don’t know where to start?
CV & Confidence Revamp is a 6-wk online course combines hypnotherapy & coaching to support your non-academic CV and build the confidence to succeed on the job market!
When: Monday 27th March - Friday 5th May 2023
Where: online on zoom, course website, private discussion group.

https://www.lunaleadership.com/cv-revamp

#AltAc #AcademicChatter #LeavingAcademia

This was my last week at uni, probably for a long time. I used this opportunity to write down my PhD experience and why I'm #LeavingAcademia https://chaosworks.org/2023/01/29/phd-leavingacademia/

@pjyng A bit of a difference in my situation is that I'm not happy with either of the highly car-centric cities, and would like to move somewhere more humane. (I miss the Cambridge days…) Creates an additional difficulty, not only with the more limited options, but also with the contacts.

It's really another reason for #leavingacademia: it's not worth living in a car-centric hellhole.

@pjyng Also looking into #leavingacademia, for much the same reasons, plus I hate teaching, after my current fellowship and mountain of money finishes*. I'm a bit baffled what to do, lacking contacts, but good to hear that “cold-calling” may have worked for you.

* Also have a permanent position elsewhere. On leave from it. It may involve teaching 20h/week without unambitious “paper assembly line” projects. There's no academic freedom; if the research isn't pre-approved, you have to teach.

First week working outside academia complete! Over the past few days, I was fortunate to be invited on a #CulturalHeritage (field) survey with Elders and Rangers to document an ancient stone fish trap and beach-washed plastics. Driving to the site was equally spell-binding as we passed through pristine kwongkan bushlands (Noongar name for sand), a threatened ecological plant community (banksia and cycads galore!). For lunch, the #IndigenousRangers caught abalone which we smoked and ate on the beach, overlooking the archipelago. We met with project partners (oh so many!) who were enthusiastic about collaboration and offered up ideas and resources. Over the next few weeks, we’ll work together to prepare a funding bid to support knowledge exchange and nature conservation in this region. Regardless of who I spoke with, the topic of conversation was how to best support one another to do meaningful and rewarding actions that protect Country and create opportunities for community to thrive.

All of this was in complete contrast to, and would have been virtually impossible within, current academic systems. The mountains of approvals that would have been required to undertake just this one survey, or even express interest in applying for such a grant, would have tied me up in paperwork, meetings, and phone calls for weeks. Ultimately, because most of the deliverables focus on habitat restoration, community education, and empowering Indigenous people these projects are unlikely to have been valued within academia and so wouldn’t have been supported going forward (because they probably won’t lead to research articles, published in journals behind paywalls).

While there’s an incredible amount of learning ahead as I grapple with new people, languages, and places, I'm better supported than I have been in years. Not for a moment have I missed the ultra-competitive and intolerant world I left behind (or endless discussions of metrics - good riddance!).

When systems are broken, people are broken #LeavingAcademia