A Career Newsletter for PhDs. By A PhD.
Warning PhDs vs fear-mongering
Illustration by Maame Ekua Acquah. Happy Friday from Southern California. "You are stripping PhDs of their agency." That statement is a brand new accusation I received this week that I found intriguing. I'm going to address it in...
What cats and fish can teach us about work.
Happy Friday from Southern California. One day during my almost 3-year stint as a postdoctoral researcher, I experienced what I later understood was an anxiety attack. I drove to work, parked, and started to shake. Then I started to...
Money guilt and disrupting yourself
Happy Friday from Southern California. I have two resources for you today. 1 - I recently had a conversation on the podcast with Dr. Andrew Churchill about leaving academia, starting a presentation coaching business, and fixing one's money...
A PhD is not a waste of time.
Happy Friday from Southern California. If you spent 5-7 years as a PhD student/candidate, finish, and then realize that you want to work outside academia, have you wasted your time? I got an email recently that brought this question up...
Play the long game.
Have you read Navigating the PIVOT? Did you find it useful? Please consider leaving me a review on Amazon. Happy Friday from Southern California. I celebrated my birthday this week. I'm always grateful for another year! Onwards… I receive...
Why I stopped putting my head down.
Happy Friday from Southern California. I read this sentiment on a popular thread on LinkedIn this week. "Industry should already understand what I bring as a PhD. I should not have to spend time explaining or proving why my skills are...
The tech company that stole academics’ work.
It's scorching hot in Southern California this week. I hope this newsletter finds you cool. Anyway, onto business… Recently, I ran a poll on LinkedIn asking a simple question: Did your PhD training adequately prepare you to navigate the job...
A “basic” practice that could change everything.
For years, I had an 8-minute video on how to optimize your LinkedIn profile. I was a little shocked at how many PhDs sent me messages to thank me for that video. At that time, I remember thinking, "But this should be basic?" But alas, even to...
Dating apps are the new…networking apps?
This week, I have 3 resources and a quote that made me think this week. Let's get into it: 3 resources: 1 - Earlier this month, an AI investor and founder made a post on X about AI and the world of work…and the internet went into...
This mistake cost me dearly
Have you read Navigating the P.I.V.O.T? If you have, it would mean the world to me if you could leave me a rating and review on Amazon. This helps people who are making a decision to get the book make an informed one. Thank you. After being laid...