Dear Reader, Earlier this week, I wrote about people who don’t hate academia but still want something else. That distinction matters. Because if you’re not in crisis, it can be easy to tell yourself you should wait. Wait until you feel more certain....

Dear Reader, “I turned 40 last year and I feel very satisfied with my academic career. I just really have nothing else I want to do.” One of my program members said this during a group discussion. She’s tenured. She likes her colleagues. She genuinel...

Dear Reader, Here for co-working info? Sign up for the new session starting tomorrow on this page: Co-Working Sessions. I have two reflections for you this morning, both about what gets misunderstood in career change. First, who actually needs suppor...

Dear Reader, Did you watch any of the NASA livestream on Monday, when the Artemis II astronauts were on their lunar flyby? I had it on for a lot of the day. So exciting. (And, yes, I'll be checking on things as they splashdown today at 8:07pm EDT!) T...

Dear Reader, I spoke with a PhD researcher this week who's applying for roles in and out of academia. You might think I'm going to say that's too scattered, but I didn't get that impression about her job search. She seemed quite focused on her area o...

Dear Reader, You're doing things. Reading job ads. Tweaking your materials. Applying. But it’s not really working. What would it be like if you were applying and interviewing for roles you were excited about, in places you wanted to live, with employ...

Dear Reader, Can writing on LinkedIn actually help your job search? It’s a question that's on the minds of many of the PhDs I work with. Recently, I attended a workshop led by Julia Gray, PhD, who teaches academics how to write like humans. And I was...

Dear Reader, Here’s a misconception PhDs often have about career coaches: That you’re paying for advice. I get why people think this. And I also get why you wouldn't want to do that, especially if money is tight. I mean, advice is everywhere, and it'...

Dear [FIRST NAME GOES HERE], Quick reminder that IMPACT 2026 is tomorrow, and I’ll be leading a short session called Leave Toward Something. In that session, we’ll begin creating what I call a "leaving inventory." When people leave academia, the focu...

Dear [FIRST NAME GOES HERE], I was recently a guest on Paulina's Cossette's YouTube channel/podcast. (She teaches academics how to turn themselves into editors and she's awesome.) We talked about how lot of job searching PhDs assume their problem is...