Leaving academia? You want a new career as a PhD without wasting time applying for the wrong jobs, but don’t know where to start. Get clarity with Dr. Jen Polk in this free training.

Dear Reader, Last week I was on a panel about careers beyond academia, and we got questions like these: "When is the right time to leave academia? Am I too old to pivot to industry?" "I've done three postdocs and now I'm not getting interviews. What's happening?" "My CV is too long. What do I cut for industry?" "I haven't published in Nature. Am I out of options when it comes to getting a research position?" I hear versions of these all the time from PhD job seekers. It makes sense, because...

Dear Reader, "I have a PhD and I need job search help" can mean at least six completely different things. Let's get into it! I know this because I hear from professors, postdocs, and other PhDs looking for help with their careers all the time. 1. You don't know what you want You know something needs to change. Maybe you're unhappy in academia, or you've already left but your current work isn't right either. (Very common!) Except that you don't yet have a clear picture of what you'd rather be...

Dear Reader, I've got a couple invites to free online things to share with you, and a discount code. I’m participating in two free online career panels next week. First up, on Thursday, 17 Sep, join me for "Transitioning from Academia to Industry," a panel hosted by ScientifyResearch. We’ll be talking about communicating your academic experience to employers, CVs, networking, interviews, and more, with time for audience questions. (Last I heard over 750 folks had already registered 👀) 🗓️...

Thomas Rose, 37, joined MIT in January and was set to begin teaching courses this fall.

Dear Reader, A new round of my free Wednesday co-working sessions is underway, starting tomorrow. Join me and other PhDs online to get some work done. We meet Wednesdays from 10–11:30am ET, and you’re welcome to come once, occasionally, or every week. Grading, analyzing data, planning research trips, dealing with emails, drafting resumes... we do it all. And sometimes we get mentioned in acknowledgements 😁 Sign up for free co-working A note for program members: Monday co-working is just for...

We come to it at last—the final #ScholarSunday thread before my Fall 2026 semester begins. So here it is, my 291st thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming ...

Dear Reader, It’s mid-August, which means a new academic year is either here or nearly here. Maybe you're excited about it. Maybe you're already tired just thinking about it. 😬 Or maybe you're thinking, "Ugh, I really don't want to be doing this a year from now." That was the subject of a conversation I had this week with my friend and colleague Paulina Cossette, PhD: How to make this your last year in academia. Paulina works with academics who want to build businesses as academic editors and...

YouTube video by Paulina S. Cossette, PhD | Academic Business Coach

Dear Reader, People sometimes assume they need to figure a few things out before working with me. For example, that you need to know what direction you want to go in—what specific kind of job you want—before getting my help. That makes sense for some kinds of job search support (LinkedIn profile updates, resume writing, interview prep). But much of my work with professors, postdocs, and other PhDs happens before that stage. And, yes, there is a before stage. Now, some of the people who join...

Dear Reader, I read a post recently arguing that the hardest part of leaving academia is learning to translate your experience into language employers understand. And, like, no. I disagree. Translating your experience can absolutely be difficult. If you’ve spent years describing your work in the language of academia, it takes practice to talk about it differently. This isn’t unique to resumes, of course. If you’re used to writing journal articles and suddenly you’re trying to pen an op-ed?...

Dear Reader, Last week, I contributed a talk to an online summit about rethinking success, security, and meaningful work in and beyond academia. One of the underlying messages is that “Should I stay in academia or leave?” is often the wrong question to ask yourself. That's because this question bundles together a bunch of different things: your job title; your identity—how you think of yourself; your colleagues, broadly defined; your working conditions; and, related, your sense of status or...

“Hola, Chad aquí, de Greenwich, Connecticut, a muy blanco área of los Estados Unidos. A few weeks ago, I decidir to watch Estados Unidos vs. Paraguay in fútb...

Dear Reader, My Faculty Uplift session goes live today. This is the final day of the free summit, so this is your last nudge from me to register if you’ve been meaning to check it out. My session is about making intentional career decisions when the standard version of academic success no longer feels like the right path. Or maybe never did. And to be clear, that doesn’t necessarily mean leaving academia. It means asking better questions. Questions such as What kind of security do I actually...

Dear Reader, The Faculty Uplift summit starts tomorrow—have you registered yet? It’s a free online event for academics, with short pre-recorded sessions you can watch on your own schedule. The summit runs July 13 to 16, and my session goes live on Thursday, July 16. (Yay!) My talk asks a question that sounds simple, but can be surprisingly clarifying:What would it mean if postdocs and professors treated academia like a job? Not a stand-in for your identity. Not the only way to lead an...

Dear Reader, How are you doing this month so far? I'd love to know. (And, who are you rooting for in the World Cup? Or is your team already out?) I'm writing today because there's a free event that will be of interest to many folks on this list, called the Faculty Uplift. It happens next week, and I’m one of the speakers. The summit brings together more than 20 people who work with academics, and the topics cover a pretty wide range: wellbeing, mindset, writing, funding, mentoring, team...