SEASON 2, EPISODE 8: AM I DELUSIONAL ABOUT STAYING IN ACADEMIA?

This episode is about me trying to navigate the end of my postdoc.

I revisit a journal entry I wrote in September 2014, when I had 4 months left on my extension to my contract. Believe it or not, I was still trying to salvage my academic career, despite it basically being impossible at this stage.

I reflect on how the delay between applying for a grant and getting the grant awarded made it impossible for me to salvage my academic career and what actually happens to your research when you leave academia.

Timestamps:

[00:00] Intro

[03:23] Journal entry

[08:07] Trying to salvage my academic career against impossible timescales

[10:50] The postdoc was really a period of training, although I didn’t realize it at the time

[11:52] What happens to your research when you leave academia?

[14:09] Outro

For more information about the podcast, please visit https://a-postdocs-journal.captivate.fm/

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SEASON 2, EPISODE 7: SHOULD I STAY IN ACADEMIA?

This episode is about me trying to figure out how I can stay in academia. This journal entry reminded me that I actually tried really hard to stay and, today, I actually feel good knowing I tried my best.

I revisit a journal entry I wrote in July 2014. This was just after the annual “Barn Seminar”, an annual tradition my boss used to host at his house. Leaving academia was not a straightforward decision. There was a lot of back and forth. In this entry, I was genuinely trying to figure out how to stay

I reflect on victim mentality, how I really didn’t want to apply for a grant, how being stuck in academia is like being stuck in a bad relationship, conflict between your gut feeling and your actions, the classic chicken and egg problem of needing a grant for research and needing research for a grant, a need for longer-term security, and how I feel about how hard I tried to stay in academia.

Timestamps:

[00:00] Intro

[03:10] Journal entry

[08:36] I wasn’t allowed to work for more than 2 years

[09:44] Victim mentality

[12:47] I didn’t want to apply for a grant

[14:40] Being stuck in academia is like being stuck in a bad relationship

[15:29] Conflict between your gut and your actions

[16:35] Chicken and egg problem with staying in academia

[17:38] Is a need for a long-term plan linked to age?

[18:42] I’m surprised I was trying to hard to stay in academia

[19:52] Outro

For more information about the podcast, please visit https://a-postdocs-journal.captivate.fm/

Please leave a review wherever you get your podcasts!

Follow me/connect with me on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simit-patel-063388ab/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simit_apj/

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Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/APostdocsJournal/

Need help with your scientific English? Visit https://simitpatel.com/ and fill out a contact form.

SEASON 2, EPISODE 6: GUT FEELINGS

This episode is about using your intuition to figure out what you want. Sometimes, what you want is in conflict with the demands of the environment around you.

I revisit a journal entry I wrote in June 2014. I was coming to the end of the 5 month extension of my contract and I was trying to make decisions about my long-term future in academia…and whether I should stay in Germany as an expat.

I reflect on what happens when your intuition/gut feeling tells you one thing but the world around you pushes you a different way, why I wanted to keep living in Germany as an expat and why that was the right decision, realising I didn’t have original research ideas, and how I wish leaving academia would be normalized in academia…because it IS the norm!

Timestamps:

[00:00] Intro

[02:50] Journal entry

[08:18] Wanting to stay still when things around you are forcing you to move forward

[09:41] Gut feelings that tell you that you are living inauthentically

[11:10] Why I wanted to stay living in Germany as an expat

[13:51] I realised I didn’t have original research ideas of my own

[15:33] Weaknesses in one context can be strengths in another context

[16:44] I wish there was more support for me to leave academia without it feeling like a failure

[19:53] The culture in academia about leaving academia needs to change

[20:33] Outro

For more information about the podcast, please visit https://a-postdocs-journal.captivate.fm/

Please leave a review wherever you get your podcasts!

Follow me/connect with me on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simit-patel-063388ab/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simit_apj/

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/apostdocsjournal.bsky.social

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/APostdocsJournal/

Need help with your scientific English? Visit https://simitpatel.com/ and fill out a contact form.