[Should I Quit Academia Series] You Are Not the Container [RE-RELEASE 50]
In today’s episode, I want to challenge how we think about our academic careers. For many of us, our professional lives are heavily defined by the rules of the institution or “container” through which we work—whether it’s a graduate program, a tenure-track position, or unreasonable requirements from the university. I want you to flip that way of thinking altogether.
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Instead of letting your institution or the promise of tenure dictate your path, you can apply your scholarly work to a container that better suits your academic mission statement and career goals. You are not the container, and your knowledge, skills, and research can be leveraged in multiple ways so that you can create a career that is fulfilling and truly aligns with who you are and what you value.
If you are frustrated with your current position or are curious about quitting academia, this episode is for you. Tune in to learn how to separate your work from the container and the benefits of pursuing a different career path.
Understanding the “Container” Concept
In academia, we tend to define our work by the institution we’re part of—whether it’s a graduate program or a tenure-track position. But your work and your skills are independent of these containers. Take Sarah Dobson, for example, who left academia to become a grant consultant, continuing to impact public health while creating a container that suited her personal needs. You can thrive in many working environments if you separate your work from the institution.
Creating Your Own Container
When a container no longer supports you, it’s time to switch. One of my clients was overwhelmed running an entire Master’s program alone. After leaving that role, she found a better job with more support and appreciation. Similarly, I transitioned from a traditional tenure-track role to creating my own business, focusing on my strengths and passions. Your institution does not define you; you are not the container. The knowledge, skills, and intellectual property you have created can be applied to any container.
“A lot of times what happens is that we let those requirements of the university dictate the things that we do. We let the university or the container shape the way or dictate the path of our careers and I want to flip that on its head for you. I want you to start thinking about your career and your scholarly work as independent of any particular container.”
“You are not the container. You have developed assets and intellectual property and ways of thinking and ways of doing. You have made knowledge that is not connected or is not reliant on the container. It is independent of the container.”
We’ve opened the waitlist for our next cohort of Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap®. Check out the program details and get on the waitlist here.
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- Our 12-week Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap® program helps tenure-track womxn and nonbinary professors to publish their backlog of papers so that their voice can have the impact they know is possible. Get on the waitlist here!
- Cathy’s book, Making Time to Write: How to Resist the Patriarchy and Take Control of Your Academic Career Through Writing is available in print! Learn how to build your career around your writing practice while shattering the myths of writing every day, accountability, and motivation, doing mindset work that’s going to reshape your writing,and changing academic culture one womxn and nonbinary professor at a time. Get your print copy today or order it for a friend here!
- If you would like to hear more from Cathy for free, please subscribe to the weekly newsletter, In the Pipeline, at scholarsvoice.org. It’s a newsletter that she personally writes that goes out once a week with writing and publication tips, strategies, inspiration, book reviews and more.
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