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How to become a manuscript editor at a research journal [Interview with Jean Mary Zarate]

Senior Editor, Nature Neuroscience (published by Springer Nature) Tell us about yourself My name is Jean, and I’m a senior manuscript editor for the research journal Nature Neuroscience, based in the Springer Nature office in New York. Although I’m a native New Yorker – born and raised in New York City – I consider Montreal, […]

How to find a research position outside of academia [Interview with Sreyoshi Dey]

Program Manager, Surveys & Polling Why did you decide to no longer pursue an academic career? I haven’t shelved the idea of an academic career. But I wanted to explore what else I can do with a PhD. As a doctoral student we are trained to be academics but I learned early on that academia is […]

How to use your PhD to become a Data Scientist [Interview with Michael Li]

Why did you decide to no longer pursue an academic career? Like many people, a career in academia looked like a great career choice when we started, but we slowly realized that it wasn’t for us over the course of the multiyear experience. There isn’t a lot of career flexibility, the publication cycles are very […]

A journey in becoming: How to find your side hustle [Interview with Shannon Thomison]

What does an average day in the life look like for you? My day starts at 5:30 am. I try to meditate and pray before I start my day. Once that’s done, I get my two boys ready for school/daycare and drop them off.  I head back to my home office to review my schedule […]

How to take quality rest and downtime

Do you struggle to allow yourself to take time out as a graduate student, academic or in life after the academy?  I’m sure you’re not alone. But as discussed in my recent blog post more hours does not always mean more productivity in academia or at work. Time out can reduce stress and burn out, […]

How to make art (and get paid for it) [Interview with Alexej Savreux]

What is your side hustle? My side hustle is visual art and writing. I do a lot of retail (gallery stuff) and also service-oriented production. I do a lot of photography, videography, photo manipulation, printmaking, bookmaking, arts blogging, literary translations in French, Czech, English & Joual. I’ve even done community activism banners/signs before and design […]

Why you need to take a break. 5 ways taking time out will result in getting more done.

The academic life is known for its long hours. Graduate school, academic life and downtime can seem mutually exclusive. But there is also increasing concern over mental health and stress in the academy. Research (and probably your intuition) are also telling us that rest, exercise and time away from work are good. More hours do […]

How to travel the world while doing a PhD [Interview with Stephanie Huff]

Tell us about yourself. My name is Steph and I’m a 30-year old doctoral candidate from Western University in London, Ontario, Canada – yes there is a London outside of England! I’m also originally from the same town, but I’ve lived all over the world, including Australia, England, Kenya, Tanzania and Switzerland. I did my […]

Non-academic careers for PhDs: Alt-academia career and side hustle options

Only a tiny per cent of PhD students will end up as university professors. The Royal Society provides a snapshot of data that indicates just 0.45% of PhDs in the scientific areas become full professors. Which means the majority of PhDs have ‘alternative’ careers. Why is a non-academic career path considered alternative when it is […]

Best research writing books for when you are in a rut

As my tenure clock increasingly ticked louder I found myself hating research more and increasingly feeling like an imposter. I had so many ideas for research, a number of projects on the go and had even data collected for 3 projects. I just couldn’t move forward. I went in search of resources to help me […]