"In many disciplines, for the majority of graduates, the Ph.D. indicates the logical conclusion of an academic career." Marc Bousquet

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Eh, maybe I spoke too soon

I really should learn to stop complaining so much. The Big Dolphin was in town today and we chatted about some of that stuff in yesterday's post. I didn't bring up my future employment, but ze did hirself. Essentially, they do see me (at least the Big Dolphin and Enviro Shark do - and they're the ones that matter) as integral to the program, and the Petting Zoo is interested in making my position permanent if funding can be found in a year.

However, that last part is the catch. I am not at all certain funding will be found. And I still have concerns about many of the things I've complained about the past few days.There are still people here who would prefer I went somewhere else. And the issues with organizational culture remain.

I suppose what that means is I need to keep my eyes and ears open to new opportunities -- figure out what they are, find people doing things I might like to do, and generally make connections -- so that however things shake down over the next year, I have options.


2 comments:

  1. Comradde PhysioProffeJuly 11, 2013 at 4:35 PM

    I suppose what that means is I need to keep my eyes and ears open to new opportunities -- figure out what they are, find people doing things I might like to do, and generally make connections -- so that however things shake down over the next year, I have options.

    All professionals should always be doing that no matter what their current situation is. This is what it means to be a professional: you aren't just working for your employer and trying to impress her--regardless of how great your current employer is--you are working for your profession and trying to impress your peers.

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  2. Yeah, that's true, but doing those things out of necessity (because your job status is tenuous) vs. out of choice (you want to impress others and move your career ahead) carry different pressures. You can focus more on impressing your peers when your status with your current employer is strong enough that you don't have to worry about impressing your boss in order to just hold onto your job. I would like for my next job (or the next phase of this one) to cross that threshold, but I'm not there yet.

    Also, in order to work for your profession, you need to know what your profession is. Job titles aside, that can get ambiguous.

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