Wow, this is the second professor I have heard from in the past week who is leaving their "dream job." And I know of another who has been documenting her slow exit. All of your stories have been so thoughtful and inspiring, although it also tells a sad story of the growing problems of attacks on higher education. And I'm rooting for your return to Seattle!
Thank you, LeiLani! Yes, unfortunately, my story resonates because so many folks are dealing with similar feelings and decisions. I hope we get to catch up soon! We probably can't move back to Seattle until it becomes more affordable—I'm about to be underemployed—but I would love to visit in the near future! I miss it so!
Fantastic piece. You're not alone. It's incredibly freeing (and frightening) to disconnect your identity and self-worth from the academy. Fly! Write! BE!
Jenn! I've been waiting on the edge of my seat to read this post since I saw you mention it on Instagram and I'm witnessing your journey with compassion and so much respect. While self-employment can be a rocky journey for sure, I'm grateful that I've been able to explore this alt-ac journey and still interact with academia and scholars in a way that works for me--and I'm so excited about the audience you've built through PNP. It sounds like you might head back to Seattle, but you're always welcome up here in Massachusetts, too! :) Can't wait to read more of your journey, and am cheering you on!
Thank you, Kate! My Kate’s parents live in the Cape and she grew up in Wayland/Weston, so we do come to Mass! I keep meaning to reach out to you for virtual coffee to pick your brain about your business and ways to collaborate. Once the dust settles a bit, I will! Thank you as always for your support. I appreciate you!
So fun that you make it out to mass and that your Kate grew up in New England. I'd love to have a virtual coffee and chat collaboration and offer any support I can (or just be an ear to hear!) Take care and looking forward to continuing to cheer you on.
Cheering you and Kate on, wherever you go and whatever comes next. Last year, I actively discouraged my niece from applying to UT for her doctoral studies, knowing how Texas treats trans people like her. Ever since, I've been pondering the question of why I'm giving my own labor to that same UT system. I'm glad you've found the right answer for you and hope to find my own with as much honesty and sensitivity as you've shown in that essay.
Thanks so much, Diana! Yes, it's a hard thing for all of us Texas educators to grapple with. I think there are reasons to stay and fight, to flee, or to hide. All are appropriate forms of self-preservation, depending on one's circumstances. Thank you for your support!
I'm far more likely to stay, at least for a few more years. I have all the cishet privileges that ease the friction, plus the ability to live where I love (New Mexico) and only commute into TX on the days I'm in the office. Plus I do believe I can make a difference for my students. All the same, the dysfunction is real, scary, and growing worse. I have only respect for your decision and expect to see more such moves in the future.
Hi Jenn and firstly thank you for your kindness, generosity and the inspiration you’ve provided to a random bunch of academic strangers across the globe via this list. I’ve found solidarity and the kind of values here that I cherish and that sadly, are all too often missing from our institutional academic spaces. As someone currently facing a ‘transformation’( ie redundancy) process, I can completely appreciate the kind of life changing decisions at stake here and why you made the choice to leave. It’s heartwarming and also heartbreaking to hear - so many brilliant people have now left my institution which is increasingly feeling like a shadow of its former self. It’s also terrible to see the extent to which reactionary politics are undermining and threatening progressive values. It’s happening less quickly in the UK than in the US but it’s there and it’s appalling to witness. My students are my hope for the future- they just don’t buy into autocratic politics and eventually they will overcome them. Meanwhile I wish you joy and salute your incredible courage and honesty. Thanks for being here - you’ve made a difference to a lot of people. ☘️
Bernadette! I’ve actually been thinking about you lately and imagining we are having similar feelings albeit different circumstances. It can feel so awful to have the situation be so out of your control. Sending my continued solidarity as you face redundancy at your institution. If you ever are in the space and feel like writing about it for PNP, the let me know! These “transformations” are happening here in the states too. No pressure! Just a thought.
Wow! I’m also currently (next week!) leaving my “dream” tenure-track job, and academia altogether, to move back to Seattle because I cannot feel at home as a queer woman in Texas. It really is a frightening and dislocating feeling to leave something you worked so hard to achieve, but I love the idea of working to think of yourself as a scholar rather than an academic. Best of luck to you!
Wow! This is amazing, Beth! Good on ya for getting out and moving on. Kate and I have decided not to move to Seattle, even though we’ll always have a soft spot for it. I’m about to take a pay cut for at least a couple years so we can’t move there while I get my business off the ground. :( so glad you and your partner are going there! I miss the Emerald City so!
Thank you for sharing, Jenn! Having the freedom to decide where to live is so important for personal well-being and happiness. I'm glad you are choosing that for you and your partner. I wish you the very best with your new endeavors and that you will enjoy your new found freedom from the academy!
Thinking of you, Jenn! This is such a big, brave move, and such a good reminder that there's more to life (so much more!) than the prestige of the institution that employs us! Wishing you and your partner the best as you figure out your next steps!
Jenn, thank you for sharing your journey in deciding to leave academia. I feel incredibly grateful that our paths crossed and that I got to learn so much from you. In my teaching, I use many strategies/lessons that I learned while TAing/AIing for you. Just yesterday I went back to some of the ideology slides from 307. And I think I already told you, but your PNP posts helped me navigate the writing process when I was in a huge time crunch to finish writing the dissertation and writing from another country and had no opportunity to have casual conversations with advisors or other grad students. In other words, I admire you. I look up to you. I am grateful I know you. And I am glad you are doing what is best for you and your family. Teaching in Texas has become a stressful nightmare –as if being on the TT wasn't already– and at least once a week, I walk out of the classroom thinking today is the day I will get reported to the DEI police. You trained a lot of good scholars who will fight the good fight on your behalf. (Abrazos desde West Texas <3).
Melissa! Thank you so much for writing. I'm so glad our paths crossed at UT and that you remain in the PNP community. I can't imagine how stressful it is to start your faculty career in this environment. It's already stressful enough to start a new job at a new institution! I'm going to be geographically further away, but I will virtually remain in your corner as you navigate the tenure system and Texas politics, as long as you will have me!
I am inspired by your courage, your honesty with yourself about how you're feeling and with us about your process for finding your own best path. This was not your dream job, you've revealed there are many other important aspects to a fulfilling career than just the job description or your immediate collaborators. It's brave to be so honest and to take action. Get after YOUR dream job, you can make it happen! And so refreshing (and needed) to hear that your dream job includes taking care of yourself and those you love. XOXO
I love this, Jennifer! You're totally right. I'm going to get after my dream job! Tomorrow I'm sharing my plans for the near future, and it's very much about creating my new dream job. Thanks for being a bright light in the PNP community. It's lovely to have your support.
Thank you for sharing what this process has looked like for you, Jenn. Incredibly helpful, and inspiring, to read (as are all your posts). Also, Stuart Hall 👍👍👍
I'm thrilled that you will be able to keep charting your own path, geographically now as well, and can't wait to follow your work as you do.
I had a different yet similar experience in shaking up who I thought myself to be. It was rocky and scary and definitely worth it. Brava for you and Kate and a new expansive beginning!
I am inspired by your bravery, but also a bit struck and disoriented by your decision. I’ve always seen myself as following in your footsteps thinking had I not met Kate, you, and all of the amazing people at UW Bothell and Seattle I might have never begun my own PhD journey. And now, here I am at the very end (defense is in June) and I’ve already relocated to a new state for the TT position! To see someone I look up to step off the path gives me a mixed feeling of awe and grief. I commend and resonate with your intellectualism untethered from the institution but I also feel an even stronger sense of duty to join the ranks of those who remain steadfast in the turmoil of academia, especially as others turn away. Your teaching through action leaves me a bit frustrated at the responsibility we all share to make this world a better place. Resistance remains necessary by any means. There is no simple resolve.
Meshell! Thanks so much for writing. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts on the news. I firmly believe there are great reasons to stay in academia. There are many challenges, but there are also many opportunities and affordances and we really do make an impact through our research and teaching. That said, I think there are many paths for PhDs to trod, and I want to help the folks in the trenches with you and those who are seeking to change the world through other means. Congratulations on the TT job and finishing up this June! Your students and colleagues are lucky to have you.
Jenn—Several thoughts from my 33 years in higher education in some form. One is an important lesson I learned when transitioning from a corporate job years ago. As a part of the transition, I hired a firm to help with targeting geographies and companies. A key lesson from working with that consultant was that I value lifestyle over career advancement. Based on that we decided to return to Colorado, which matched our lifestyle preferences. After having seen many executives exhausted and unhappy over the latest corporate move, I have felt validated.
The second thought is that there is ample life outside of tenured academia. How I am phrasing this is around the creation of “learningscapes.” Traditional higher ed academia overall is in a phase of accelerating demographic and preference decline. The games that institutions have played with tuition discounting, using low paid faculty as adjuncts, and trying to survive by milking the Boomer wealth transfer are coming to an end. But, there is still a growing demand for learning and some alternative ways are needed. In part this need is what we hope to address through our founding EduPartners.coop. That said, it’s not easy but a whole lot of fun.
Last point is that many tenured academics may not be all that happy anyway, I have seen this in my many years of interacting with senior faculty at our flagship institution in Colorado. They stick around because of the pension system but are miserable and too often never grow the skills to do anything other than collect their pensions. A wonderful piece on this from a German academic, Sabine Hossenfelder, says it better than I could ever image. https://youtu.be/LKiBlGDfRU8?si=Qivcg_MTGUSVLYKW.
Happy to read about your breakthrough, albeit hard. You have so much to offer humanity. Leap and the net will appear. See you on the other side friend. Love, Heather
Wow, this is the second professor I have heard from in the past week who is leaving their "dream job." And I know of another who has been documenting her slow exit. All of your stories have been so thoughtful and inspiring, although it also tells a sad story of the growing problems of attacks on higher education. And I'm rooting for your return to Seattle!
Thank you, LeiLani! Yes, unfortunately, my story resonates because so many folks are dealing with similar feelings and decisions. I hope we get to catch up soon! We probably can't move back to Seattle until it becomes more affordable—I'm about to be underemployed—but I would love to visit in the near future! I miss it so!
Fantastic piece. You're not alone. It's incredibly freeing (and frightening) to disconnect your identity and self-worth from the academy. Fly! Write! BE!
“Fly! Write! Be!” Love this. Thanks for sharing!
Jenn! I've been waiting on the edge of my seat to read this post since I saw you mention it on Instagram and I'm witnessing your journey with compassion and so much respect. While self-employment can be a rocky journey for sure, I'm grateful that I've been able to explore this alt-ac journey and still interact with academia and scholars in a way that works for me--and I'm so excited about the audience you've built through PNP. It sounds like you might head back to Seattle, but you're always welcome up here in Massachusetts, too! :) Can't wait to read more of your journey, and am cheering you on!
Thank you, Kate! My Kate’s parents live in the Cape and she grew up in Wayland/Weston, so we do come to Mass! I keep meaning to reach out to you for virtual coffee to pick your brain about your business and ways to collaborate. Once the dust settles a bit, I will! Thank you as always for your support. I appreciate you!
So fun that you make it out to mass and that your Kate grew up in New England. I'd love to have a virtual coffee and chat collaboration and offer any support I can (or just be an ear to hear!) Take care and looking forward to continuing to cheer you on.
All the Kates from Massachusetts 🙌
Cheering you and Kate on, wherever you go and whatever comes next. Last year, I actively discouraged my niece from applying to UT for her doctoral studies, knowing how Texas treats trans people like her. Ever since, I've been pondering the question of why I'm giving my own labor to that same UT system. I'm glad you've found the right answer for you and hope to find my own with as much honesty and sensitivity as you've shown in that essay.
Thanks so much, Diana! Yes, it's a hard thing for all of us Texas educators to grapple with. I think there are reasons to stay and fight, to flee, or to hide. All are appropriate forms of self-preservation, depending on one's circumstances. Thank you for your support!
I'm far more likely to stay, at least for a few more years. I have all the cishet privileges that ease the friction, plus the ability to live where I love (New Mexico) and only commute into TX on the days I'm in the office. Plus I do believe I can make a difference for my students. All the same, the dysfunction is real, scary, and growing worse. I have only respect for your decision and expect to see more such moves in the future.
Hi Jenn and firstly thank you for your kindness, generosity and the inspiration you’ve provided to a random bunch of academic strangers across the globe via this list. I’ve found solidarity and the kind of values here that I cherish and that sadly, are all too often missing from our institutional academic spaces. As someone currently facing a ‘transformation’( ie redundancy) process, I can completely appreciate the kind of life changing decisions at stake here and why you made the choice to leave. It’s heartwarming and also heartbreaking to hear - so many brilliant people have now left my institution which is increasingly feeling like a shadow of its former self. It’s also terrible to see the extent to which reactionary politics are undermining and threatening progressive values. It’s happening less quickly in the UK than in the US but it’s there and it’s appalling to witness. My students are my hope for the future- they just don’t buy into autocratic politics and eventually they will overcome them. Meanwhile I wish you joy and salute your incredible courage and honesty. Thanks for being here - you’ve made a difference to a lot of people. ☘️
Bernadette! I’ve actually been thinking about you lately and imagining we are having similar feelings albeit different circumstances. It can feel so awful to have the situation be so out of your control. Sending my continued solidarity as you face redundancy at your institution. If you ever are in the space and feel like writing about it for PNP, the let me know! These “transformations” are happening here in the states too. No pressure! Just a thought.
Wow! I’m also currently (next week!) leaving my “dream” tenure-track job, and academia altogether, to move back to Seattle because I cannot feel at home as a queer woman in Texas. It really is a frightening and dislocating feeling to leave something you worked so hard to achieve, but I love the idea of working to think of yourself as a scholar rather than an academic. Best of luck to you!
Wow! This is amazing, Beth! Good on ya for getting out and moving on. Kate and I have decided not to move to Seattle, even though we’ll always have a soft spot for it. I’m about to take a pay cut for at least a couple years so we can’t move there while I get my business off the ground. :( so glad you and your partner are going there! I miss the Emerald City so!
Thank you for sharing, Jenn! Having the freedom to decide where to live is so important for personal well-being and happiness. I'm glad you are choosing that for you and your partner. I wish you the very best with your new endeavors and that you will enjoy your new found freedom from the academy!
Thank you so much, Suzanne. I appreciate the kindness and well wishes so much!
Wow. I can imagine how soul destroying living in a fundamentalist state must be. I wish you well!
Thanks, Travers. I appreciate the support!
Thinking of you, Jenn! This is such a big, brave move, and such a good reminder that there's more to life (so much more!) than the prestige of the institution that employs us! Wishing you and your partner the best as you figure out your next steps!
Thanks so much, Nancy! I appreciate the kind words and understanding. I owe you an email and will be in touch soon!
Jenn, thank you for sharing your journey in deciding to leave academia. I feel incredibly grateful that our paths crossed and that I got to learn so much from you. In my teaching, I use many strategies/lessons that I learned while TAing/AIing for you. Just yesterday I went back to some of the ideology slides from 307. And I think I already told you, but your PNP posts helped me navigate the writing process when I was in a huge time crunch to finish writing the dissertation and writing from another country and had no opportunity to have casual conversations with advisors or other grad students. In other words, I admire you. I look up to you. I am grateful I know you. And I am glad you are doing what is best for you and your family. Teaching in Texas has become a stressful nightmare –as if being on the TT wasn't already– and at least once a week, I walk out of the classroom thinking today is the day I will get reported to the DEI police. You trained a lot of good scholars who will fight the good fight on your behalf. (Abrazos desde West Texas <3).
Melissa! Thank you so much for writing. I'm so glad our paths crossed at UT and that you remain in the PNP community. I can't imagine how stressful it is to start your faculty career in this environment. It's already stressful enough to start a new job at a new institution! I'm going to be geographically further away, but I will virtually remain in your corner as you navigate the tenure system and Texas politics, as long as you will have me!
I am inspired by your courage, your honesty with yourself about how you're feeling and with us about your process for finding your own best path. This was not your dream job, you've revealed there are many other important aspects to a fulfilling career than just the job description or your immediate collaborators. It's brave to be so honest and to take action. Get after YOUR dream job, you can make it happen! And so refreshing (and needed) to hear that your dream job includes taking care of yourself and those you love. XOXO
I love this, Jennifer! You're totally right. I'm going to get after my dream job! Tomorrow I'm sharing my plans for the near future, and it's very much about creating my new dream job. Thanks for being a bright light in the PNP community. It's lovely to have your support.
Thank you for sharing what this process has looked like for you, Jenn. Incredibly helpful, and inspiring, to read (as are all your posts). Also, Stuart Hall 👍👍👍
I'm thrilled that you will be able to keep charting your own path, geographically now as well, and can't wait to follow your work as you do.
Thank you, Liz! It's been so lovely to have you in the writing circle and the broader PNP community. I appreciate you!
I had a different yet similar experience in shaking up who I thought myself to be. It was rocky and scary and definitely worth it. Brava for you and Kate and a new expansive beginning!
Thank you for sharing this, Lila. I appreciate it!
I am inspired by your bravery, but also a bit struck and disoriented by your decision. I’ve always seen myself as following in your footsteps thinking had I not met Kate, you, and all of the amazing people at UW Bothell and Seattle I might have never begun my own PhD journey. And now, here I am at the very end (defense is in June) and I’ve already relocated to a new state for the TT position! To see someone I look up to step off the path gives me a mixed feeling of awe and grief. I commend and resonate with your intellectualism untethered from the institution but I also feel an even stronger sense of duty to join the ranks of those who remain steadfast in the turmoil of academia, especially as others turn away. Your teaching through action leaves me a bit frustrated at the responsibility we all share to make this world a better place. Resistance remains necessary by any means. There is no simple resolve.
Meshell! Thanks so much for writing. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts on the news. I firmly believe there are great reasons to stay in academia. There are many challenges, but there are also many opportunities and affordances and we really do make an impact through our research and teaching. That said, I think there are many paths for PhDs to trod, and I want to help the folks in the trenches with you and those who are seeking to change the world through other means. Congratulations on the TT job and finishing up this June! Your students and colleagues are lucky to have you.
Jenn—Several thoughts from my 33 years in higher education in some form. One is an important lesson I learned when transitioning from a corporate job years ago. As a part of the transition, I hired a firm to help with targeting geographies and companies. A key lesson from working with that consultant was that I value lifestyle over career advancement. Based on that we decided to return to Colorado, which matched our lifestyle preferences. After having seen many executives exhausted and unhappy over the latest corporate move, I have felt validated.
The second thought is that there is ample life outside of tenured academia. How I am phrasing this is around the creation of “learningscapes.” Traditional higher ed academia overall is in a phase of accelerating demographic and preference decline. The games that institutions have played with tuition discounting, using low paid faculty as adjuncts, and trying to survive by milking the Boomer wealth transfer are coming to an end. But, there is still a growing demand for learning and some alternative ways are needed. In part this need is what we hope to address through our founding EduPartners.coop. That said, it’s not easy but a whole lot of fun.
Last point is that many tenured academics may not be all that happy anyway, I have seen this in my many years of interacting with senior faculty at our flagship institution in Colorado. They stick around because of the pension system but are miserable and too often never grow the skills to do anything other than collect their pensions. A wonderful piece on this from a German academic, Sabine Hossenfelder, says it better than I could ever image. https://youtu.be/LKiBlGDfRU8?si=Qivcg_MTGUSVLYKW.
Good luck and keep going!
Thanks for the thoughts and support as always, Doug! I appreciate it!
Happy to read about your breakthrough, albeit hard. You have so much to offer humanity. Leap and the net will appear. See you on the other side friend. Love, Heather
Thank you, my friend! I appreciate you.