Season 2 Episode 01: Interview with Hello PhD

Recovering Academic

We’re back! This season, we will interview academics and recovering academics. We’re starting this season off with interviewing the hosts of Hello PhD, Joshua Hall and Daniel Arneman.

Hello PhD and the Recovering Academic share a common desire to talk about what no one talks about during your science training. We both hope that by talking about these issues out loud that people who feel isolated realize that they’re not alone.

When in Rome…

To make our guests feel at home, we brought the Hello PhD tradition of reviewing a beer on air to our podcast. We had to find a beer that was available in four different cities in three different states. The Ballast Point Brewing Company Unfiltered Sculpin’ Extra Hopped IPA (limited edition!) was up to that challenge. It’s definitely hoppy, but delicious.

It also had a sextant on the label, which was appropriate for our conversation.

How do you know when to break up with academia?

We invited Josh and Dan to talk on our podcast after Cleyde heard Episode 75: When Research Sucks. She asked (made) Amanda and Ian listen to the same episode. We all started thinking about how do you know when your research just sucks right now or if it’s a sign that you should leave academia?

How do you deal with the emotional aspects of leaving academia? Dara Wilson-Grant answers in Episode 27 of Hello PhD.

Academia can still be the right match for you. One way to tell? If you still have the enthusiasm. To hear what that sounds like, the Tap Root podcast has a great example with Siobhan Braybrook.

Sometimes your career path isn’t a straight forward exercise. Sometimes it’s more wayfinding than map-orienting.