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Difficulty writing your dissertation can be caused by fear about the future. Writing an academic career plan based on a business model can highlight areas that need work in your career planning. Do you want an academic career? Have you begun forming relationships with others in your field? This article will give specific information about how to clarify your career plan so that you can finish your dissertation with a clearer mind.
Don't Let Fear of the
Future Derail Your Dissertation Writing
When you think of your
career, do you feel excitement, apprehension, or dread? Or do you avoid thinking about it
altogether? One reason
that some ABD’s find themselves unable to complete their dissertation is fear
about the future.
Face Your
Fear
The best way to tackle a fear is to
face it head on. I like to
use the model of a business plan to help people look ahead in their academic
career. Business people write a
plan to convince themselves and others that their plan is reasonable and
doable. Furthermore, steps that are
written down are more likely to get accomplished.
Write an Academic Career Plan
Write your responses to each section
below. Don’t be too
critical or analytical. Aim
for a vision that is exciting to you.
The responses in italics are by a fictitious ABD.
- Academic Career Overview
- What do you hope to
accomplish in your career?
- I will
be a tenured professor at a small Midwestern Romance Language Department,
specializing in Romanian.
- Vision
- What is your vision of your
career? Be grandiose if
possible.
- I will publish one article a year, speak at
two conferences a year, and become known for my theories about teaching
Romanian. Students will clamor to
be in my classes. I will travel to
Romania every other year to study the dialects found in the Transylvanian
mountains, and publish a seminal piece in this area. My textbook “Readings in Romanian” will
be the gold standard in teaching Romanian literature.
- Market
- What is the market for your area of
specialization; what could you do to make yourself more
marketable?
- There are not many openings for professors
of Romanian, but my ability to teach French, Spanish and Italian, and my unique
knowledge of the Transylvanian dialect will help me get hired. I am willing to work in any area of the
country. I could also teach
Portuguese.
- Competitive Analysis and Strategy
- What are the specific
characteristics of the competition? How can you make yourself stand out from
the rest?.
- Competition is a problem, although I believe
that my ability to interview well, my great teaching skills, and my interest in
Romanian dialects will help me stand out..
I’m a little worried about recommendations – maybe I should talk to my
mentor about other relationships to cultivate within the department. I could get that friendly Italian
professor to read my latest draft of chapter one.
- Marketing and Public Relations
- How will you get
known?
- I need to attend more conferences and
network more. I noticed that there
was a post doc that I could apply for that would increase my prestige. Perhaps I should consider
it.
Create an Action
Plan
Your Academic Career Plan will
reveal areas that need more effort. Identify one area where you realize
you need to change.. What one small
step could you do immediately? The action step should be small and
doable. One small step, repeated many times, can reap big rewards.
For example, if you need to network more, spend 2 minutes tomorrow chatting with
a professor on your committee, or email someone about your work.
Monitor your plan over time: it will
change. Keep track of what areas
need attention, and tackle them a little at a time. It will pay big dividends in the long
run.
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