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  • Home
  • Students
    • Get a PhD?
    • Find an advisor
    • Finish Dissertation
  • New Profs
    • Start Strong
    • Teach Better
    • Publish More
  • Scholars
    • Write for Impact
    • Find a great job
    • Avoid Burnout
  • About

Should I Get a PhD?

"Academia is the only place where a 9 to 1 vote . . . 

 Is considered a tie."

​Henry Kissinger is supposed to have said  something like this when he was the U.S. Secretary of State.  Like Einstein at the Patent Office, he was a great example of an independent scholar and thinker:  Forever curious, engaged, and making a unique impact without needing a 10-0 vote to do it.

But being an independent scholar can seem likely lonely work.  This is regardless of whether you are trying to transition in or out of a full-time academic gig, or whether you are a "think different" sort of a person who's currently a professor but who wants to contribute more in the role you're already in.  

Here's what's helped other independent scholars and thinkers.  These might also be ideas that can help  you keep the fire burning, build an empowering community, and find a new and unique super power -- whether you do it in the Patent Office,  the Oval Office, or your office.
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Communities and Tools that Might of Interest


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Share Your Insights and Ideas

What have you created or found that's been useful and could be helpful for other PhD students, new professors, or independent scholars?  ​
​
  • A pdf handout on teaching 
  • Tips on surviving grad school
  • Favorite career-advice articles
  • A paper submission checklist 
  • A list of inspirational quotes
  • A productivity aid you use
  • ​​​​The goal-setting system you use
  • Your most useful go-to websites
  • Helpful academic How-to articles
  • A method to keep perspective or manage stress

​Send an email to [email protected] if you have something you think would be useful to share with others on this website, or if you have ideas on how to make this more useful to you or your students.

Stay in touch


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