Category Archives: Careers

Resolving Your Way out of a Rut

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Athene Donald

I wonder how many of my readers have already broken their New Year’s resolutions, assuming they even bothered to dream them up in the first place. Daily visits to the gym and a diet excluding chocolate sound all very well … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Science Culture | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Improvising As You Go

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Athene Donald

Just occasionally one sits down with a new book, starts to read and a great sense of calm, of recognition and of identification with the words in front of you descends. It’s all too rare but is wonderful when it … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Why Athletics Resembles Academia

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Athene Donald

Today it’s four years exactly since my first blogpost appeared. Four years of having fun writing about different sorts of things: academic life, committee work and membership, the issues facing women and the joys and frustrations of working at disciplinary … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Metrics, Fulfilment and Career Trajectories

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Athene Donald

“More effort should be done on understanding people paths. We are too much focused on processes and structures.” JP Bourguignon #esof2014 I was struck by this quote I saw on Twitter from the ERC President Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, because of course … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Careers | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Thinking about the Pipeline

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Athene Donald

A PhD should comprise both education and training. It should not be slave labour or done in blindness about where it might be leading. But I fear these statements don’t always apply. In the research grouping in which I sit … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Science Funding | Tagged , | 35 Comments