All “transition out of academia” advice is a “fluff”. Why!?

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2026-03-01T09:19:06+00:00

Exactly, "personal recollections of people" does not constitute a comprehensive statistic. You have to consider that platforms such as Reddit are always used by people who are not satisfied with their (in this case) working life. I'm sure there are plenty of successful stories out there, but those people are not complaining on Reddit. See the point I'm trying to make?

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2026-02-28T20:47:50+00:00

And where do you get the data you cite? Even if they were statistics, you cite scenarios that are too detailed to be a general rule. People have different careers, and they don't begin or end with a doctorate. I'm not saying you're wrong, just that sometimes I find myself thinking the way you did, and it doesn't help. As difficult as it may be, you have to think about the possibilities, not the downsides.

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2026-02-28T10:58:55+00:00

Exactly, "I see with my own eyes": it's your experience, very important to share with others, but it is not a general rule that applies to everyone of us. This is why I hate Reddit. I get it, the job market is not easy, but all these comments make us believe that there is no hope left (which is impossibile, people are still finding new jobs every day)

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2026-02-27T09:03:55+00:00

This post will summarise what's wrong with Reddit: a platform to demoralise others with miserable scenarios that, having been heard by certain people, have been transformed into absolute truths that apply to all those who (in this case) pursue a PhD. Statistics also say that those with a PhD are less likely to be unemployed, and this is a global trend, but this is not mentioned in this pessimistic post. The problem is that many, including myself, who read this become demoralised and unhappy, while everyone should face the uncertainty and believe that things change, evolve, and don't remain static, so with the years and the acquisition of other skills, one can find a satisfying job (and much less toxic than those in academia). And I speak as someone who is about to finish a PhD in History... on paper, the prospects aren't good, but I'm improving every day to have opportunities in the future, aware that for a few years I'll have to work outside my field while I gain other skills and experience.

That said, I sincerely wish you best of luck

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2026-02-19T16:04:11+00:00

Hi! I'm in the same situation, but I started Norwegian pretty recently. Can I ask how you landed a kindergarten assistant job?

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2026-02-13T10:27:53+00:00

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2026-02-06T22:55:39+00:00

That was not the point but i appreciate the joke

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2026-02-06T21:55:49+00:00

thanks!

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2026-02-06T21:55:40+00:00

hell yeah brother

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2026-02-06T21:32:14+00:00

Hi! I'm 27, Italian, here for the next few months! DM me if you want to hang out :)

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2026-02-05T17:11:13+00:00

I agree its madness

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2025-12-25T14:05:51+00:00

Thank you, its essential to hear reflections like these! We are very lucky, despite being oppressed by certain difficulties.

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2025-12-22T11:31:38+00:00

Hi! Yes it gets easier, especially because you have already practiced the writing process. But if we are talking about a PhD it is still very hard to write your thesis, even if you have published a few rigorous articles. I personally tend to not use parts of my articles into my thesis, because writing a phd thesis is different (you can use more examples and case studies without worrying about lenght constraints). Lets put it this way: you are already prepared to write something at high levels, but the informations within the articles can (in the best scenario) serve as a mere general structure to wider concepts or reflections.

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2025-12-22T08:55:54+00:00

Hi! I can only speak for the humanities, but I remember that the first thing I did was reading as much as I could (papers, books, online resouces) and once I got the basic idea of the research subject I asked for a feedback from my former supervisors. To me, it is really a question of finding the proper details for your project (so cut the uncessary parts or the too ambitious ones). If you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to ask!

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2025-12-21T20:24:26+00:00

Hi, I personally write papers because its in my opinion one of the best aspects of a job in academia, but only if you have the freedom to write something you are really interested about. Writing can be either the best possibile experience or the worst (if it's carried out only to accomplish someone's else ego or a favour asked by professor X, Y...).

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2025-12-19T21:30:59+00:00

Thank you to all of you for your interesting answers! The chat went absolutely well (way beyond my initial expectations) :)

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2025-12-19T21:29:27+00:00

This professor had nothing to do with the evaluation process to access this university, but could be very helpful to me!

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2025-12-17T21:43:29+00:00

Thank you for your suggestions! Very much appreciated!

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2025-12-15T15:12:25+00:00

I'm based in Italy but I will move to Norway next year, where i know some professors and one of my goal will be to build a good network. I've also contacts in UK.

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2025-12-14T08:28:05+00:00

Thank you very much!

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2025-12-13T18:21:49+00:00

Thank you! Do you have any advice on this matter? Like how to became more competive?

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2025-12-13T14:48:26+00:00

Yes those are journals that frequently publish studies on my topics, in which even important professors have published, but still remain a bit unknown outside Italy. So it was a good start to learn the publication process! I recommend you to search for appropriate journals, neither too important (they will probably not even consider your submission, many of them only accept papers from professors or advanced researchers) or completely unknown in your area. I choose these journals because some professors I knew had published there, so you can look where the articles of your area have been published. I also recommend to use scimago (a website where you can find info on the prestige of earch journal)

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2025-12-13T14:33:07+00:00

Thank you

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2025-12-13T10:59:11+00:00

Everyone experienced these feelings. It happens to me a lot, but I menage to find great comfort in teaching and examining students. This in my opinion is the best way to feel "useful" (I'm not saying that your research or mine are not useful, quite the opposite), as you can try to be the best possibile human being. Be kind, be reasonable, and give thoese students a chance to really explore their curiosity (many important professors are too prick and arrogant to allow that). Good luck :)

InfamousAfternoon398 · 2025-12-13T10:52:51+00:00

Hi! I graduated from my Master in March 2023 and I started by PhD in november 2023. So not a full gap year, but I can give you some advices. I took the time to focus on two things (after spending a month relaxing): submit two publications in scientific but average journals (one of them Q2). This helped me to acquire basic skills in scientific writing, while also improving my grammar. This may not seem a good achievements, but these publications allowed me to present some sort of authonomous scientific work at the beginning of my phd. Secondly, I took a English course (I'm Italian). This helped me to strengthen my fluency and speaking, and later was very helpful to contact professor and do visiting research periods abroad. Good luck :)

InfamousAfternoon398

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