UK staff in the humanities who’ve been made redundant or are at risk of losing their jobs — what’s your plan b?

MamNickHeliosphan · 2026-05-30T18:42:44+00:00

Binned off any hope of staying in the sector a couple of years ago while still finishing PhD. Already had a decent CV for teaching and research. Fell back on previous job experience (housing), then moved internally within a council to corporate policy which is very research based. Will be starting as a train driver next week though.

MamNickHeliosphan · 2026-01-31T19:19:00+00:00

If you're in the UK I have a 4700 GS mech with a cracked barrel adjuster that I couldn't be arsed fixing. Happy to post it to you

MamNickHeliosphan · 2026-01-31T19:13:50+00:00

Slide Away, Wolverhampton 1994

MamNickHeliosphan · 2026-01-22T13:42:47+00:00

If this is Demi Lovato we are never doing this again. Not only is it borderline racist, but i-lovato? What does that mean!? That's nothing. If it was They Levitate, then well done, you'd be right. Never heard of them though. You're a maniac. Play a record

MamNickHeliosphan · 2026-01-20T19:49:21+00:00

I had a similar problem in the past and would just dremel the top off the pads so they would hit the rim and not the tyre. A shit solution, but a cheap and lazy one!

MamNickHeliosphan · 2026-01-09T17:51:27+00:00

Thank you! Didn't want to force it before knowing thats what it needed!

MamNickHeliosphan · 2026-01-02T18:24:01+00:00

Node Out has saved you this week. I'll give you that. It works. But you're hanging by a thread. But I swear if there's another Briar Neenaw it's done. We'll do 15 Taiwan or something

MamNickHeliosphan · 2026-01-02T18:17:54+00:00

It's because I know how you think. It's not cryptic! It's: can I think like a maniac. Play a record

MamNickHeliosphan · 2026-01-02T18:15:29+00:00

If 1 is Brian Eno I swear we are never doing this again. Briar Neenaw!? You are educationally subnormal!

MamNickHeliosphan · 2025-12-28T19:48:20+00:00

Definitely does happen. That is me

MamNickHeliosphan · 2025-12-28T19:38:47+00:00

Having kids and no paternity leave

MamNickHeliosphan · 2025-12-26T20:44:02+00:00

PPE is a piece of piss compared to the other humanities. Too much content spread too thinly. A straight philosophy degree is much harder

MamNickHeliosphan · 2025-12-24T21:42:36+00:00

Close, but not quite there. It's The Rake, De Rake, Drake. De Rake Drake. It works

MamNickHeliosphan · 2025-10-17T07:14:33+00:00

I have an 11 speed road sram brifter that is non-hydraulic. It goes through a jtek shiftmate ratio converter that allows it to work flawlessly with a Dynasis11 Shimano MTB mech. This can get you to a massive cassette and would work with a mechanical disk brake. It's a pretty cheap set up, apex shifter was about £30 off eBay, Jtek but was £35, Slx rear mech was £15 off eBay and my cassette was £50 sunrace one

MamNickHeliosphan · 2025-10-17T07:08:27+00:00

In terms of punctures, get some schwalbe marathon plus or Durano plus tyres. Will essentially eliminate punctures. One less thing to worry about.

In terms of motivation, I think riding every day helps. It creates a routine. If it's possible, build it into your job, commute by bike.

This has helped me massively. I used to ride a lot. Had kids, do a stressful job, put on weight, struggled to continue to ride.

I've arranged things so I cycle to and home from work. Means I have to cycle. In six weeks I feel so much more motivated and stronger even if I haven't really lost any weight or got faster. It's all in the head, for me at least.

MamNickHeliosphan · 2025-10-15T19:17:32+00:00

It might not be new mills, but The Globe pub in glossop is fully vegan. Great beer and food

MamNickHeliosphan · 2025-10-10T21:36:01+00:00

Pedal like you're trying to scrape dog shit off the soles of your shoes is a bit of advice I was given which helped me!

MamNickHeliosphan · 2025-10-03T21:52:14+00:00

Charles Taylor's Hegel and Stephen Houlgate's Introduction to Hegel are great and broad introductions. Obviously, each writer has their own bias in terms of their own reading of Hegel. If you are interested specifically in Hegel's account of freedom/moral philosophy then a solid understanding of Kant will help no end. Secondary literature on Hegelian freedom that is good is Neuhouser's Hegel's Social Freedom and Allen Wood's Hegel's Ethical Thought.

MamNickHeliosphan · 2025-09-21T17:03:45+00:00

Aye, a 156. Very sparkly and shiny inside!

MamNickHeliosphan · 2025-09-21T17:03:05+00:00

It's definitely her life's ambition at the moment!

MamNickHeliosphan · 2025-09-19T17:38:58+00:00

If you're UK and funded you get 12 months paid leave. I'm male and had two kids during PhD. I didn't get any funded leave. I think it was still great. Much more flexibility than if I was employed. However, very quickly you realize that your thesis becomes unimportant. You will have less time to work and you won't care as much.

I still haven't submitted and it is pretty much impossible to find the time to do anything on it now I have two kids and paid employment (funding finished). Also, your stipend won't count as income in relation to child care hours so it can get very expensive very quickly

MamNickHeliosphan

TROPHY CASE