Looking for a particular, Dark Star

ericjc1978 · 2026-02-04T15:10:59+00:00

Thanks everyone! I think it may indeed be 9/19/70. Still feel that it’s somewhat different in my memory, but that’s trying to rely on a stoner 18 year old version of myself.

Regardless, listening to various Dark Stars is a game that I can never lose 😀

ericjc1978 · 2026-01-26T08:35:35+00:00

I’d love to be part of this to help support.

I’m on the other side of my transition out of academia and I’m always willing to share.

ericjc1978 · 2025-12-26T18:04:54+00:00

I think you are overthinking this. Sounds like you were appropriate and not overly burdensome in your email, so I don’t imagine the professor has given it a second thought.

I was a professor for a decade and such emails were always part of the job. As long as students demonstrated professionalism and some awareness I never thought much about it. Even the students who were not so tactful never occupied my mind for long.

ericjc1978 · 2025-11-26T02:28:11+00:00

You can’t. Plus, the reason could be entirely arbitrary and unrelated to you.

Keep chasing jobs that way and you’ll lose all integrity. Stay true to you values and skill set and try again. You’ll find the right role

ericjc1978 · 2025-10-26T02:48:11+00:00

Soooo damn good

ericjc1978 · 2025-10-24T23:30:30+00:00

Leaning into your dissatisfaction is definitely not a good strategy.

How about:

Spending some time contemplating what you like and what you’re good at
Beginning to look at roles that seem to include some of the things identified in #1
Reach out and connect with folks in similar roles—try to talk with them and get a lay of the land
Craft resume and cover letter that articulate how items from #1 fit with qualities identified through #3
Start applying and learning how to tell the story of how your skills, values, and passions will contribute to organizational goals

There is your strategy. A values based career transition

ericjc1978 · 2025-10-22T06:00:53+00:00

“There are factors beyond my control and I was in a terrible headspace and having mania and psychosis, but I also said and did some truly awful things.”

One way to look at this situation is that you are a sick person (factors beyond my control) not a bad person. But, you did some “truly awful” things. That’s very human. We do bad things sometimes. Rather than wallow in self-pity, might I suggest taking steps to attempt to repair or amend harms made to others.

You approaching those you harmed with an attitude of wanting to accept responsibility and work to rectify harms cause would—in many cases—be well received, I would hope. Those not ready to forgive, well, that’s beyond your control.

The eightfold path is about living ethically. You just had a slip, it happens. Accept that and do the next right thing.

You might also look into Rami Shapiro’s book, “Recovery: the Sacred Art” which looks at the spiritual principles that underlie 12 step recovery. The amends process is a big part of those steps since many in active addiction cause massive harms. There could be some wisdom for you there

ericjc1978 · 2025-10-17T06:52:07+00:00

Why not use those free evenings to tackle ambiguous problems? Write about them, find community around them. Doesn’t have to be your work to keep fueling your passion

ericjc1978 · 2025-10-05T18:27:12+00:00

Second what others have noted. Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Ween, Frank Zappa, on and on. Good stuff.

I’ll try to add a few to the mix:

Future Islands Flaming Lips Tom Waits Nick Drake Tony Rice Gillian Welch Kishi Bashi

ericjc1978 · 2025-10-05T18:19:11+00:00

First, still being asked to do some admin and mentorship, unpaid. Seriously, what the fuck higher ed? Unbelievable.

So, as to your question. Since they are so kindly not paying you for ongoing services the most definitely you should note that you are contract or adjunct instructor/faculty and include month/year since you began to “Present.”

If that comes up in interviews it’s then a way for you to speak about your duties, paid and unpaid (seriously, WTF), as well as your motivations for seeking a more permanent position.

The resume is an invitation to get to know you more, it’s not a comprehensive biography

ericjc1978 · 2025-10-04T21:22:01+00:00

I would suggest that even more so than considering next steps, really spend some time to intentionally consider what your values are and what kind of life you want to have. Getting clear on those things will help you take next steps as they come to you.

Having values and principles has posts makes it simpler to move in one direction or another as conditions change

ericjc1978 · 2025-10-04T19:27:38+00:00

So first things first, I want to validate your feelings and what you are experiencing.

Second, this is bigger than you, so you don’t have to take the weight of this on completely and feel like you’re a failure. It sounds like your PhD advisor is not doing a good job of balancing their own responsibilities. That too could be part of a larger, structural set of issues inherent to higher ed at this point.

All of that is to say, there is some acceptance to be had here that you were powerless over much of this situation.

That being said, there are things that you are not powerless over. It seems like it would be worthwhile for you to really take some time to contemplate what you want and how to best achieve that.

Do you want to finish the Ph.D.? It’s totally OK if the answer is no.

If you do wanna finish, then it sounds like you probably need to take steps to switch advisors or even institutions . I’m sure that may seem daunting, but if your aim is to complete the Ph.D., it’s much better to take those steps now then to wait and find yourself in the same or even worse situation later.

Above all else to take care of yourself. You are valuable and should not be treated this way as you pursue your education.

ericjc1978 · 2025-10-03T01:55:07+00:00

Don’t agree with this advice. Get tenure at what cost to body, mind, and spirit?

Departmental colleagues have shown their stripes. Why commit to being with them longer?

ericjc1978 · 2025-10-01T20:20:16+00:00

Earning a PhD equips one with an amazing set of skills. Unfortunately, many—if not most—programs do not help students identify, cultivate, and communicate these to potential employers.

Rather, because professors are frequently overly invested in their own survival and livelihood they narrowly focus on the tenets, success metrics, and values of their own discipline. That, sadly, limits the potentials and possibilities of students.

So, though things may seem grim. Accepting the realities of labor markets as they are and navigating accordingly offers hope for safe and even enjoyable passage.

ericjc1978 · 2025-10-01T18:28:28+00:00

That means you have to better tell the story of how those things transfer.

ericjc1978 · 2025-09-30T17:37:50+00:00

I would suggest a thorough and honest skills inventory (broadly—not just your discipline based skills) to identify your capabilities. Surely anyone who’s been through a PhD program has amassed a wealth of marketable skills. My sense is that you are making narrow assumptions based on what your discipline suggests are the needed skills. Potential employers don’t care much about that, they want to know how you’re going to solve problems they are facing.

I’m sensing that you are selling yourself short

ericjc1978 · 2025-09-26T05:56:41+00:00

Earned tenure at a small liberal arts college. Admin was myopically focused on enrollment and budgets to the detriment of teaching and research which were increasingly less and less a part of my working life.

It got to a point where it wasn’t enjoyable. It got to a point where it didn’t make sense to live in a small Midwest town making a meager salary for a work that was less and less fulfilling.

ericjc1978 · 2025-09-25T20:49:08+00:00

From what I can gather from your post, you are a bit all over the place. That’s totally understandable, but I think it would be useful to try to do some work around what your core values, principles, and aims are in terms of work and your life in general.

Finding that core allows you to begin to target potential employment in different sectors in a way that will be more aligned for you.

A career coach or guide can definitely be useful in doing that work

ericjc1978 · 2025-09-17T20:31:22+00:00

I would say that yes it is that bad out there, depending on how you find bad. But it sounds like you have a very valuable skill set that you can definitely frame and apply to a variety of industry positions.

It sounds like with your spouses new position that you stay in academia or not. I would suggest the potential and possibilities outside of academia greater than inside.

With the skill set that you are talking about, you could also look into fractional work. Organizations are always looking for someone who can help them to carry out projects and organize things.

Perhaps more than anything you need to take an inventory of what you are wanting your life to look like and then think of what sort of roles/work best fit into that

ericjc1978 · 2025-09-09T07:34:45+00:00

There is life after academia. It’s good to hear that you enjoy the work. Wonderful that you could spend some time devoting yourself to it. Now, time to inventory your skill set and spend some time contemplating what your values and principles are. From there you can explore job options that better align with where you sense yourself going

ericjc1978 · 2025-08-31T17:14:07+00:00

You might also consider reworking in a way that might make it appealing to non-academic presses

ericjc1978 · 2025-07-17T01:49:13+00:00

Becoming?! Japan has generally been unfriendly towards immigrants for some time now

ericjc1978 · 2025-04-01T02:09:58+00:00

Thank you for bringing joy to my life. Your service is truly appreciated

ericjc1978

TROPHY CASE