One of the biggest questions you get asked after you submit a PhD is- “so what’s next?”
For me the answer is both extremely straightforward and completely complex… As I started working full time six months ago, I am not in the job hunting stage that many post-phd submitters are in. I really enjoy my job and I am learning so much so I have no intentions of moving on any time soon. However, my plans are not just my ‘9-5’ (like many jobs, market research is not 9-5), I am wanting to keep my fingers in as many pies as I can!
Perhaps this is due to the PhD impacting my ability to not be busy (a topic I am going to write about in a future blog), but it is also due to the fact that I am not really sure what I want to do long term. So currently this means continuing to mark and teach online (if my contracts are renewed), academic researching / supervising research students, and continuing to grow this blog.
This gives me the best of four worlds; market research allows me to be curious, to experience ‘corporate life’, to network, to advance my research skills, improve my data visulisation, and the stability of a full-time job and all that comes with that (holidays, sick leave etc.). Marking and teaching online allows me to continue expanding my knowledge in psychology, to improve my editing skills, to stay associated with my uni, and I genuinely enjoy teaching. Continuing to conduct academic research and supervise research students allows me to advance my academic research skills (which is vital and I believe will set me apart in market research), allows me to keep publishing in peer-reviewed journals, and allows me to research in areas that genuinely interest me. Finally, this blog is my creative outlet, it is my chance to do exactly what I want, when I want, and meet so many amazing people doing it.
So while I will be busy- I will definitely be having a lot of fun!
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