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May 21, 2026
End of An Academic Dream
Summary
Why do we build our sense of self around our academic work? What does it mean to pivot away from campus jobs to the alt-ac world? How does increasing academic fragility affect our opportunities both on campus and after graduation? In this episode we explore how the precarity of the academic job market changes our career trajectories, and the new paths we forge.
Guest: Dr. Fidan Cheikosman is the author of The End of an Academic Dream. She has a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Edinburgh. She is a neuroscience editor with Springer Nature.
Host: Dr. Christina Gessler is a writing coach and developmental editor for academics. She is the producer and show host of the Academic Life podcast.
Playlist for listeners:
- Chasing Chickens
- Is Grad School For Me?
- The Entrepreneurial Scholar
- Decoding The Academic Job Market
- Making a "Junk Drawer" CV
- Pursuing Life Abroad
- Hope for the Humanities PhD
- A Field Guide to Grad School
- Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD
- Leaving Academia
- The Emotional Arc of Turning A Dissertation Into A Book
- Contingent Faculty and the Remaking of Higher Education
- The Burnout Workbook
- Graduate School Myths and Misconceptions
- Understanding Career Services
- You Will Get Through This
Welcome to Academic Life, the podcast for your academic journey—and beyond! Please join us again to learn from more experts inside and outside the academy, and around the world. Missed any of the 300+ Academic Life episodes? Find them here. And thank you for listening!
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