Eleven years ago, I moved from Australia to the United States. The move required me to look for a new job. I had completed my laboratory-based PhD a year and a half prior to this. During my study, I realised that a career in research was not for me. I…
Are you using the not only … but also construction correctly? Perhaps you waver between each element wondering if the balance or word order is right. It may not be too surprising to learn that its usage in academic writing is more often than not edited by Capstone’s team of editors in…
Did you stumble into academia or was your academic path well planned? What about your students? Have they become more strategic in light of increasing funding pressures? Can those already in academia help make the path less accidental? As your academic seniority grows, people often seek your advice on pursuing…
My mum always said that the best time to study was when you had young kids. I suspect this was because, once she had taken two semesters out of her undergraduate degree to have me, she was desperate to keep her brain occupied until I could read books and discuss…
The fact that women are under-represented in the higher ranks of academia will come as no surprise to those working in universities. Recent statistics by the Department of Education and Training (2016) show that, in Australia, more than half of all positions at the lecturer level are held by females;…
It is an all too familiar sight in a crowded lecture theatre to see the ambient glow of students’ laptop screens. Some diligent students may be taking lecture notes, but they may also be sneaking in moments to check their personal emails or scrolling through their Facebook feed. There is…
Referencing is a challenging part of academic writing. It’s slow and painstaking work, and mastering a referencing style takes time. To reference a piece of writing correctly, it can literally come down to the correct placement of commas and full stops. It’s no wonder then that many students opt to…
Student holidays and semester breaks are a lean time for those reliant on teaching income, as contracts do not extend into these periods. The lack of reliability of the work is obviously financially disadvantageous: in summer, one cannot live on sunshine alone, it’s difficult to acquire a mortgage based on…
Flexibility Working casually as an academic is somewhat flexible, particularly in research work, when hours can be put in around other commitments. ‘It was great at the time … I could work whatever hours fitted in with my family responsibilities. I could leave early to pick my daughter up from…
‘What are we going to do with you?’ said my supervisor, tapping at the table with his pen. ‘There’s no job for you here.’ I stared at my hands. I knew there was no job, nor the likelihood of a future job. In fact, I didn’t know if I even…