Creating Your Path Forward
The most comforting thing about academia is probably the clear (if narrow) path: undergrad, grad school, postdoc, faculty position. Walk this path, you’re good to go. Yet, we all know tenure is getting less attainable every year. But what happens when you step off this conveyor belt?
Suddenly, there's no roadmap. No clear next step. No committee to tell you what "good progress" looks like.
This is both terrifying and liberating. You can go find your own opportunities, but also you have to find your own opportunities.
In this station, we'll tackle the fundamental question: how do you create opportunities when there's no established path? How do you find roles that don't exist in job boards? How do you identify problems you could solve before anyone else recognizes them?
We'll explore the mindset shift from credential-gathering to opportunity-creation. Away from waiting for permission to building your own platform. Away from fitting into existing structures and into designing your own.
Whether you're pursuing industry positions, entrepreneurship, or alternative academic paths, you'll develop frameworks for identifying, evaluating, and creating opportunities that leverage your unique expertise.