I was well funded during my PhD in Canadian Literature at UBC, and was able to develop a strong C.V. by the time I graduated in 2008. Following my PhD I held two postdocs, at the U of A and McMaster, and had my dissertation accepted for publication with Wilfrid Laurier University Press. I knew going in that not all of my colleagues would get tenure-track positions, but I believed that if I worked hard enough I would be one of the successful ones. It didn’t occur to me that other avenues were even worth exploring. After a couple of unsuccessful years on the job market, my doctoral supervisor and friend told me, “there are other lives, and they are good lives.” In that moment her words made me angry—it felt as if she had given up on me.

I eventually realized for myself the toll that the search for an academic career was taking on me and my husband. We did not want the place we would spend our lives to be dictated by my job; we didn’t want to put my career before our family. We decided to move home to Edmonton. I would explore other career opportunities, and focus on my creative writing.

I am now the Lead Instructional Designer for an eLearning development company, a career that uses my writing, research, and teaching skills, and which I find challenging and fulfilling. I am able to work part time in order to be home with my toddler. My first book of poetry/family memoir is forthcoming with NeWest Press, and I have been able to devote time to a number of other creative projects. We live in a city we have chosen, close to family and friends, and are open to whatever other possibilities the future may hold.

While I am very happy with the path my career has taken, I still sometimes feel as though I have to justify it to my academic friends. In my experience the culture of the PhD program perpetuates the falsehood that anything other than a tenure-track position is a failure. I wish that as a student and a postdoc I had been more open to exploring other careers, and less judgmental of colleagues who chose a different path. I now remember my former supervisor’s words with gratitude—there are other lives, and they are indeed good ones.

I was well funded during my PhD in Canadian Literature at UBC, and was able to develop a strong C.V. by the time I graduated in 2008. Following my PhD I held two postdocs, at the U of A and McMaster, and had my dissertation accepted for publication with Wilfrid Laurier University Press. I knew going in that not all of my colleagues would get tenure-track positions, but I believed that if I worked hard enough I would be one of the successful ones. It didn’t occur to me that other avenues were even worth exploring. After a couple of unsuccessful years on the job market, my doctoral supervisor and friend told me, “there are other lives, and they are good lives.” In that moment her words made me angry—it felt as if she had given up on me.

I eventually realized for myself the toll that the search for an academic career was taking on me and my husband. We did not want the place we would spend our lives to be dictated by my job; we didn’t want to put my career before our family. We decided to move home to Edmonton. I would explore other career opportunities, and focus on my creative writing.

I am now the Lead Instructional Designer for an eLearning development company, a career that uses my writing, research, and teaching skills, and which I find challenging and fulfilling. I am able to work part time in order to be home with my toddler. My first book of poetry/family memoir is forthcoming with NeWest Press, and I have been able to devote time to a number of other creative projects. We live in a city we have chosen, close to family and friends, and are open to whatever other possibilities the future may hold.

While I am very happy with the path my career has taken, I still sometimes feel as though I have to justify it to my academic friends. In my experience the culture of the PhD program perpetuates the falsehood that anything other than a tenure-track position is a failure. I wish that as a student and a postdoc I had been more open to exploring other careers, and less judgmental of colleagues who chose a different path. I now remember my former supervisor’s words with gratitude—there are other lives, and they are indeed good ones.