Great essay, Eric. I can relate to a lot of what you write--as someone who walked away from a solid job and am now floating a bit, I get it. Good luck with this next chapter, both figuratively and literally!
Wonderfully written essay. It made me think of my own trajectory, would-be stockbroker, would-be mathematics professor, then abd philosopher, then would-be lawyer, then ordained monk, then returned to lay life and at age 38 working at a bookstore, about to meet the love of my life, return to academia and make the biggest contributions of my life, small as they were, to both science and education. And the bookstore was 37 years ago.
But what made all those endeavors possible was financial security- the scaffolding that supported all those billboards of career changes I put up. And now I am trying to give back: the final career change. There's a symmetry there somewhere.....
When young, we are the stars of the drama we are both writing and being written for us. When old, we no longer care a whit for ourselves, the drama has been written and read and shelved away,
That is an amazing career arc, Michael! I’m sure that all of those disparate experiences gave you unique perspectives and skills that contributed to what came after. I can only hope to be as fortunate 🙏
Great essay, Eric. I can relate to a lot of what you write--as someone who walked away from a solid job and am now floating a bit, I get it. Good luck with this next chapter, both figuratively and literally!
Thanks, Liz! All of us in this crazy post-academic diaspora can share our experiences and help figure out our next chapters together
Wonderfully written essay. It made me think of my own trajectory, would-be stockbroker, would-be mathematics professor, then abd philosopher, then would-be lawyer, then ordained monk, then returned to lay life and at age 38 working at a bookstore, about to meet the love of my life, return to academia and make the biggest contributions of my life, small as they were, to both science and education. And the bookstore was 37 years ago.
But what made all those endeavors possible was financial security- the scaffolding that supported all those billboards of career changes I put up. And now I am trying to give back: the final career change. There's a symmetry there somewhere.....
When young, we are the stars of the drama we are both writing and being written for us. When old, we no longer care a whit for ourselves, the drama has been written and read and shelved away,
That is an amazing career arc, Michael! I’m sure that all of those disparate experiences gave you unique perspectives and skills that contributed to what came after. I can only hope to be as fortunate 🙏