Making choices that work for you
with Dr Jill Shepherd
Jill is a stem cell scientist who lectures at the University of Kent.
A defining time in her professional life was the period she spent working in science policy development at the Human Tissue Authority. She was working on policies related to the storage of stem cells from cord blood.
About Jill
I met Jill when she was a PhD student at the University of Sheffield. Since then she has worked in Australia as a Postdoc, and back in the UK, she had a period as a consultant working on a bioinformatic project for stem cell science.
One of her principles in guiding her professional life has been to make choices that work for her. This shows great strengths and wisdom, as so many of us make choices that we think we should make, and which may not be really choices that work for us. Connecting to what we need in our lives owe to be an anchor in our professional and life decisions, but it is not always what guides us.
Find Jill here: https://www.kent.ac.uk/biosciences/people/1026/shepherd-jill
My meandering reflections and some coaching questions for you to ponder based on my discussion with Jill
Who do you need to have in your circle of mentors?
Jill shares an example of someone who was her boss, but also became a mentor. Jill had shared openly with this mentor her career intentions; she could have easily hidden these intentions, but she chose honesty and transparency.
Whilst this person came from a very different professional background, it was someone who paid attention to what Jill’s professional needs were and provided opportunities that were able to get Jill to increase her professional experiences, stretching her learning within the context of her role.
Mentors don't have to be people who are following exactly the same career trajectory as you. They are just people who will offer new ideas, additional opportunities, and different ways of thinking about your career. Mentors can offer alternatives to the context you are in. When lucky, a PhD supervisor or PI can also be a mentor, but it is not always the case. The needs of your direct research supervisors and line managers for your research outputs can make it challenging to build a mentoring relationship focused on your career future, not on the research output of your project.
It can be immensely valuable to get an external perspective through a mentor that is not linked directly to your research work.
You don’t need to wait to be offered a mentor or to become part of a formal mentoring scheme. If there is someone who you admire, appreciate or want to learn from, just ask them! Tell them why you would want to get them as mentor and agree with them what the relationship could look like.
o Who is the mentor you would like to have?
o Get started and ask them!
How do you want to thrive at each career stage?
With short term research contracts, you may feel your career is all over the place or the choices that you make are less than optimal. Maintaining an attitude where you thrive to learn in each role helps create positive mindsets to better navigate the research space. You may have to choose role/ positions that are not what you really wanted but the circumstances mean that you may need to take a role. Positions are never forever, so taking each role with the mindset of “What will I learn from this? How can I take something from this experience into the next role?” is an excellent way of making the most of things. Mindset matters immensely on how you experience your circumstances.
o What are you doing right now to make the most of your current role?
o If you are not, what’s missing for you to feel that you are gaining something new form this experience?
What’s your “thing”?
It can be difficult to know what to decide in navigating research careers. Having something to hang on decisions can really help. In the case of Jill, her interest in stem cells has been the thread that has linked all the opportunities she has taken in navigating her career. Do you know what “your thing” is? Maybe you do not know yet and it is absolutely fine. Try to consider in discovering “your thing” what it is that you really really like? It may not need to be a specific topic. It could just be about a specific environment. It could be a strong value that anchor your choices. Being aware of what it is that really motivates you is part of the process of establishing an anchor that can help you make career decisions.
o What has been the anchor that has shaped the career decisions that you have made up until now?
o Is this still working for you or has your motivation shifted to something different?
o What is the one thing that connect everything that motivates you?
Can I ever go back to academia if I leave?
Many researchers who are considering leaving academia agonise on making the decision. One of the questions often asked is whether if you do leave academia, you can ever come back. I don’t think there is any rule on this.
What is clear from the experience described by Jill is that preparing to return to academia makes a massive difference on whether or not you can return. In her case, Jill was very strategic in laying the groundwork to be able to return to academia. She built relationships and bridges through volunteering some teaching.
If you leave academia and work for a number of years in other roles, the doors back into academic role is absolutely possible, but you will need to prepare your return. Additionally, you may not walk back straight into the role that you would dream to have. It may take some steps. In the case of Jill, the first step has been to start with a teaching focused lectureship position. She is now able to slowly shift towards creating new research opportunities.
o How would it feel to think that each career step does not close other avenues and that going back is always possible?
o How do you deal with exploring alternative routes? What would be your side door to enter into a role that on first impression is closed to you right now?
Choices for dual career couples
Many researchers have partners who are also in research careers. Managing two research careers add a challenge to the life of researchers.
Building the resilience to sustain the strain that research careers may bring on personal relationship is part of important conversations researchers will need to have.
o How open are you in your conversations with partners about what will come next in your research career?
o What needs to be openly discussed about what you want next in your career, and how will this fit within the aspirations of your partner/ family?
“I think it’s really important to approach your research from a perspective of what can I learn from this experience.”
