The same old question about academic identity
Hi folks! I’ve been on this channel for sometime, wondering about my own experiences with academia. Some background, F37, in a PhD program, social science discipline. I have a child but I go to school in a different state (in the U.S.) than from my husband and child. I’ve recently been pondering about my own identity as an academic, or if I ever have one. Before starting PhD, I had a few jobs, including teaching in international schools overseas, edTech, and adult training. I also did a master before starting this PhD, and I was confident that I wanted a PhD until recently…people in my program and discipline talks about academia like that’s the only thing they know. And they all have strong identification with being a professor or a researcher. I’ve never had that feeling, even when I decide to apply for grad school. I just have some questions and wonderings about the world that I want to figure out. Now I question if I was too naive ( and never consider the sunk cost of going to school versus job prospect).
So I wonder, for those who made the pivot out of academia, did you ever had an identity of academics? How was the identity transitioning when you were going through career pivoting and what about your identity now? How do you define yourself now that you are in industry?