Profile: Russell
Key facts
PhD discipline: History
Area(s) of work: BBC archives; university teaching
Year of graduation: 1998
Date of Interview: 02/06/2008
Year of graduation: 1998
Date of Interview: 02/06/2008
Timeline
Russell - academic interview experiencesRussell recalls the preparation he undertook before academic job interviews.
Russell - adviceRussell discusses the rewards of an academic job, and the potential difficulties of securing one.
Russell - background to the PhDRussell provides some background to his PhD and the work he did before embarking on it.
Russell - career building during the PhDRussell admits to a general lack of career preparation, with the exception of his graduate teaching assistantship position.
Russell - coping with uncertainty during and after the PhDRussell talks about the moments of intellectual insecurity he experienced during the PhD, his financial worries whilst searching for academic jobs.
Russell - did friends and family encourage you to do the PhD?Russell recalls the supportive attitudes of friends and family.
Russell - did you do any paid work during the PhD?Russell explains why he didn’t seek any paid work during his PhD.
Russell - does your academic career live up to your expectations?Russell remembers how the initial struggle to secure full-time employment came as a surprise.
Russell - expectations of where the PhD might leadRussell talks about encouraging his own students to think earlier and more broadly about careers after their PhD than he did.
Russell - experiences of teachingRussell recollects how it took him a while to feel comfortable with teaching.
Russell - finishing up and moving onRussell revisits the stress of the final year of his PhD, when time and money were running out. He also recalls the manoeuvring he had to do for several years afterwards in order to secure academic work.
Russell - lecturer and Reader in historyRussell describes his current role as a lecturer/reader in history. He talks about his work environment and practices and his future plans.
Russell - networkingRussell considers that the benefits of networking for the sake of one's career are worth any initial sense of discomfort.
Russell - PhD experienceRussell feels that his PhD was worthwhile because it made an academic career possible, and was enjoyable in itself, though stressful too.
Russell - reasons for doing a PhDRussell recollects how his experiences of working outside HE made him want to return to academia.
Russell - role of a supervisorRussell recalls how his supervisor encouraged him to publish articles and helped him to continue teaching after completing his PhD.
Russell - securing part-time teachingRussell briefly explains how he accumulated teaching experience during his PhD.
Russell - what options did you consider?Russell discusses the alternative careers that he explored, such as school teaching and journalism.
Russell - what or who influenced your decisionsRussell tells how his supervisor encouraged him to publish after his PhD.
Russell - when did you start to think seriously about preparing for an academic career?Russell recollects his naivety about competition for academic posts.
Russell - would you have done anything differently?Russell considers a few things he might do, if he had his PhD time over again.