career • 01 December 2025
Besides being the end of a calendar year, it has also a year since I defended my dissertation, earning my Doctorate of Education, so I've been reflecting on where I am and what I'm working on in a professional capacity.
I spent the beginning of 2025 throwing myself into my editing and writing coaching business, which has bloomed with some interesting projects and cool collaborations, but haven't quite managed to get to the level of consistent FT income. With the reserves running out (and the government screwing us over in terms of health insurance), I've been applying to jobs pretty consistently for the last couple months, looking at options for career growth and financial stability, and trying to leverage my new degree and scholarly work that's also been happening.
In that scholarly vein, at least, I feel like I've been pretty productive: having a paper accepted that I then presented at the Philosophy of Education Society conference in March (and should be published relatively soon), putting together a panel for the North Eastern Philosophy of Education conference in October, co-authoring a chapter in an upcoming edited book about the prevention of educational displacement, and another panel for the Carnegie Project on the EdD (CPED) Convening, as well as continuing to participate in sessions of an international network of Hannah Arendt scholars. My friend and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research and I also got a presentation accepted for next year's AERA, and I'm waiting to hear back about a work-in-progress and panel proposal for next year's PES meeting.
The job application process in 2025, though, is a pretty depressing experience, especially when I don't fit neatly into the kinds of categorical boxes that are presented on job boards. While I try not to give into pessimistic attitudes in general, the outlook that repeated ghostings and rejections can create doesn't support a whole lot of optimism. So in order to defend against a negative outlook, knowing that I'm already fighting an uphill battle as person without a neat, straight-line career trajectory and appropriately point-plotted academic resume, I have been reflecting on my "ideal" job characteristics. Since I can't really count on a job title that reflects exactly the kind of work I'm suited and qualified for, and knowing that I fit best in oddly shaped, not-exactly-one-thing-or-another, "unicorn"-type space, I figured I'd share the list here as well, in case anyone I know (or who they know) is on the lookout for the kinds of talents and skills I bring.
I want to work...
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with generally kind, smart, supportive people
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in a space that supports and encourages scholarly work, or at least doesn't hinder it
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where my tasks and activities are generally different day-to-day; doing the same thing every day would drive me bonkers
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in a role and environment that can handle critical thinking and questioning of "the way things are done"; open to experimentation, innovation, and creativity
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in a role where I can work in a team but also on independent pieces; where I have the opportunity to lead, but also to learn from others
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where my strategic vision and big ideas are welcomed; I like planning and don't mind detail work, but I can't do it all the time
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in a way that positively influences people, communities, educational practices, etc.--where building relationships is appreciated
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in a space that is able to put my broad knowledges to use and continues to expand my learning
I'm also open to relocating, preferably to another urban area, and remote work is cool too.
An "expert" in nothing & everything
As a voracious reader my whole life who loves to learn, my informal education reaches as wide as my varietal academic education. My Bachelors is in Interdisciplinary Studies, focused on English, Marketing, and Business/Entrepreneurship; my Masters is English Composition, but with scholarly work in linguistics, legal writing, and business writing in addition to academic writing and pedagogy; and my EdD in Interprofessional Leadership focused on the cultural and social foundations of education, leadership, systems and change in organizations, program evaluation, and philosophy of education to name a few aspects--I've covered a lot of academic ground!
As an editor, I get to read about a wide range of primarily education topics and issues, and as Managing Editor of an urban education journal for the last 6 years, I've learned a lot about academic publishing and the specifics of urban education. When I worked as an entrepreneurship advisor, I ended up learning about all kinds of disciplines, from low-orbit satellite systems to the sustainability problems with fast fashion. I wrote grant applications and reports, had conversations about nonprofit funding, created curriculum for high school and university students, put together presentations and workshops and tours for nearly every kind of group...
In general, I love being a polymath, always learning and exploring -- but it's definitely not an easy way to live in a society like ours, where the preference is often for experts with deep knowledge in one specialized area. Although being a relationship-builder with a wide range of skills and knowledge is often quite useful in most situations and workplaces, it often feels like a less-sought-after set of qualities in many cases.
