Oliver Bogler, Chief Executive Officer of Night Science Institute and Strategic Advisor at Barnacle Labs, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“The academic calendar has a rhythm most people outside universities don’t fully appreciate.
September through May is relentless. Teaching, committees, grant deadlines, student crises, department obligations, performance reviews. The structure is externally imposed and largely non-negotiable.
And then June arrives.
For some faculty, summer feels like relief. For others – and I hear this more than you might expect – it feels disorienting. The scaffolding drops away, and what’s left is the question you’ve been too busy to ask.
‘Is this still what I want?’
Not the science. The science is usually still there, still genuinely interesting. The question is about the shape of the career around the science. The obligations that have accumulated. The version of yourself you’ve become in order to survive the pace.
Summer is the one stretch of the academic year when mid-career faculty have enough breathing room to notice that something feels off.
Most push that observation back down and spend the months trying to get ahead on fall deliverables.
A few decide it’s worth paying attention to.
If you’re in the second group this summer – I’d be glad to talk.”
Other articles featuring Oliver Bogler on OncoDaily.