I don’t spend much time looking at LinkedIn, but I’m glad I did today. ‘Why your next career step could start with putting your hand up‘, was the eye-catching headline by Gwendoline Cazenave, CEO of Eurostar. You might reasonably ask why I, a semi-retiree, would even think about career steps. But that simply indicates that you don’t know me.
But never let someone else define what is possible for you.
(Gwendoline Cazenave, Eurostar CEO)
My first thought was the recollection of an indescribably trivial annoyance yesterday. Nothing whatsoever to do with careers, so let’s gloss over that for now.
You Can’t, You Don’t Want to …
And then my mind went back to my well-intentioned, but hardly confidence-instilling mother.
- ‘Don’t be disappointed if you haven’t passed the 11+.’ (I not only passed it, but got a county scholarship.)
- ‘You’d better do secretarial training in case your PhD doesn’t get you a job.’ (I didn’t actually finish my first PhD. I did take typing evening classes, which were useful, and a librarianship diploma which kept me employed for four decades. But I was never a secretary.)
- ‘I never thought I’d see you pass your driving test.’
- ‘I couldn’t imagine you having children.’
- ‘You can’t go on being a church organist when the baby arrives.’ (Three babies, four consecutive organist posts …)
- ‘You don’t want to apply for a post in the USA.’ (I did want to.) I went for interview and had a fantastic couple of days, but in the end, they didn’t want me. Not a problem, because then …
- I studied for, and graduated with a PhD, mid-career. I didn’t tell my mother until I’d finished it. I couldn’t face another ‘you can’t’.
The ‘Bloody Librarian’ Rebels
Things did change. I don’t remember precisely when I was jokingly told, ‘You’re a bloody librarian, woman.’ But I had a PhD, and was fortunate in getting research partial secondments.
To whichever unidentified academic who once asked my then line-manager, ‘What does a librarian want with a PhD?’, I would invite them to examine my publications record. I think I can demonstrate what I’ve done with my doctorate!
Another academic asked a subsequent line-manager what a librarian wanted with a teaching diploma. Do I have to spell it out? (The answer begins with ‘T’ …)
So, you can maybe begin to see why Cazenave’s LinkedIn article struck a chord. But, as I mentioned, I’m semi-retired. What this basically means is that I’m paid to do what I love, one and a half days a week, and I do it anyway, as circumstances permit, the rest of the time. But, because it was initially a struggle to establish myself as an equal academic – albeit only part of my working week – I feel as though I forced that door open, and am going to keep my foot in the door as long as I possibly can. I’m a retired librarian, but I consider myself only a mid-career academic.
I Will Not be Told What I Cannot Do
Cazenave’s article is primarily aimed at folk still going up in their careers. I have to accept that this is not me. But I keep an eye open for interesting shorter-term opportunities. I’m fortunate to have had two fellowships, at the Universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh. In today’s financially straitened times, I worry for younger people, struggling for a foothold. I realise that there are probably those who think I’m old, have had my turn, and should move aside. But no, I have this expertise … so why not go on using it?
Moreover, I will not submit to age stereotyping, particularly when you consider that there’s as big a gap between 68 and 90, as there is between 18 and 40. There is no ‘typical’ older person.
- I will not be consigned to a diet of daytime TV.
- I generally submit to rigid timetables out of kind consideration to others who need them. But my research is still important! It’s incredibly frustrating to have to leave my laptop mid-paragraph, or be told I’ve taken too long finishing a sentence. I don’t consider I’m being selfish to express this opinion.
The Takeaway
Autobiographical narrative is more helpful if some helpful advice comes out of it, so here’s my advice!
- Cazenave is right. Never let other people define you.
- Never accept limitations that others attempt to impose on you.
- Pick your battles. I accepted that I was stuck with librarianship, but I pivoted to adjust as much of my career as I could. And now, I have to accept that I am not as free as the proverbial bird. But I don’t have to live by a rulebook!
- Decide what steps you need to take to reach your ultimate goal (preferably!)
- This may feel like a cop-out, but I think it’s important. Identify what would be an acceptable and fulfilling compromise, for you. I wasn’t realistically going to be able to get a full-time job in academia, if I couldn’t relocate and had (still have) caring responsibilities.
- If an opportunity presents itself, and you find yourself hesitating, ask yourself this one question:- If I pass this up, am I likely to regret it later? That, rather than other people’s opinions, should be your deciding factor.
So … ‘Never let someone else define what is possible for you.’ Yesterday, I was informed that I shouldn’t have spent five minutes having a coffee after unpleasant dental treatment. Says who?
I’ve just been to Edinburgh today, for a joyous semi-retired research day at the National Library of Scotland. Yesterday, for a few hours it looked as if this might be impossible. I can’t tell you the joy when I realised that my plans could go ahead.
Having done my research at NLS, did I have coffee afterwards? Hell, yes! Fate even found me a research friend to have coffee with.
