i learned a lot from all the questions submitted during yesterday's #mlawebinar. it's equally cool and humbling to do work for an audience of which you are technically a part. #phdchat

just as career paths are rarely ever linear, so too is mentorship rarely unidirectional (one of my wonderful mentors, @Golde_Stanford, was the first one to point this out to me concretely). the more i engage in this work for others, the more i learn, too.

as scholars, we are meant to engage with the latest research, take account of the newest developments in our field, assess where things stand before we make our own intervention.

why not apply the same ethos to career pathways, on a collective but also individual basis? each new experience is new information; the "field" changes, so why shouldn't we constantly reassess where our interests lie, and where we're going?

we pride ourselves on being lifelong learners, taking account of new knowledge and growing as a result of it. why, then, do models for careers #withaphd so often remain so stagnant and monolithic? and why are we made to expect that our careers will be linear?

as @soniaaanayak emphasized yesterday, centering our whole selves and our well being allows us to more easily find and create solidarity with others based on shared values and/or experiences

this means, with regard to jobs, that we're all focused on finding the best fit for ourselves, rather than competing for the same set end goal that we were told was the be-all-end-all even though it speaks to us differently, or even not at all.

and so maybe with less forced competition and emphasis on individuality, we feel more comfortable supporting one another, and grad education takes small steps toward becoming more of an ecosystem built on collectivity, creativity, joy, and mutual care