Case study #2: How Tia Found Fulfillment Outside the Tenure Track

Apr 15

“This course and working with Chelsea changed my life. It helped me give myself permission to let go of the academic tenure track path. I'm so glad that I got out of higher ed when I did because it was on my own terms, and when I left, I knew what I wanted next. I’m also making more money outside of academia! My salary is about $20k more than what I was making before.”

Dr. Tia Frahm, PGP alum

After going through the Post-Grad Pathfinders course, Tia went from feeling bogged down by her tenure-track job to a new position that has her feeling younger, happier, and making significantly more money! Read more about her story below or watch the video below to hear her story in her own words.

Where was Tia in her career journey before joining Post-Grad Pathfinders, and how were things going?

Tia was in her 3rd year as an Assistant Professor when she joined Post-Grad Pathfinders. She was juggling the administrative challenges of directing a Master's program while simultaneously trying to establish her own program of research.

Listen to what she had to say:

“...I was hired in a tenure-track position… And I did not know what I was doing as far as my program prepared me for, I think, academia as a whole. It did not prepare me for the environment that I was in at my previous institution…

In that second year, I was directing our master's program in reading education and leading staff, leading other tenured faculty as a second-year person, which was very tricky.”

What was Tia feeling when she FIRST purchased the course?

Tia felt as if she were wandering aimlessly about. The struggle of trying to nail down her goals while also understanding her WHY left an emptiness she wanted to fill.

She says:

“I felt very floundery in where I was at. And more specifically, what exactly was my goal?…

Because I had had my dissertation, I tried to get pieces of that published, and it wasn't working. And so, on top of coordinating a program, I was also trying to get rooted in new research in a new place, things like that. And then COVID happened, and then everything was squishy. And so that's when I found your program.”

What results did Tia get out of Post-Grad Pathfinders and working with me?

“You have a gentle way of connecting and asking the questions that need to be asked. On top of that, though... You're not just asking arbitrary questions. You're actually getting to the heart of directional questioning.

“You're able to sift through what I'm saying and you're hearing what we're really saying, which, a lot of times, especially for me, it's not clearly articulated. And that part was very helpful.

And again, it felt like permission-giving. You're not giving permission, but you're helping us give ourselves permission. You were helping me give myself permission to let go of the academic tenure track.

And I'm so glad I got out when I did because it was on my terms. And also, when I left on my terms, I knew what I wanted next and what I needed next.”

What’s changed since completing the course?

Here’s a list of improvements Tia’s felt since she completed Post-Grad Pathfinders:

The confidence and direction to launch a new career path

“It changed our lives. We did a lot of work to get here, but it started with that reflection and really nailing down what it is, and now let’s go chase it.”

Permission to leave academia

“It felt like permission-giving. Like it is okay, and you’re not giving permission but helping us give ourselves permission. You were helping me give myself permission to let go of the academic tenure track path.”

A higher salary

“I’m also making more money outside of academia. We’ll just say it's $20k more than I was making before.”

Clarity of what should come next

“[Post-Grad Pathfinders] forced me to write things down and actually confront them in a way that I had to see them, which is not one of the things that I naturally do. I'm not a natural reflector. And so that was very good for me…really had me writing things down and actually doing that reflection and thinking about what is it that I really enjoyed doing and which aspects of my job that I found fulfilling that I enjoyed.

An exit strategy at just the right time

“I’m so glad I got out when I did because it was on my term, and also when I left, I knew what I wanted next, and I knew what I needed next.”

Joy and fulfillment in a new career

“Now I'm in a job that I really enjoy. I don't know if that word joy specifically sparked that, but that is what I had chased and found.”

What needed to change for Tia to get from where she was on the tenure track to this now joyful new position?

“I think it was two things. One, seeing it on paper and seeing what I wanted. But the other thing, too, was it wasn't... It was not a permission-giving thing, but it was an acceptance of you are not your job. You are more than what your job is, your job title.

I think a lot of us who worked really hard to get the Ph.D. go through programs funneling us into tenure track, academic-specific jobs. And that's really what we see, and I felt very stuck there.

And so it was that reflection piece and thinking about, what is it that I enjoy doing, and what do I know I do well? And then what I am successful at and then going and chasing that.”

Read more of Tia’s thoughts here and let me know if you resonate with any of them:

“And I'm just going to say this, I am 38 years old, and today alone, I had two people who were like, How old actually are you? I'm like, well, I'm 38. This is my 17th year in education. They're like, ‘No way.’ I was like, listen, when you love what you do, you reverse time a little bit. After you see somebody who's retired a year later, you're like, wow, you look so young. And it's like, Oh, because you found joy in your doing what you want to do… Because it physically changes you.

Being in a place where you're feeling burned out and over-committed and stressed and overwhelmed, it's not good for us.

And you mentioned those things. I could not have told you then that that's what I was because that was my first ten-year track job. And I just thought that's how it was.”

Chelsea here again: Tia is not alone in this thinking, is she?

You’re here reading this article, and I think that many of us are fed that story of- “this is just what you must do.”

And it's just not true. That's what I want people to know. It isn’t true.

I then asked Tia to share her thoughts on who might benefit from going through Post Grad Patherfinders, and she shared her response below.

Who else could benefit from taking this course?

“I think first-generation Ph.D. students. Because I am a first Gen. And was the only exposure I had to higher Ed was what I sought out in my program. And I'm going to reference... Something came out earlier this summer, I think it was, about economics professors and how 90 % of economics professors come from money or they have spousal support or things like this… And as a first year, I had to support myself. I didn't have a partner or a husband. You know what I mean?

My family were dirt row farmers. That's what we do. That education was valued, obviously, but entrance into academia was very hard for me… We are just fed that this is what it is. But we can do so much more. And as first generation person, that was something that I did not know. You know what I mean? I knew, but I had to do the reflecting, course, and coaching to get to that.”

Tia’s closing thoughts:

“I'm grateful, so thank you. Thank you for providing this stuff because it changed our lives. It did.

Now, we did a lot of work to get here, don't get me wrong, but it was starting with that reflection and really thinking and nailing down, okay, what is it, and now let's go chase it. And that has been really good.”

Check out the other case studies!

Is Post-Grad Pathfinders right for you?

If you’re ready to leave academia and the tenure-track path behind but feel lost, stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure of what to do - Post Grad Pathfinders is right for you.

This course was designed to help people in grad school and beyond build careers outside the tenure track. That includes grad students, post-docs, faculty, PhDs working outside academia, and more. If you’re struggling to leave academia behind, regardless of where you are now, Post Grad Pathfinders is for you.