My Friend and I.

There were the two of us: I was the sense, she was the sensibility. We met fifteen years ago as second-year high school students, and we were close friends ever since. I think we were both sorts of gifted, hard-working and enthusiastic but there was one major difference between us.

How Did My Friend’s Career Path Look?

So, my friend’s story first. She attended the very best, mathematically oriented high school, and subsequently, she went for studies Theoretical Physics. Soon, she found that this discipline is close to her heart, and it was a mutual love. 

She was passing all exams with very good grades. During the summer breaks, she was building her career by attending internships and working as a stage in labs spread all over the place.

She graduated in time, within five years of study. Soon after that, she left for a prestigious institute in Heidelberg, Germany to pursue a PhD.

How Fast Did Her Academic Career Take Off?

Then, she graduated with a PhD within as little as three years. She even got a special acknowledgement for being the youngest graduate in her institute.

In the meantime, she solved certain fundamental research problems concerning pulsars. She published highly cited papers on this topic (well, as well cited as it gets in theoretical physics…).

Then, she started being invited to conferences and getting more and more recognition in her field. Later, she accomplished a one-year postdoc in the same institute and left for another postdoc in Strasburg. 

She is there for two years now. She just turned thirty…

Despite her parent’s (and my own) despair, all of a sudden came to the idea that she feels useless. She no longer wants to ever do Physics in her life.

It would be better for her and everyone else if she spends her life on more fulfilling activities, such as building houses in Africa. Her decision is final.

What Happened on My Winding Path Through University?

Now, my story. Accidentally, I went to a middle-quality high school instead of a good one. It happened because of a lack of information.

We were just moving to another city as a family. There was no internet as a source of information at that point. I didn’t know which schools were good in that new city.

So, I had really weird times in high school. While I was interested in Physics, kids around me were more into cigarettes and collecting road signs, you get the idea.

I was depressed, I felt abandoned and I was anorectic for a year or two, most likely for that reason. I changed high school halfway through, and I got into the best university in Poland, the University of Warsaw.

Then, I was looking for my way for a long time. We didn’t have any serious neuroscience in Poland at that point, which was a misfortune. I was studying Physics, Maths and Psychology, but none of these was ‘the one for me.

I chose Medical Physics at the Faculty of Physics, Applied Mathematics at the Faculty of Mathematics. And Psychometrics at the Faculty of Psychology.

It was very hard to finish all of these at the same time… so my studies were prolonged. In the meantime, I went to California for three months only to get a dreadful feeling that academia is a rat race. I would never like to live as these people do – which was demotivating like hell.

For another few months, once again I was attending a behavioural therapy against major depression. And I had a never-ending fever.

Why Did I Change My Master’s Topic So Many Times?

Then came the master projects. Whereas getting a diploma in psychology went smooth, my topic in maths turned out to be a bit pointless after I wrote the first chapter. I had to change the topic to a new one.

Good decision, since the new topic resulted in two articles a few years later. So, after six years, I had diplomas in Maths and Psychology.

Then I went for an internship in a neuromarketing company for a change. ‘If not science, then maybe business’ – so I thought.

However, the neuromarketing company turned out to be a complete misunderstanding. No one had a scientific mind there, and I did not learn completely anything.

Corporation? Never! – I thought.

In the meantime, I also tried to write some simple algorithms for the stock exchange. I also made a little MBA diploma in the economy at the Warsaw School of Economics. Then I turned back to studies in Physics, and I met my ex at that point.

How Did My Physics Thesis Go Wrong Twice?

Since it was my first relationship, I started spending all my time on it. I could say I spent a year in bed.

And I was almost kicked out from studies at some point. In the meantime, I had to change the topic of my master thesis in Physics two times.

First, I was persuaded to take a topic which I soon found too easy and not challenging at all. I was so demotivated with it that I needed to quit. 

And second, I took an external topic that required ordering some eye-tracking equipment from Germany. That equipment never reached Warsaw.

Then, I found some nice topics in the end, and left for Nijmegen… After a year or so, I got fired from a PhD after some terrible miscommunications with my boss.

I also had to finish and defend my Master’s thesis in Physics back there in Warsaw at the same time. This didn’t make things any easier…

How Did I Restart My PhD After Getting Fired?

Anyways, I got fired and then I spent another few months at the campus looking for a better job. I restarted a PhD in the fall of 2013, not without bumps. I got quite a poorly defined project and the first few months were walking in the dark.

Part of this time I spent in South America, trying to make sense out of this research problem on my own in peace. This almost resulted in me being fired for the second time. It was a close call.

And now, I am happy. I travel, I am in contact with great people, I develop, and I want to work in neuroscience for as long as I can.

Moreover, I figured out how to become financially independent from academia. I am getting skilled in this so that I can be balanced as well as possible.

There are some details I could complain about in my life, just like everyone. These are only details – but still, the bottom of Maslow’s (1943) pyramid is quite stuffed. I open my eyes in a good mood every day.

Are Setbacks Necessary for Personal Growth?

Well, you get the message. After I recently got the revelations from my friend, I started thinking.

Isn’t it that you have to doubt, and search, and suffer when you are growing? …and, that all these golden kids who always had the silver lining, will sooner or later face the wall?

According to Tedeschi and Calhoun (1996), people who go through periods of struggle and adversity often report meaningful personal growth as a result, not just distress. I know that this is a truism to say. Still, sometimes I get the feeling that everything happens for a reason. 

When I look at the people around me, I notice that, indeed, most professors stepped out of academia in the past. Some of them did so even for a decade.

They were looking for their way, and they didn’t have a smooth path at all. I would like to dedicate this post to all of those who have a conscience thinking that they are losing their time.

Failing and looking around for opportunities never means losing time. It is healthy, and even necessary – even if it had to take a few years more. According to Super (1980), a career is a lifelong sequence of roles, not a single straight line.

According to Azoulay, Jones, Kim and Miranda (2020), the most successful founders tend to be older and further along in winding, non-linear careers. They are not the ones who took the shortest path. So please enjoy the process:)