About the book
Academia has no right answers.
The information often conflicts, the rules that matter go unwritten, and the results arrive long after a decision has to be made.
This book is about making the next move with incomplete information, then revising that decision when more information arrives.
I first wrote this book in Korean, drawing on the problems I encountered during a sociology PhD in the United States and the first years of an assistant professorship. The English edition is written with one reader especially in mind: someone working inside the U.S. system who did not grow up in it, and who often has no one to ask about the parts nobody writes down.
It offers criteria and procedures that help you see what a decision rests on while leaving the choice to you.
What you’ll find inside
Eight chapters, one decision each:
- Enter, Stay, or Change Course
- How to Choose What to Research
- Turning What You Read into an Argument
- Finishing Projects That Never End
- Whose Advice, and How Far
- Turning Rejection and Evaluation into a Next Move
- Reading the Rules No One Writes Down
- Building an Academic Life You Can Sustain
Each chapter works out what the problem really is, sets out criteria for judgment, follows those criteria through cases, and closes with a practical tool and one next action.
Nine worksheets come with the book: a plan for the first 48 hours after a rejection, an advisor and mentor meeting prep card, a project stop checklist, a conference selection checklist, an end-of-semester review, a talk and Q&A prep card, a first-year faculty operations checklist, a program offer comparison table, and a timeline worked backward from an evaluation deadline. The Excel workbook has editable versions of all nine.
You do not need to read from beginning to end. Start with the chapter that matches the decision in front of you. The prologue offers a short reading path for applicants, graduate students at different stages, postdocs, and early-career faculty.
Terms of use
You may download and share this book free of charge for non-commercial purposes such as personal study, education, and research. Please credit Jina Lee, the book title, and the archive link when sharing it.
The author’s prior permission is required for commercial use, inclusion in paid courses, consulting materials or publications, sale, or redistribution of modified text. The book is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
This book is not a substitute for legal, immigration, medical, or employment advice. It reflects my personal views and does not represent the official position of my institution.
About the Author
Jina Lee earned a BA and an MA in sociology in Korea and a PhD in sociology in the United States. She is a sociologist working as an assistant professor, and she studies the sociology of science and gender inequality. This book grew out of a series she wrote on Threads, looking back on the years from entering graduate school through her first years on the faculty.
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