Editor's note: In his first article, Benjamin Hemmens explained his decision to turn his back on postdoctoral research. Here he describes what he left it for. For the last 3 years I've been working in the language services industry here in Graz, in southeast Austria; initially working for a local language school, for the last year I have been completely self-employed. My career transition began w...
Editor's note: In the final instalment of his story, Ben Hemmens reflects on how the niche he has created for himself differs from his working life as a postdoc and how in many ways his new lifestyle has made him a happier person. In 2000, I quit an academic postdoc job and became an English teacher. I worked for a major-brand language school for 2 years. Then I moved on to become fully self-empl...
Editor's note: As a researcher, Benjamin Hemmens has been there, done that. Although he was not exceptionally unhappy in the lab, he nonetheless took the plunge to leave and to try something else. In this first instalment of his story, he explains why. In 2000 I resigned a postdoc job mid-contract and left academic research. Colleagues who had known me as a dedicated scientist were surprised. I'd...
