Prone to anxiety – what jobs should I go for?

[Hope.for.the.best]

Hi everyone,

I can’t believe that I am approaching the end of PhD! At some points, I thought I would never finish because I struggled a lot to write at the required standard. If you have read my other posts, you would have known that I get anxious very easily though professionals have not diagnosed me with any disorders.

I have been asked many times what I would like to do after PhD. I said in the school’s assessment that I would embark on academia because an answer of “I don’t know” did not sound impressive. To be honest, I really don’t know. At first, I did think about continuing academia because it is not a 9-5 job, and most of the time, I can choose to work when I feel up to. It seems a great idea to do research and teach, because I still have income if research funding runs out (the case for my country). However, ever since I got into the drama of experiment and writing with my advisors (even though well resolved in the end), I changed my mind. I simply feel that I cannot deal with the high workload in academia. On top of that, I will need to present in many conferences or work overseas to secure an academic position at university. These two things are anxiety provoking to me. I like travelling for holiday, but the idea of travelling for business just doesn’t go well with me. My PhD program requires students to go to one national and one international conferences. I was very anxious both of the times. At some points, I did consider going to my doctor for some medication, but in the end I pushed through myself because I worried about side effects affecting my performance. The idea of travelling alone to a new place is just too overwhelming to me. I am unfortunate to be the only student of my advisors due to lack of funding, so I could not find anyone going to the same conferences with me. I am single so I don’t have a partner who can go with me. I am glad that my family are very understanding, and I had one family member accompanying me to the conferences both times. The conferences went well, but I decided I would not like to do that anymore if possible. My advisors have no ideas that I am that anxious (they know I get nervous easily but they don’t know my struggles with travelling etc.), and they think I am a bright student who should do a postdoc overseas. It is a big no to me, unless I have a partner/family member going with me. I can’t see it happening in the near future.

 

I then looked into industry, and I went to a seminar to know more about career choices. The bad news is there is also a lot of mandatory travel in the industrial jobs I am interested in. To some extent, it is even more than academia. I am kind of stuck here. What I can think of now is to do a postdoc in my lab right after finishing because I need to complete a few more experiments to get a paper published. My advisors stopped asking me to go overseas these days because they want me to stay and complete the paper. I am glad that I don’t need to explain my anxiety with working overseas. It is also a relief that postdocs in my school don’t get much financial support to conferences, so they rarely go.

Can anyone share their experiences/suggestions?

Thanks.

Edited September 29, 2017 by Hope.for.the.best

[lemma]

Everyone has different preferences of how they would like their life to look, so if you think you would be happiest in a certain geography, it's no one's place to tell you otherwise.

However, if the decision is fueled by anxiety and avoidance...

... I would really recommend seeing a professional if your anxiety is getting in the way of you being able to do the things you would otherwise want to do. There are plenty of treatments which don't require medication (CBT would be the most common), and the purpose of going on medication is so that you can perform at your best, rather than being weighed down. It doesn't always work that way for everyone on the first prescription, but you would have complete control of your treatment - if you feel that something isn't helping, you and a doctor can work together to try a different script or remove all medications. 

In terms of jobs which don't require a lot of travel, some jobs in education spring to mind too, but this may not be interesting for you. If you want to live in a major metropolis, there are some finance-based jobs that like certain PhD graduates. Some more research-heavy positions involve little travel, and in these cases where travel is required, it's usually done in teams. Have you considered a domestic or state policy position related to your field? 

[_kita]

 I can tell you a bunch of jobs with minimal travel, but I wouldn't know what would be a good fit for you! My suggestion is sitting down with a career counselor to discuss your skills, limits, and life goals. They will help you figure out the right direction to go into for your specific needs in your geographic area. Otherwise, I suggest following @lemma's suggestion about a traditional mental health counselor to work on strategies so that your choices are based on your goals/desires, not anxiety.

[Hope.for.the.best]

55 minutes ago, lemma said:

Everyone has different preferences of how they would like their life to look, so if you think you would be happiest in a certain geography, it's no one's place to tell you otherwise.

However, if the decision is fueled by anxiety and avoidance...

... I would really recommend seeing a professional if your anxiety is getting in the way of you being able to do the things you would otherwise want to do. There are plenty of treatments which don't require medication (CBT would be the most common), and the purpose of going on medication is so that you can perform at your best, rather than being weighed down. It doesn't always work that way for everyone on the first prescription, but you would have complete control of your treatment - if you feel that something isn't helping, you and a doctor can work together to try a different script or remove all medications. 

In terms of jobs which don't require a lot of travel, some jobs in education spring to mind too, but this may not be interesting for you. If you want to live in a major metropolis, there are some finance-based jobs that like certain PhD graduates. Some more research-heavy positions involve little travel, and in these cases where travel is required, it's usually done in teams. Have you considered a domestic or state policy position related to your field? 

Thanks lemma. I am seeing a psychologist regularly, and I thank her great help in getting me through the conferences! I visited her twice before the international conference.

I am actually interested in education because it is very stable and I am not supposed to travel a lot. I really enjoy teaching in uni, but in my country I have to be a lecturer to secure a job of uni teaching. Well, that means I have to continue academia. I will take your advice and see whether there is a domestic or state policy position related to my field in my country. 

[Hope.for.the.best]

59 minutes ago, _kita said:

 I can tell you a bunch of jobs with minimal travel, but I wouldn't know what would be a good fit for you! My suggestion is sitting down with a career counselor to discuss your skills, limits, and life goals. They will help you figure out the right direction to go into for your specific needs in your geographic area. Otherwise, I suggest following @lemma's suggestion about a traditional mental health counselor to work on strategies so that your choices are based on your goals/desires, not anxiety.

Hi _kita, 

Thanks for your reply. My school does have a career centre which I will visit soon. The problem is the career centre can only offer very general advice because they don't know my field very well. My advisors are actually the ones who can offer the best career advice, but I don't want to tell them my anxiety of travelling. I know I may be describing my co-advisor very badly on this forum; she is actually a very nice and helpful lady but she just cannot understand that I need to be in company with someone. I know I am supposed to be independent at my age, but my experience told me that working in a new place alone is difficult. I actually left my family to do a PhD in my current country, so I have already had enough of "being alone without family support". I have a lot of good friends here, but they can never support me like a partner/family member. I am getting more and more anxious without a family life. I tell my co-advisor that my family will join me in the country and I need to take care of my aged parents. It is true that my family is reuniting with me very soon, but my parents are still healthy at their ages and they don't need my care. I am just trying to offer a "legitimate" reason why I cannot do a postdoc overseas. You may wonder why I can't tell her the truth. I can see that she has put a lot of effort in educating me as a scientist. I don't mean to compare/show off, I am actually doing as well as two of her brightest students who went to top uni in the world for postdocs. It is important to note that those two students moved with their partners. My co-advisor is expecting that I will do the same, and I try not to disappoint her. My other advisors may understand my desire to reunite with family more, but I just need to be careful in approaching the topic. 

My psychologist is very helpful with reducing my anxiety. One key coping strategy is to reduce everyday stress. I should be making realistic goals/desire based on how well I can cope. I wish I could go overseas like others, but I know I may not be okay with that. 

[_kita]

Hi @Hope.for.the.best, when I say career counselor, I don't mean the career center on campuses.  The career center, at most, might provide a "job inventory" test, but they're usually not the best at analyzing it. And when you need to really work within where you're at right now, it would be superficial help at best.  What I mean is a professional career counselor who sits you down, helps you analyze your personal strengths, and helps direct you in future paths that you may not have considered before.  They help you navigate the job market more effectively from a personal strengths-based approach.

[Hope.for.the.best]

On 9/30/2017 at 12:37 AM, _kita said:

Hi @Hope.for.the.best, when I say career counselor, I don't mean the career center on campuses.  The career center, at most, might provide a "job inventory" test, but they're usually not the best at analyzing it. And when you need to really work within where you're at right now, it would be superficial help at best.  What I mean is a professional career counselor who sits you down, helps you analyze your personal strengths, and helps direct you in future paths that you may not have considered before.  They help you navigate the job market more effectively from a personal strengths-based approach.

Thanks for your reply. I will try to look for a career counsellor in the area.