Research, Careers, and Making an Impact

Karen McAulayRoyal Conservatoire of Scotland

Not so much a map as a travel diary!

• How I got from there to here• What I did on the way• And why the direct route isn’t

always best!

Once there was a postgrad …

• University of Exeter – Music Dept (then)

College of Librarianship Wales

• In pursuit of a job and a pension plan …

UEA Library

• First job

South Shields, Borough South Tyneside

• 2nd job – in the basement!

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

• 3rd job – Whittaker Library

So, why back to research?

• The Simpson Mss.

And that led to …

• 10 University Gardens, Glasgow

Conferences & Papers

• Talk!• Write!

Then and now

• THEN: Time, lack of interruptions, no internet• NOW: No time, constant interruptions, internet

And here’s my research word cloud!

• WordItOut.com

And then 2 things happened

• The Book Contract • The part-time postdoc research assistant secondment

Public engagement

• The biggest difference between then & now

• Writing/speaking/reviewing (see next slide)• Blogging (own, and as contributor)• Tweeting

Writing, Speaking, Reviewing

• Since graduating (3 years)• 4 book reviews, & mini-reviews for THE• 6 articles• 1 peer-reviewed article forthcoming• 1 paper submitted but not yet acknowledged• Talks, lectures – to staff, students, research

and special interest groups• And the forthcoming book

Value of Blogging

• Writing with a more informal voice• Develop your own style• Develop writing fluency• Share knowledge• And get your name out there!

The work blog – Whittaker Live

Other Social Media

• Academia.edu• Jobs.ac.uk, The Thesis Whisperer, Writing Across

Boundaries (Durham University Anthropology Dept) • PhD2Published• Journal of Victorian Culture Online • Twitter (or Facebook, or LinkedIn)• Diigo• Storify http://

storify.com/karenmca/the-multi-tasking-musicologist

In Conclusion …

• There’s no one route to a PhD• The PhD is your immediate goal - but then you

have to decide what to do with it• Don’t close your mind to alternatives• In terms of career, you have to promote

yourself – YOU are the ‘product’ being promoted

• Twitter @Karenmca