Reclaiming Your Identity After Leaving Academia
For those of you who’ve followed the blog for a long(er) time, you’ll have realised that I did make the decision to leave academia after...
Merle van den Akker
- Apr 6
- 8 min
The Effect of Payment Methods on Personal Finance Management: My PhD Summarised!
The main point for me to start this blog was to be able to disseminate academic work to an audience that was much wider than academia....
Merle van den Akker
- Jan 13
- 5 min
Things I Would Have Done Differently in My PhD
A while back I wrote an article about how I would have done things differently moving into the field of behavioural science. Overall, I...
Merle van den Akker
- Dec 30, 2021
- 6 min
Things I Would Have Done Differently Going into Behavioural Science
With the new year coming up, is there really a better time for some self-reflection? Of course not! Leading question aside, I thought I’d...
Merle van den Akker
- Dec 2, 2021
- 6 min
Surviving the VIVA
Throughout my annual PhD reviews I have kept you up to date on my progress as a behavioural PhD student. I had good years, I had bad...
Merle van den Akker
- Nov 11, 2021
- 5 min
The Work Isn't Over Once You Submit Your PhD!
Ignorance isn't bliss with this one. You’ve submitted your thesis. The PhD thesis, that is. Congratulations! You must feel very...
Merle van den Akker
- Sep 30, 2021
- 12 min
Fourth (Final!) Year PhD Review
As always, when a year in the PhD comes to an end, my review of said year emerges. It has become tradition on this blog for me to reflect...
Merle van den Akker
- Aug 26, 2021
- 7 min
Pre-Docs: Academia, Are You OK?!
Academia is forever innovative. And I don’t mean that in a “driving excellent research” kind of way, although that also happens. No, I...
Merle van den Akker
- Aug 19, 2021
- 5 min
The Importance of a Mentor
When entering a PhD, or realistically, entering any type of job or career trajectory, it is difficult to establish at once what you...
Merle van den Akker
- Jul 15, 2021
- 6 min
The PhD Scam: Down We Go!
I have said it once and I will say it again: don’t do a PhD if you can try and avoid it! Now this may sound slightly ironic coming from...
Merle van den Akker
- Dec 31, 2020
- 6 min
The PhD Blues
I have just started to write the first part of my fourth year PhD review, as I like to reflect on each term as it has just ended. It...
Merle van den Akker
- Aug 28, 2020
- 7 min
Third Year PhD Review
It has become tradition on this blog for me to reflect on each part of the PhD process. As my third year in the PhD comes to an end, and...
Merle van den Akker
- Aug 21, 2020
- 5 min
Scared to Leave Academia
Hey everyone! If you’ve been following this blog for a while, or if you’ve ever just checked the general overview, you can see that I’ve...
Merle van den Akker
- Jul 24, 2020
- 4 min
Publish or Perish: PhD Edition
Oh yes, it’s everyone’s favourite phrase. Not. Publish or perish is the unofficial slogan for academia. It describes quite accurately...
Merle van den Akker
- Jul 3, 2020
- 5 min
Ponders of a PhD Student: Academia or Industry?
What are you going to do after your PhD? It is a much dreaded question for every PhD student, whether you’re near the end or not. But...