Co-Working for Knowledge Workers

by Robyn Byrd

I'm firmly lodged in my third "stall" phase of writing the dissertation. First I stalled on the proposal; then I passed the defense after 6 months of rescheduling. Next I stalled on Chapter 2; but I pushed through that (plus an introduction) this summer by going on a distant, week-long retreat. With four chapters and all revisions remaining after a full year of being ABD...I need a plan. One that doesn't involved driving 900 miles away from everything.

How can I recreate that distraction free, work-friendly environment I found so far away? I didn't hide in the woods to work like Thoreau or Nietzsche, even though I was bunking at a house in the idyllic Catskills. Every day I drove to the nearest tiny town to work at a bookstore with a coffee shop, where many locals sat at large tables with reading lamps, and worked on writing, telecommuting, or whatever they needed to do. It was THE THING to get me working. I am hoping I can recreate this atmosphere through local co-working.

There are a few options for co-working, depending on where you live and how much cash you can spare.

Co-Work Office Spaces:

It sounds funny to pay to work, but you can and should do just that if you can afford it. Co-working office spaces provide everything you need: wi-fi, coffee, water, desk space, printers, pens, and so on. All you need to bring is a laptop! Some of these spaces are more collegiate than others. People arrive at set times and keep each other accountable, and even have the water cooler banter you'd expect in the corporate world. Other spaces are more quiet and people keep to themselves.

25N Coworking in Geneva, IL
photo courtesy 25N Coworking

Personally I would like to find a collegiate space where I can report on my days off as if it's a second job. Because technically, it is my second job, and I'm slacking pretty hard at it.

Visit co-work spaces near you to check out the culture and environment before signing up. (I'm doing that this month.) This can start as low as about $100 per month, which is a pittance if it means your dissertation is getting written. (Note the passive voice there after my months of stalling... what I mean to say is you are writing your dissertation.) Many co-working spaces also offer higher cost plans that include perqs like assigned desks and lockers for your books.

The only caveat I anticipate about these spaces is that I might not fit in. Dissertation writing is a weird thing!

Public Library Work Spaces:

"Public" is the key word here. The public library is an excellent place to work that offers many of the conveniences and tools of the university library -- but it gets you away from the university! Working in THAT building, the school's library, can be just as distracting and psychologically disadvantageous as working from home. Changing it up by using a space that is still conducive to knowledge work, yet is less familiar and full of people doing different sorts of things, can help you work.

Treat it like an appointment! Some libraries have dedicated study rooms that you can reserve for a couple of hours at no cost. Make a date of reserving one on your thesis work days. You'll have access to everything you need, and you can even search for a library with a coffee shop attached or nearby. The only cost associated with this is the commute, and you'll have to bring everything with you every time.

I have used public libraries this way ever since I started grad school, because the university library had lost its draw for me by then. They are very comfortable and welcoming.

A public library's shared work space, Naperville, IL

Monthly Meet-Ups:

Meeting once a month may not sound like much, but scheduling and hosting a meet-up of busy people probably can't happen more often than that. Though, if you think about it -- meeting once a month for a few dedicated hours means tens of hours of writing over a year! You could use these to get through a chapter's worth of work, if not more.

Several of my colleagues host informal meet-ups in their homes or in seminar rooms on campus. They keep each other accountable and share an enormous task that they all understand (the latter, you can't get from a co-work space).

If you are a student or a local to NIU, this office hosts a monthly meet-up in the Founders Memorial Library called Write Place, Write Time, on the second Thursday of every month from 6-9pm. This group is ONLY for thesis and dissertation writers (or those writing proposals for such), so again, you are in good company if you attend. Having others working alongside you on the same kinds of tasks keeps you focused and activates that inner spectator who will tell you to "get back to work!"

The Magical Coffee Shop:

The indispensable coffee bar at Inquiring Minds Bookstore
(The bookstore that saved me! In Saugerties, NY)

It's a long-shot, but if you can find a coffee shop that tolerates working loiterers, isn't too loud, and has enough work space for you, you've found magic! Coffee shops were the first modern co-work spaces in the early 2000s when the dot-com bubble created thousands of telecommuters and office-less entrepreneurs. While that bubble has burst, many coffee shop owners still expect to see a good amount of labor happening at their tables. By my calculations though, I think it might be the same cost (and a surer thing) to rent a space at a co-working office. Those lattes are expensive, and loud people can ruin all your plans.

Good Luck!

If you are a person who has an awesome home-office situation that works for you, that is great. Or if you can work anywhere without feeling distracted, that's cool too! But for many of us, we need to remove ourselves from the dirty floors, dirty dishes, and hungry kids, or from the over-familiarity of the university office and library, in order to focus. I wish I could have brought that perfect bookstore home from the Catskills with me, but I couldn't. So I need to recreate a work space that uses the power of other people's work and the effects of a consistent but impersonal environment. I don't know how else to get things done. I hope you can find what works for your work too!

The Alt-Ac Decision (for PhDs)

by Robyn Byrd

Whether you have fallen out of love with your specific field, or have simply realized you don't want to spend your life at a university (darn kids everywhere!), there may come a time when you consider the alt-ac path. That is, looking for a job outside of universities, and maybe even outside of research. This might seem frightening and even disappointing to even consider, after years of work and best laid plans for the future.

Yet in this economy, a job that is a lucrative alternative to an academic career (hence, alt-ac) may be a prudent plan. I myself have considered looking for alt-ac work, probably for a temporary bridge between the doctorate and a tenure-track teaching position. After a decade of low-wages and part-time work, I am ready for a "grown-up" salary! But then I have to consider... how could this break with university culture and work affect a future prospective tenure-track opportunity? Woe is me! This is hard.

First, some things to consider about alt-ac:

Is alt-ac your long term plan? Are you ready to get out for good? Motivated by pay? Go for it. Your track record of project-management, working with teams (your committee), and stick-tuitiveness (not to mention your intelligence) make you a great catch for the corporate world.

Is this a temporary bridge plan, because of the poor academic job market? Do your research. Do the types of universities you wish to court consider alt-ac work to be a lowly thing or a shirking of your nobler projects? Or do they understand, as a community college or state school might, that financial pressures put people to work at all sorts of things? Seek a job that gives you experiences that could leverage you back into a highly-sought research/teaching position. Or even aim for an administrative role that would not have been open to you as a "merely" academic Ph.D.

Do you want to leave the university, but hate the idea of the corporate world? Research options in non-profit work, consultancy, and government offices. Depending on your credentials, you could work for a state-run food bank, a local housing authority, a non-profit counseling and psychiatry firm, or even the U.S. Geological Survey (there's an office right up the road from DeKalb...). Some of these positions would not pay as well as the corporate world, but they would allow you to continue your research and problem-solving in impactful ways, perhaps even more impactful than the classroom.

Are you looking for a job the way a normal person would? This isn't the academic job market! Reformat your CV as a resume. Seek out workshops now on how to maximize your LinkedIn presence. LinkedIn employers frequently contact people like us for non-academic work.

These are just a few problems and questions that have been on my mind, and a few ideas for where scientists, teachers, psychologists, and all manner of doctorate holders could find work outside of the familiar, yet sometimes growth inhibiting, landscape of the college campus. Good luck in your search! The Ph.D. may narrow your opportunities in some ways, but the payoff is in the specific and rewarding opportunities it opens up.