My PhD work was in computer science, on a problem called test-case reduction. It's a way of automating part of the debugging process by taking complex examples (e.g. a document or a script for what a user might do) that demonstrate problems in software and transforming them into simpler ones. I'd accidentally become one of the world experts on it and wanted to get that knowledge written down, but apparently I didn't want it enough.
My exit from Google actually wasn't that well documented. It didn't seem like a good idea to do so and also I wanted the whole thing behind me.
Fascinating that you were an expert but chose to let that go. But also what a relief. I was also pursuing graduate studies in something I thought I wanted (counselling psychology) because I was good at it and had uncommon insight into the human psyche, and it fascinated me. It was such a big part of my identity. I eventually had to relinquish that pursuit because ultimately my nature wasn't suitable to actually BE a counsellor, dealing with the daily, heavy emotional labour it would've required. I had to be honest with myself: my skills are writing, design and more introverted things and not engaging in constant interpersonal interactions. Totally unsustainable. What makes me gifted at writing and art is what makes me unable to be a consistent pillar of emotional strength for many people. Counselling as a vocation is a bit strange and unsustainable in itself, because a select few have to bear the pain of so many, day in day out. Many burn out and have to pivot into another career. I think that the job of counsellors should be spread out. Many of us just need to talk and share our feelings, which can be facilitated by friends and family or, say, pastors, for example. Maybe I'll just end up writing about psychology and healing in a newsletter, like you! Anyways, I experienced a massive relief when I let that go. I can empathize. Well, perhaps when you've had some space from it, you may want to write about your Google exit one day. I think many of us don't even realize how tethered we are to it. It may be helpful. Thanks for your answer. S.
Thanks for the read! Was very illuminating.
Congrats, I think!
I'm curious what your PhD work was? I'm assuming that you documented your journey quitting Google. Can you link to it please?
My PhD work was in computer science, on a problem called test-case reduction. It's a way of automating part of the debugging process by taking complex examples (e.g. a document or a script for what a user might do) that demonstrate problems in software and transforming them into simpler ones. I'd accidentally become one of the world experts on it and wanted to get that knowledge written down, but apparently I didn't want it enough.
My exit from Google actually wasn't that well documented. It didn't seem like a good idea to do so and also I wanted the whole thing behind me.
Fascinating that you were an expert but chose to let that go. But also what a relief. I was also pursuing graduate studies in something I thought I wanted (counselling psychology) because I was good at it and had uncommon insight into the human psyche, and it fascinated me. It was such a big part of my identity. I eventually had to relinquish that pursuit because ultimately my nature wasn't suitable to actually BE a counsellor, dealing with the daily, heavy emotional labour it would've required. I had to be honest with myself: my skills are writing, design and more introverted things and not engaging in constant interpersonal interactions. Totally unsustainable. What makes me gifted at writing and art is what makes me unable to be a consistent pillar of emotional strength for many people. Counselling as a vocation is a bit strange and unsustainable in itself, because a select few have to bear the pain of so many, day in day out. Many burn out and have to pivot into another career. I think that the job of counsellors should be spread out. Many of us just need to talk and share our feelings, which can be facilitated by friends and family or, say, pastors, for example. Maybe I'll just end up writing about psychology and healing in a newsletter, like you! Anyways, I experienced a massive relief when I let that go. I can empathize. Well, perhaps when you've had some space from it, you may want to write about your Google exit one day. I think many of us don't even realize how tethered we are to it. It may be helpful. Thanks for your answer. S.