A Brief Summary of My Career in the UK and Europe

I spent the last six years (mostly) working as an academic in the UK and Europe researching questions at the overlap of music and science. Before I get swept up in the big international move and start thinking about what’s next, I want to take time and reflect. This also will hopefully serve as a nice resource when I start exploring my next employment options.

Timeline

• 2018

  • Won dissertation fellowship to complete PhD Dissertation without having to teach (aka stay in Baton Rouge)
  • Dissertation advisor took job at different institution
  • Accepted to residence volunteer position at Toynbee Hall where the deal where I “volunteered” doing research in exchange for free rent
  • Moved to London 2018
  • Wrote up PhD dissertation
  • Got into serious bike accident and had to get a titanium bolt in my shoulder

• 2019

  • Defended dissertation
  • Failed to find an academic job
  • Applied and accepted job as Lead Instructor of Data Science at Flatiron School, owned by WeWork at the time
  • Got Rstudio instructor certified

• 2020

  • Global Pandemic, March 2020
  • Laid off job
  • Applied for academic and industry jobs
  • Accepted one year position on TROMPA project in Department of Computing at with Tim Crawford]

• 2021

  • Applied for part-time postdoc in Department of Psychology at Goldsmiths on IUK project with Soundout with Daniel Müllensiefen
  • Split part-time contract between positions in Psychology and Computing
  • Began teaching supervisions/tutorials at Centre for Music and Science at [University of Cambridge] with Peter Harrison
  • Began working as End Point Assessor for L7 Research Scientist Apprenticeships in Data Science for DSW

• 2022

  • Accepted postdoc with as member of the Music Cognition Group in Amsterdam with Henkjan Honing
  • Began organizing for Musicality and Genomics Consortium

2024

• Ended contract on March 1st 2024
• Move(d) to USA March 6th 2024

Reflecting on it all

Looking back, I could not be more pleased with the people I have worked with, the experiences I have had, the places I’ve lived, or the things that I have learned the past several years. Not only academic and technical skills, but having had the chance to work at such a variety of institutions has really allowed me to see first hand how what people consider “normal” really does not, like whatsoever, transfer well between countries, sectors, or disciplines. That said, though I loved every second of it, what I did do what unsustainable. I am ready to not split my time and attention between multiple competing locations, jobs, and possible paths forward in my life. I want to take a little bit of a break, then continue on in a more sustainable way.