Work

Originally published on virtualanthropologist.com   This article from The Guardian has been doing the rounds on many academic-focused Twitter and Facebook accounts. Including my own:   This is why I work unrelated to my degree right now & started Virtual Anthropologist. Secure $ and attempt to stay in my field w/freelancing https://t.co/Xum3OP8FZw — Vanessa Smith (@virtualanthro) December 3, […]

Recently there was a discussion in a Facebook group about shiny object syndrome. As per what seems to be “normal”, it was framed as a rookie mistake or something to be “overcome”. As someone who likes to embrace my love of shiny objects, it irritated me. Shiny object syndrome is not a business error or […]

As you may have seen from social media posts, we recently moved house. Apparently one of the most stressful times in someones life, it felt a bit compounded for us by having been in the one (crummy) rental for over 9 years, and basically moving at one week’s notice. And physically moving everything ourselves (ourselves […]

In 2016 I undertook a Graduate Certificate in Social Change and Development at the University of Newcastle. One of my last assignments was to write an essay defending qualitative research to people who are unfamiliar with it.   Qualitative Research     While I appreciate the reality of the educational system in asking us to do […]

It’s a pet peeve of mine – when I was looking for a job a few years ago, I would see roles titled “People and Culture” adviser (or similar). It seems that Human Resources jobs aren’t satisfied with their titles and have “decorated” them with the word culture in previous years.   People And Culture […]

I hate the term work/life balance. I really do. I think it’s partially because it has been overused, and partially because it implies we are different people at work and home. And, look, we all probably are to some degree. What I do for my job, pays my bills, but has little to do with […]