Pursuing a career in academia can be both rewarding and challenging. It often requires a significant amount of dedication, hard work, and resilience. From navigating graduate school to being on the job market to balancing research, teaching, and service, scholars face a range of unique experiences and pressures. For Filipino Americans, the added layers of being imperial and racialized subjects compound the already challenging experience in this sector.

In this TFAL episode, Joe talks to his old school academic colleagues – Jennifer Nazareno, Nic Ramos, and Precious Singson – about their experiences living the academic life, including the joys and struggles, the opportunities and obstacles, and the lessons learned along the way. Listen as we discuss why we wanted to go into academia, the roadblocks that we either pushed through or circumvented, our views on the field of Filipino American Studies, and advice for someone who is interested in academia or finds themselves “stuck” in its alluring yet sometimes toxic web.

This episode certainly leans the “nerdy” side, focused on a small subset of Filipino Americans. However, we hope this discussion will offer valuable insights and inspiration for your own career and life journey.

Listen or download the episode through the embedded player on this page, or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. And for folks on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

What are your experiences in academia? Got a hot take on Filipino American Studies? Let us know! Leave us a voicemail (805) 394-TFAL or email us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.

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