Your dissertation chair connects you to an academic family tree. Dr. Smith trained your chair, Dr. Jones trained Dr. Smith, and so on. These lineages create a built-in network for introductions and collaborations that shape your career.
One way to look at becoming a member of the academic community is you've now joined a family. And if you think about it, let's look at your dissertation chair. You are now a student of Dr. Smith. But who's Dr. Smith a student of? Maybe Dr. Jones. And who's Dr. Jones a student of? So we're all related through these committees and our committee members. So you've joined that community, and once you've joined that community, it's easier to find other people. "Oh, you worked with Dr. Smith also. Wow!" And now you've got a tie, and you can use that tie as an introduction to move forward and do other things. I would love to hear what you've done since you've completed your dissertation. So put a comment below so that I can see what you've done and the rest of the world can see what you've done, and we can open up conversations about opportunities of what's available.
