Postdoc highlight series: Dr. Brianna Le Busque (#5)

This week on the Alternative Postdoc Superheroes we have Dr. Brianna Le Busque, an Australian psychologist, blogger, adventurer, and shark specialist.

Enjoy the read!

	Quick notes on Bri:
Name	Dr. Bri Le Busque
Countries she has academic experience from	Australia
Bri in keywords	PhD Blogger, Psychology PhD, Academic
Bri as a scientist/researcher/academic	An early career academic
Currently excited about:	I am still not over ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ Best book I have read all year.
Bri’s typical day:	It differs day to day, but…. 7am-7.30am: I usually answer emails while I have my morning coffee at home 8am: Typically arrive in the office and spend a few more hours doing emails (I get a loooot of emails from students) 10am: I film some content for my courses. I am an online lecturer everything is done via filming or Zoom 12pm: Have lunch break with a work colleague 1pm: Zoom teaching session 2pm: More emails / admin 3pm: I usually try to get an hour of research done, this is anything from writing ethics applications, to developing surveys, to data analysis, or editing manuscript 4pm: Typically leave the office at 4pm if I start at 8am 5pm: I check my emails to see if there is anything important to reply to at home 6pm: Take the dog for a walk 6.30pm: Cook / eat dinner, watch Netflix, that is a pretty standard weekday evening.
Contact Bri at:	Insta @dr.ofwhat Web www.drofwhat.com

Hi Bri, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Could you briefly introduce yourself?

Hi Everyone, I am Dr. Brianna Le Busque (Bri).

I have a PhD in psychology and I now work as an online lecturer in the psychology degree at my university.

I have run a PhD/Academic blog for over four years now called www.drofwhat.com.

What kind of student/pupil were you as a kid?

For most of my schooling years, I was engaged but kind of flew under the radar. I never really thought much about my academic abilities.

In early high school, I cared much more about my social life than school, and then in my two final years of high school something clicked, and I realized I not only enjoyed school, but I was good at it. This is when the university became the goal.

What did you study in your undergrad program?

My undergraduate degree was a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours).

Why and how did you decide to go into a PhD?

I went into my honours year thinking that I would progress into clinical psychology. I didn’t really know what research was and didn’t know much about PhDs at this point.

Then, when I started researching in honours I fell in love with it. Research fuels my curiosity and challenges my mind. I learnt more about what a PhD was and due to my love of research, it seemed like a natural progression.

What was your PhD program experience?

I am from Australia, and the typical Australian PhD is entirely self-directed research, with no course work. I had some workshops, but no graded course work. I was the first year at my University to have an oral defense (Viva) at the end of the thesis journey, instead of written feedback.

Personally, my PhD took 4 years to complete. My PhD was entirely self-directed (I wasn’t part of a lab or on a larger project) which was a challenge as deadlines were a bit more flexible and easier to ignore. I am however a very organized and diligent person, so I always worked hard to set myself achievable deadlines and ensure that my PhD was progressing.

I enjoyed that I worked on every step of the research process throughout my PhD and this provided me with valuable experience that I use now, such as understanding the ethics process.

How was it to work at the same time? What strategies did you use to make it possible?

Throughout the first 3 years of my PhD I worked casually (teaching and marking), which I really enjoyed. It gave me an outlet outside of my thesis.

For my final year I started working full time in market research. At this point I had finished my data collection and was completing final data analysis and write up.

Working full time was difficult, but I needed money and more importantly I needed a break from working on my PhD full time. I did extremely long hours during this time- I worked on my PhD before and after work and on the weekends.

I did this because I didn’t really have another choice. I am persistent and can be stubborn.

I wanted to finish my PhD before Christmas of 2019, and that meant working the long hours. This took a huge toll on my body physically and also mentally, which is something I am still paying for now.

It has really made me reconsider work-life balance and ensure I prioritize health in my current work.

What advice would you give your younger self starting a PhD program?

I have recently written a blog post on this.

My biggest advice is ensuring you are starting a PhD because you want to and because it will open up doors that you want opened up. It will be a long and challenging road so ensure that you find balance throughout the PhD experience – self-care is essential.

Also make the most of the PhD, the flexibility, the networking opportunities, and the skill development.

What PhD has given you and how you use it now?

The PhD has given me a lot: critical analysis skills, organizational skills, independence.

Perhaps most importantly it has given me resilience.

I use all of these skills in my current job in academia now.

What have you decided to do after your PhD and why?

As I mentioned before, I worked in market research for a year.

I needed to get out of academia for a while to understand what else was out there.

This opportunity was fantastic as it expanded my research skills, introduced me to the corporate world, and importantly highlighted that I missed academia.

In my market research role, I worked on all aspects of the research cycle. I developed proposals, designed surveys, analyzed data, and created presentations. Everything was incredibly fast-paced, some of the projects were a month from start to finish (very different to academia).

I got to work with some big companies and determine why their customers weren’t buying a particular product, or investigate which adverts would be most effective.

At the start of the year I went back into academia full time. I am a teaching academic for an online Psychology Degree.

What are your other superpowers?

I am passionate about my house plants, haha. I have over 30 of them and I love them.

I also love real estate in general – home décor and spending too long watching real estate shows.

My blog is my main side hustle, it is a creative outlet and social connection that I am extremely proud of.

May I ask whether you earn any money on your blog?

I do make a bit of money via sponsored posts and advertising on the blog.

What are you the proudest of?

I am proudest of the person that I am. That I have overcome various challenges and never gave up. My PhD came with many demands from an academic perspective – e.g. hand analyzing 40,000 comments or having to re-develop a research study.

However, I also experienced incredibly difficult challenges during my PhD, some of which could have easily derailed the PhD journey, however, I was determined to continue. So, I am proud that I finished.

Who was the most influential person in your science journey, and how so?

My primary supervisor Associate Professor Carla Litchfield.

She has taught me so much in terms of conservation psychology, how to research, and how to write academically. She is also kind and grounded, which is not always common in academia.

Who are the people you follow on social media and enjoy they content?

I follow a lot of inspirational people on social media, it is actually difficult to only name a few. I think the entire phd / science community on Instagram has provided me inspiration and support.

Are there any tools, resources or software you are obsessed with at the moment?

I am, and probably always will be, obsessed with my old school day-to-page diary.

I use my diary as my to-do list and honestly wouldn’t be able to do my job without it.

What are your future plans, upcoming projects, what is next?

I ask myself this question often, and to be honest I am not sure.

I want to keep improving my teaching skills in my current role and I want to continue publishing and researching in both the area of conservation psychology and wellbeing of PhD students.

I want to mentor research students. I want to keep growing my blog. I would love the opportunity to present to PhD students about the experience.

But perhaps most importantly, I want to find balance in my life, and have more time for things outside of work.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Just to say thank you for the opportunity to be involved in this fantastic post 🙂

🙂

Where people can find you?

@Insta @dr.ofwhat

Web www.drofwhat.com