Dr. Claartje van Sijl
philosophical career counselor & trainer
Academia is a great but harsh place
I love the passion, integrity and curiosity with which researchers strive for knowledge and excellence in the face of failure, criticism, uncertainty. I also look behind the scenes, at the personal struggles.
I see how long-term career uncertainty confines academics and makes them doubt their worth. How they surrender their life’s happiness to the critical judgement of a supervisor, peer reviewer or grant committee. How the pressure to perform inadvertently disconnects them from the meaning of their work. These personal tragedies hurt. They make me sad. And angry: we cannot afford to waste so much talent.
That is why I assist academics with questions of purpose, direction, balance and confidence in life and career. Since I received my PhD in philosophy I have helped hundreds of researchers to connect reason with their heart’s wisdom. To move forward harmoniously. The people I work with are smart and capable, but they got stuck. A good talk with a friend didn’t resolve the issue. Working with me they figure out what is really important to them. They gain confidence when they discover who they really are and where they thrive. And they make conscious career choices based on their authentic mission in life. That can mean to continue in academia or to proceed elsewhere. I am thrilled when I see them contribute their best possible self to science and society, to their profession and private life.
Read more about me
You can read more about my personal journey from academic philosopher to independent counselor in my guest blog over at The Scholarpreneur: One Academic’s Journey from Philosophy Phd to Scholarpreneur.
I also talk openly about my career choices, and let you peek behind the scenes in this interview series (1, 2, 3, 4) by dr. Helen de Cruz with philosophy PhD holders who work outside academia (originally published at the NewAPPS blog).
And you can hear me in a podcast interview about philosophical counseling and entrepreneurship by Scholarpreneur founder Scott Rank.
My LinkedIn profile contains my working experience and a list of my publications. I wrote my PhD thesis on Stoic philosophy and the exegesis of myth (defended at Utrecht University in 2010). My scholarly work is listed at academia.edu.
Here is the Facebook page of Van Sijl Counseling & Training. Occasionally I tweet about early career researchers & academia.
On my personal Facebook page I post about creativity, thoughtfulness, and other things that inspire me as a mother and a philosophically oriented world citizen.
Certification & registration
I am
- Licensed Zacht Werken coach (Working Soft)
- Certified Logic Based Therapy consultant (Institute for Critical Thinking)
- Member of the Vereniging voor Filosofische Praktijk and subscribe to their code of conduct
- CRKBO registered as independent lecturer
- Connected to the Gifted Adults Foundation
Kamer van Koophandel (chamber of commerce) nr. 53709365
BTW NL137103037B01