Grappling with early career mistakes?

In our most recent "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

I’m ... wondering if anyone else has felt like they kind of messed up their early career. I feel weird and bad about feeling this way, as I am lucky enough to have a tenure-track job, I have met all the relevant requirements for promotion and tenure, and I have really supportive colleagues. But I kind of think that nobody is reading my work, and I don't know how to engage with other people whose work I admire. I feel like I missed the boat on setting up good professional networks. So much of “professionalization” seems to be about surviving the “publish or perish” years rather than setting up a flourishing intellectual life with other people in the profession. How weird would it be for me to just cold-email people to say, “Hey, I really like your work. I've discussed your work in my work. Can we talk shop sometime?” or "Hey, we've interacted professionally a bit. I'm working on this paper and I would love to get some feedback from you, given your really cool paper on the topic." Obviously, conferences can be great for this, but the same practical constraints mentioned above about sabbaticals are relevant here, too, if to a lesser degree. Any advice, emotional and/or practical, would be greatly appreciated.

I suspect a lot of people empathize with this post - I know I do. We all make mistakes, and I think it's important to be kind to oneself about it, so to speak. In terms of advice, I think it is totally fine to email people out of the blue, though I'm not sure what the best way to do it is. I don't think I've ever emailed someone to ask for feedback, but I've heard of people who have, apparently with some success fostering relationships that way.

Do any readers have any helpful advice for the OP?

Comments

[grymes]

Definitely cold email people. I genuinely love to receive them, and sending them myself has worked wonders. Most other people in the profession are also craving (more) intellectual community.

[Michael Kates]

Totally agree with the idea that it's fine to cold email people. What's the worst that could happen? They don't respond? Oh well. However, my sense is that many people will find it flattering, and this could very well help OP develop the kind of professional network that they seem to be craving. Good luck!

[AnonyBons]

I don't think cold emailing people is as helpful as going to conferences and talking to people afterwards and stuff. Get involved and it will become easier for people to talk with you about your work and vice versa. It's work but it's worth it in the long run I think.

[Assistant Professor]

I agree with others that there is little to lose in reaching out to active scholars whose work you admire or engage. I am less certain that conferencing is the only/best way to network though appreciate that this is why many people want to hang on to in-person conferencing. Securing funding for a small workshop or invited series to bring in people you would like to connect more deeply with may also work well to forge more lasting connections over common interests and this could probably also be done virtually without funding too.

I am not sure what the OP describes is in fact a mistake or messing up. It sounds like in many ways they are successful, but their post does show that meeting institutional or professional expectations and being professionally fulfilled are not the same thing.

[Man it would be cool to get that email]

I wouldn't cold email incredibly famous people because they are likely swimming in random email. But anyone else? Who in the world would mind receiving that email? Only a jerk, I can imagine, and best to learn someone is a jerk before you try to interact with them in any environment.

I'm probably earlier stage than you. But for what its worth, i don't actually think of conferences as "getting people to read my work." It's mostly "catching up with friends I've made at such events." I think of the profession as having this weird tidal component or sort of heartbeat-- we come together, we hang out, we go back to our respective homes, we come together, we hang out, we go back to our respective homes. It's a sort of every several months way of seeing folks I just like, whether they serve any "professional value" to me or not "did you end up buying that house? How is your kid? What's up with that book project you were thinking about? Did you see that movie I hated?)

[whatever]

I am a serial cold emailer and I don't care who knows it. Why else are we here if not to talk with each other about philosophy? There are way too many insular communities (meaning: exclusionary cliques) in professional philosophy, and the insularity is exacerbated by folks who ignore these vulnerable yet eager attempts to make connections. I get that some folks probably get too many emails, but I've actually emailed some really famous philosophers who had no trouble replying. SEND ALL THE EMAILS.

[Recently tenured]

It doesn't sound like you made a mistake at all, to me. It sounds like you prioritized in the way you thought was best at the time, and now your priorities are shifting. I agree with the others that there's no reason to avoid cold emailing. I would love to get such a message, myself. As long as you're interested in a reciprocal intellectual relationship (as opposed to just status chasing), it's a fine thing to do. One suggestion: when asking someone to provide feedback on your work, also tell them you'd be happy to give comments on a draft of theirs as well, should they ever be interested.

Conferences are a good way to meet people too, but if there are specific people you'd like to connect with after reading their work, there's no reason to wait and watch for them at conferences rather than just sending a quick email, in my opinion.

[Venting]

Once a graduate student cold-emailed me asking if I would read a draft of their work. Their argument: "Here (i.e. medium-smallish school) nobody is interested in the period we are interested." I kindly provided feedback and that person never responded to my email with the feedback. Don't do that, people.

[AnonyBons]

I don't cold email people a lot but I go to conferences and talk to people. You might be surprised how many times later (down the road) people have invited me to conferences, or asked me to workshop papers, or whatever. Cold emailing someone is perhaps useful but it is still this individual thing. Conferences are not just about catching up with people but talking to people who have common interests and when they realize that you are in a likeminded group there may be doors opened possibly. My two cents.

[Trevor Hedberg]

I agree with "Recently Tenured" that the OP didn't make any mistake in how they prioritized things earlier in their career. In fact, I suspect that most people in the profession end up in a position where they feel somewhat intellectually isolated, especially after having a strong sense of intellectual community in grad school. There's nothing wrong with emailing people to ask them questions about their work or to express more general interest in exchanging ideas. Just do it respectfully and know that not everyone will respond.

[Preemptive Mid-Career Crisis]

Hi everyone. Thank you all for the advice and, most of all, for the encouragement. - OP