The second year of my master, I didn’t really know what to do next. Job? PhD? Travelling in the vast world? Sleeping a whole year? I was clearly tired of studying day and night but afraid to go outside in the real world.

I wrote to a teacher I had in cegep and asked for his advice. He told me to take a break from university. So I didn’t apply to become a PhD.

At the end of my master in French Literature, I became an intern in communication and then I apply to work in Paris with LOJIQ in a small startup where I ended to do marketing/social media/communications. After a lot of work and some good bottles of wine, I came back to the first company I worked for as an employee.

In the meantime, I search for a supervisor in an English university to maybe, maybe start a PhD. I did the paperwork, try to get a scholarship, but without full commitment.

That year of break was the best thing.

First, for the first time in a long time, I had free time in the evening, full weekends and vacations. OMG!

Second, I learned that I was able to do a lot of things outside my field. I organized a dinner party to promote some Quebec’s food companies where all the senators and members of parliament were invited. I worked on websites, social media, newsletters. I used the stuff I learned in grad school (make arguments, summarize, correction) in a new context. So now, I know that I can really fit in a job that is not exactly what I am doing in school.

And after that year, I was more than ready to start a PhD at McGill. I liked to work, but I love studying.

Did you take a break during your studies?

Ps:.: I made mistakes? Please, help me improve!

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