You can love your work and still know it is time to change your life. Lisa, Amy and Beth are joined by Kelly Conway, a museum curator and glass historian whose career spans the Chrysler Museum of Art and the Corning Museum of Glass, before she made a sharp turn into a PhD program at William & Mary. Now she’s on the edge of another shift, finishing her dissertation and preparing to re-enter the workforce, and she tells the truth about what that feels like when your professional identity has been your anchor for years.

We talk about the practical side of career transitions in the arts and nonprofit sector: how networking changes when you’re no longer in the room, why search firms matter for senior museum roles, and how “being in a hole” during dissertation life can quietly shrink your network. Kelly also breaks down what curators actually do, beyond the trendy way people use the word “curate” now, and why stewardship, storytelling, and translation are core museum skills that connect directly to visitor experience and nonprofit fundraising.

If you’re considering a mid-career pivot, a return to school, or a jump back into the job market, this one will hit home. We hope you enjoy this episode! Submit your anonymous workplace questions at LeathHRGroup.com. Subscribe and share this conversation wherever you get your podcasts, and join us next time for more straight talk from the frontlines of HR on HR Nightmares.