Hi Everyone. I am a third year PhD student in a Human Development and Family Studies program, and I have a question about getting published. I am in the process of getting published on an article that is within my research area (coping/adolescents/substance abuse). I have the opportunity to get published on an article(s) that isn't within my area of interest (international education). Does anybody know if it is better to have more publications even if they aren't in your area of interest, or less publications that are all related to your interest area? My goal is to get an academic position, and I know publications are important. However, I am uncertain about this. If anybody has any ideas, let me know. Thanks.

we had an information event about 6 months ago about "how to get a job" in our subject. the people on the panel talked about their own experience of getting a first job, but also about their much later experience of being part of recruiting panels. one professor in particular said that when recruiting, one thing they look out for is, if the candidate shows potential for new things or if it seems the candidate is an expert on their narrow PhD topic but isn't going anywhere else. a demonstratable certain broadness of interests is thus certainly a plus, except if it slows down your PhD significantly.

also, my partner just got a first post-PhD job. he wondered before applying how much he should emphasize those "other" projects he is engaged with, apart from his PhD. he received conflicting advice. some more senior people told him to make it quite prominent as it showed his potential for exciting future research. other senior people told him to leave it out of his CV as the recruiters would probably not be looking for someone who does lots of weird stuff but rather for someone who has solid knowledge of the key aspects of the discipline.
so overall i guess you need to decide if this other publication will make you appear interested in many things and having potential for valuable new research, or if it will rather make you appear "off-center". overall it is a fine line and it can work for one job but not for the other. my own approach for the moment is to publish anything i can, as long as it does not distract me too much. i can always later decide not to make it prominent on my CV.

I'm in pharmacy, but I also write for a historical website and have published on historical stuff. I've always had encouragment to do this; even at inteview stage I have found potential employers liked the idea that I had broader interests. And although the two subjects seem different, I'm starting a collaboration on history of medicine which I'm hoping will lead somewhere (funding! Money!).


I don't think it's a simple question of less or more publications in one field or another: as Shani says, do as much as you can without compromising your PhD. I would suggest taking every chance you can to publish.

if you are capable of different fields at the same time, why not