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So why is this a revelation? When I reached the level in the university where it could no longer support my chosen profession, I walked away, never looked back. Want to be a scholar? Get a library card and go to it!

Great video! I am currently juggling a full time job with a PhD and it can be tough! I love the idea of academic community and found many of your tips inspiring!

Yeah, sure. How are you supposed to perform experiments without equipment and funding? C'mon. You can study as much as you want, that doesn't make you a researcher if you cannot contribute to further understanding in a given field. What you suggest is extremely limited to certain fields of humanities.

If you want to make your income from it you probably need something there is a good deal of interest in it.

Excellent video! The algorithm succeeded today. That stated, I would say that the primary concern resting on the psyche of those who are interested in self-study is less about engaging in study and more about the firewall that exists regarding publishing. I've never met a person from the self-study, autodidact, autotelic community who lacks passion and in many ways, this practically guarantees that they will have a natural desire and inclination towards publishing/contributing to their discipline. Though I am enrolling in a dual master's program, I'd absolutely be interested in a video covering ways for autodidacts to approach gaining a capacity to publish for peer review.

I love the concept of independent study. I've found that many teachers have their own prejudices regarding a subject. In addition, classes have an artificial deadline that has to match the class schedule. On the other hand, independent study allows me to learn what I want when I want. I have found that reading five books on the same subject will give me a fair knowledge of a subject. You-Tubes give me access to maps and videos to help clarify points. I can take as long as I need to understand the subject.

I would really like to set up an online Twentieth Century Literature Reading class. I used to run one on Meetup during Covid.

Congratulations on your decision to go back to school - it's never too late to learn. Good pieces of advice. That said, it is probably necessary under most circumstances to have a Master's degree to publish in academic journals, not because there's such a prerequisite but because the real training required to become a full-fledged researcher starts at the post-graduate level. Of course, one can interpret being an independent researcher as being a best-seller writer such as Robert Greene. In that case, a bachelor's degree is probably enough (and too much academic might actually be counter-productive).

Go to a college that has an online academic library that you can access after graduation. If you do this, then you can become an independent researcher afterwards.

Sin duda "Atlas Shrugged" es uno de los libros mas importantes que tengo en mi biblioteca personal. Ayn Rand es maravillosa y en "The Fountainhead" lo deja en claro una vez mas. Gracias por tus videos. Recién encontré tu canal y me he suscrito. Me encanta tu contenido.

fuck, where are the books?

I am SO late to this lol I have had Wolf Hall on my shelf for YEARS and have been apprehensive to pick it up my research was based in the Tudor era and was afraid of it wasn't going to live up to the hype but I'll have to dust it off and read it soon! I wasn't planning on posting a video today, but now I am inspired and need to share my top 5. Brb gotta go film lol

Accepted Society!!! Love Kaelyn's content 😊

The biggest challengen in doing independent research is lack of access to research dstabases and digital publications.

I’m just at the start of the video but is that a South African accent I detect?

I put this video on my blog!

I think this method works great for those of us who suffer from chronic illness. Im just finishing up a creative writing and English literature degree with the open university. The open university is fantastic! But for someone like me, the deadlines can be really hard. I was hoping to go further in my academic journey, but it's impossible at the moment. A DIY self-taught degree seems like a great way forward. Thanks, this is a marvellous video. ❤

Thanks!

I really enjoyed this! I am in the process of researching for my honor's thesis, but have been wanting to also branch out into content creation about my subject area since it is a bit niche. I have been struggling to think of how to break topics down into digestible chunks for audiences who are unfamiliar with more complex concepts, and many of the principles in your video (like lesson planning + dedicating time to creating work about your subject matter) are helpful :-) While others mentioned that this method may not be useful in certain disciplines, I think it applies very well to many of the humanities fields, which are waaaayyyy underrepresented + undervalued in online (and offline) discussions about academia + grad school! There is no one method of studying that will work for every discipline, or for every person. Each method has shortcomings, as others have pointed out. I appreciate your willingness to receive criticism -- you seem to have a great attitude + a love of learning. Thank you for the wonderful video! ☺️

Your comments seem to be concentrated on literature and similar fields. It's a bit tough to be an independent researcher in chemistry, for example. I've dabbled with this idea in retirement, and the main impediment for me is access to a research library -- I chose to do work in pure maths and existential philosophy. Finding journal articles is particularly difficult; too many are behind paywalls. It's still worth the effort, though.

Motivated people can learn on their own, but it is tougher in the job market without the degree. What America needs is a government-supported, low-cost, online degree program, where even a low income kid with motivation could go a library, use a public PC to earn the equivalent of a college degree. The University of the USA.

Great video. The strategy that helps me is creating a syllabus. Since I teach English, I'm always in my that kind of mindset. Creating the syllabus and adding links to the source materials confirms to me that the project is doable. Sometimes in my current teaching assignment, I may add those literary works to force myself to read them and manage the other sources outside of the course. Helpful video.

Well, what about access to papers? What about instruments? What about conferences? I am a linguist specializing in sign languages phonetics. I wish an independent research was a thing in my sphere, but you need a ton of money, time and hands for condacting even a simple research. You need cameras, a place to film, informants, each recording is needed to be annotate by at least two people... and on and on. You just can't do it without some afiliation. You video is about being an independent student, not a scholar. I find it annoyingly misleading.

I created a 12 module gothic literature course for myself on Notion, it will take me a while to get through it but it's incredibly thorough and I expect I will have to tweak it as I go but I'm v excited :)))))

Thanks

Thanks for this, Cait! I’m pretty much an independent researcher now… and ngl it’s been harder staying on track since I’ve graduated with my MSc… but I know I wanna keep working on what I’ve been researching since there’s interest in it. I’ve gone back and forth about joining Accepted because I’m not sure if I can make it to the study times since I’m based in California. But I do miss having community and some accountability. You’re getting me to commit to trying it out thanks to this video 😂 I can just totally relate, especially since I am also a FT corporate girly 😅

Love this video! Thank you for highlighting independent research ❤

I love your channel!

Amazing suggestions ❤ and great idea about membership!! X

This title is a misnomer, surely, Cait? You aren't an independent scholar at all. You are completely plumbed into the conventional academic system. I have been an independent writer and researcher for decades and was hoping to pick up a few good ideas, as I suffer grievously from the many obvious drawbacks of being a really independent scholar. But I wouldn't change my way of life for anything even though I am, as far as I know, the only person in the country studying and researching my subject. There is not a single person in the country that I can ring up and discuss a thorny problem with. I just have to plough on and hope for the best. You are obviously highly organised and plan everything. I plan nothing, Independence is a great solution to someone who is more chaotic and disorganised. I've already published four books, not that anyone wants to read them, but it's important to get things out into the world. At least there are copies in the deposit libraries and maybe one day someone will want to read what I have written. I needed my own specialist library, so I assembled it myself, starting about sixty years ago, now up to well over 2,000 volumes and still growing! There is at least one title that not even the British Library owns a copy of. (My proudest boast! It took me twenty years to locate that title.) You don't mention some of the main advantages of independence - no boring lectures or seminars, no assignments, unless you decide an essay on a particular subject will help your own studies. By the way, I found the 'accepted society' website almost completely uninformative. It doesn't really matter, as it's way beyond my very shallow pocket at the moment I keep myself afloat on a very limited pension and if I have a few spare pounds now and again, I spend them on books, needless to say. Thanks for this video. It has helped me to appreciate the strengths and advantages of my own life as an independent scholar. It may even inspire me to make a video on my own approach.

Just a suggestion would it be helpful for some students in Accepted Society to present their work in a Powerpoint presentation. I mean give them that opportunity and people can ask questions.

Thank you Cait. This has been so useful for me!

Thank you so much for this video. This is what I have been looking for. Now I have a place to start.

I strongly disliked "Pride and Prejudice" by Austen when I read it, but then I found out that there are 2 different translations (and one - which I read - is absolutely awful, while another one is brilliant), so maybe I should try rereading it in another translation or in original (or try some other Austen's works). Shout-out to "Wolf Hall" and "Intermezzo", I guess, I'll never stop agreeing with you on these two books! And to "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell"!! I also watched the series over the New Year holidays and I guess I have a new fictional crush after reading the book and watching the series (John Childermass, ofc)... I've added "Stoner" and "Giovanni's Room" to my TBR. I don't have favourite books (except for "Harry Potter"😅), but I have favourite authors: J. K. Rowling (absolutely love Strike novels and BBC series is brilliant, too), John Fowles, Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, James Joyce, Sally Rooney, Jack Kerouac, Christopher Paolini, Robin Hobb, Anton Chekhov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Vladimir Nabokov. And I'd add "Decamerone" by Boccaccio to my top-list.

Hi Cait. Thank you so much for these videos you are making. I am a 27 years old, I studied law and then switched to teaching. I am a primary school teacher but I really would like to switch to become a English/Literature teacher. Doing so, I would most probably need to get a degree in English Literature degree. Can you kindly do a video on your degree etc? What you read for the degree? Thanks! ❤

Morning a good revisited on your book

Just had a lightbulb moment! Thank you so much for this video. I feel Scrintal will help me collect and organize my scrambled thoughts and ideas into some kind of structure!

Congratulations on your new role, and really enjoyed your honest thoughts in this video. It can be very challenging to work and complete a degree at the same time, so please remember to always give yourself grace. It is also an huge blessing to have the support of your workplace while you work on your degree. I share the same experience and am grateful for my team being so supportive and understanding. It really makes all the difference. May you have a wonderful year ahead, and best of luck on your dissertation and your PhD apps! Looking forward to following your journey on it!

I just came across this guys RUclips channel you might be interested in. He just finished honours (Masters equivalent in the UK) in literature at The University of Melbourne and does videos on academic study, reading, literature etc. I have only just come across him but he seems so good and is an amazing speaker. He is one of the few RUclipsrs uploading his videos almost uncut and talking for 20 min straight and in a really engaging way. I just listened to his vlog on why students now cannot read long books. He talks about Ulysses. www.youtube.com/@RCWaldun/videos

Happy New Year! Wish you all the best in this year! You're so strong combining a full-time job, a business and your master's. I still can't imagine, how. I used to work part-time when I did both of my master's (one was full-time master's and one was distant learning requiered visiting only 3 weeks twice a year) and now I'm working part-time (teaching and translation) while doing my PhD and can't imagine dealing with a full-time work load, so I'm sending supportive vibes and all my respect to your hardworkness and the ability to deal with all these things!

I have a couple of questions if I may. 1. Have you applied to only one university to do your PhD? 2. Can you do it part time? 3. If you do it full time is their a limit to the number of work hours at a job you can do? For example, at my uni we can only do 10 hours if full time. 4. Can you apply for a scholarship that will ease the pressure? In Australia we get about $40,000 per year tax free plus top ups and travel money. Is that an option for you? If the uni does not offer many have a look at external ones from philanthropists and businesses. 5. Can you work at Google part time? This is just my personal opinion. For me enjoying a PhD and getting the best out of it means it needs to be a priority. I realise you need to have money coming in to pay for bills and you have your business but if you want a memorable experience and not burn yourself out you need to not have a lot on your plate. If you cannot get a scholarship and cannot afford to live on one income then maybe part time is a better option and you can always change to full time if things change. You are young and there is no rush to finish. Enjoy the process of learning, researching and writing otherwise you will be miserable and not do your best work and not learn as much as you are able. Having time to think and reflect is important. It is not for long. You don't want to be juggling a million things and be miserable about your PhD because you are tired and grumpy and just want to sleep. That is just my opinion others may disagree. A PhD is a hard slog and you need time and space to do it and enjoy it. If you ever want me to read anything feel free to send it. I think it is important to get feedback from other people. It is very encouraged at Australian universities. You can learn a lot from other people and by you reading other peoples work you get to learn from them. Maybe you should for Accepted Society have a program called the reading group (which our uni has) and it is where fellow students read each others work. So for example, there might be a group of 10 students and each month one or two pieces of work are read by all 10 students and then the group gets together and discusses it and provides feedback. So I might submit my article or chapter from my PhD to the group and they go away and read it and the next week they provide feedback, ask questions etc. Then the next month do another person or two. We tend to do two readings per meeting once a month. Anyway just a suggestion for Accepted Society. You can learn a lot. I would love country living content and book content. I have read several of your suggestions. Books I would probably not have even considered. Especially Claire Keegan - love her books. Gosh I have written a lot lol

Congratulations on setting such tough boundaries and realising that stepping back from work is more compatible with your future academic goals. I wish you success, happiness and balance this year. Fingers crossed for your PhD application. 🤞 Thanks to your videos, I am now back at university. I have been out of it for more than 6 years, also working in tech. Somehow, due to my circumstances as an immigrant, I hadn't realised it was possible to be a part-time student while working, but I couldn't be further from the truth. I know it must be exhausting to do so much, but I want to emphasise that sharing your story and journey here means a lot and changes lives. Thank you for changing mine and showing me that there is a path to my curiosity - one worth following. ❤

Love your idea of blocking off time for travel, friends, and family from the start of the year. I did a few travel blocks on my calendar - I feel like having big and even small things down is helpful when you're in the grind of day-to-day.

Morning from Hawaii did good on your job update here to support you

Amazing that you coming to South Africa for your sister's wedding hope you enjoy our beautiful country 🎉

Congratulations on your new work position! It says so much that your company values you enough to help ensure your academic success. I am so excited to see what amazing things you do in 2025. You can put me down for a buddy read, I would love that. Feel better ❤

Amazing ❤️ hope you feel better soon and I have made sure I booked in all my A/L at work for the whole year already!!! As part of my goal planning and this year my word is balance! Needed!! Proud to know you and be part of Accepted Society 🎉❤

I'm also wanting to read Anna Karenina soon, I read War and peace in 2024 and also loved Tolstoi's writing. Excellent list of books 😊

Belated Congratulations! Thanks for baring your journey