'You Have to Be Really Fired Up about It' - Formal and Informal Factors That Influence Aspirational Cooling Out among PhD Graduates

In this article, we analyse the processes that contribute to changes in career aspirations among German PhD graduates. Drawing on the concept of cooling out (Goffman 1952; Clark 1960) - which describes semi-intentional practices that can cause a gradual decline in educational or career aspirations -- the paper expands on this by distinguishing between formal and informal processes that contribute to graduates deciding to abandon an academic career path. To explore the phenomenon, we employ a qualitative interview study with 21 PhD graduates from different academic disciplines, all of whom have chosen careers outside the academic realm at different biographical stages - often voluntarily, but occasionally involuntarily. The aim of the study is to paint a more differentiated and empirically underpinned picture of typical cooling out constellations in academia. We conclude by discussing the implications for creating effective PhD support in transition phases.