Find purpose and identity in the ‘near-end’ season of an academic career

For more than two decades, my professional identity has been shaped by striving and leading. Like many experienced educators, I became the “go-to” person for assessment, pedagogy and technology and measuring purpose.

“I find myself in an interesting and transitional stage in my career,” I wrote in my most recent faculty evaluation. At the time, I tried to frame the statement positively, though it masked a deeper uncertainty. The familiar markers of relevance – committee invitations, new initiatives and the pursuit of the next professional milestone – had begun to quietly fade.

This experience is not unique. After years of pursuing more, many academics arrive at a threshold that feels unfamiliar: retirement is still years away, yet the pace has slowed and former sources of identity no longer carry the same weight.

“Near-end” years offer opportunities for growth, humility and peace, but many find themselves unsure of how to navigate this “in-between” space. In this resource, I offer advice for transforming this bittersweet stage into a season of mentoring, legacy building and renewal. 

The emotional landscape of the ‘near-end’ season

When reflecting on our careers during this stage, we can see much accomplishment, for which we are grateful, but there is also profound sadness in the realisation that institutions continue to function – and even flourish – as our direct involvement diminishes. 

This experience, often described as fading centrality, can feel disorienting. Yet it also introduces a new freedom: worth is no longer tethered to visibility or output, but to presence, perspective and the capacity to contribute in different ways.

From doing to being

In the “near-end” season, identity gradually shifts from what one produces to how one shows up. Contribution becomes less about lectures, lessons, courses, programmes or publications and more about listening, noticing and allowing others to take the lead. The question becomes not “How can I keep proving my value?” but rather “How can I give from who I have become?”

It means embracing ambiguity, loosening control and letting younger colleagues submit ideas and assume roles you once claimed as your own. In this new quieter, stiller space, we rediscover joy through mentoring, advising and encouraging. Influence becomes less about authority and more about presence.

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The mentorship phase

As the desire to build or achieve lessens, often the desire to pour into others grows, and a new passion in guiding, rather than leading, grows.

Mentorship allows you to transfer your accumulated experience and wisdom to those around you, creating a lasting impact and renewed sense of purpose. Our identity shifts from being about “one more project” to making significant contributions through supporting people.

In this stage, mentorship is often informal and relational. Growth is reflected not in personal advancement, but in the students we’ve taught, the colleagues we’ve supported and the culture of care we help to sustain.

Practical ways to navigate the ‘near-end’ transition

Academics at this stage benefit from naming what they are releasing while clarifying what remains meaningful. Reframing success is essential to identity reconstruction, argues Cynthia Courtois in Spotlight on identity construction among professionals transitioning to an emerging occupation. In practice, this means prioritising balance, identifying intrinsic sources of motivation and shifting energy towards mentorship and selective contribution.

Ownership and acknowledgement – recognise that the shift is developmental, as opposed to a decline, and reframe it as a “near-end” season instead of loss of relevance. 

Redefine success – replace former productivity metrics such as titles, outputs and visibility with:

• Mentorship impact: the number of mentees helped through the promotion process
• Boundary clarity: saying yes to commitments that bring meaning and renewal
• Work-values alignment: seeking engagements that reflect personal values instead of visibility.

Transition plan – decide and act on what you will step back from, what you will lean into and where you want your influence to remain. This may involve reprioritising one-to-one mentoring over large-scale leadership roles and choosing fewer projects while engaging in those selected more intentionally. 

Purposeful presence – shift the focus from leading to asking questions that help others lead better, listening more than directing and offering perspective only when invited.

Invest in legacy-building work – focus on people, not projects, through mentoring, story-sharing and institutional memory transfer.

Becoming more than what we do

The “near-end” season of a career is both humbling and holy. Ambition begins to give way to reflection and identity is no longer anchored in roles or titles. In this place, we are reminded that we are more than our CV – we are who we have become over time.

This time invites a posture of living intentionally, giving more graciously and resting fully in the grace that has carried us through our work. What remains in this season is not tied to productivity or recognition, but love, legacy and the quiet assurance that our work endures.

Wendy Cowan is a professor of education and a division head. Bridgette Walker is an associate professor of career and technical education and the technical education programme coordinator at Athens State University, both at Athens State University. 

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