Advice for early career academics: ‘find a different job’

Almost one in three academics would advise their younger counterparts to steer clear of universities, according to Australian researchers who have highlighted a “crisis of sustainability” in the sector.

A Charles Sturt University study has found that early career academics (ECAs) often start out with a view of universities as places for “nurturing and career development”. This “idealised notion” never lasts long because the rookies find themselves forced to rely on their instincts and networks to navigate a landscape of “normalised precarity”.

Many evolve into cynical individualists who find meaning in their work in spite of rather than through their universities, and would probably do something else if they had their time over again, researchers found.

The study, published in the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, sought advice from academics of all stripes on how to “thrive” in the first five years of academia. Almost one-third of the 57 mostly middle-aged participants did not engage with the question at all, instead counselling novices to pursue something else.

“Find another job,” one advises. “Have back-up employment,” says another. “Managing is barely possible,” offers a third.

Other participants advised ECAs to be wary. “It doesn’t matter if you work with ‘good people’,” one warns. “The university system is not designed for long-term or stable employment.”

Some offered pithy survival tips. “Read every contract you have been given,” one advises. “Check the clauses against the staff agreement. Consult the union and the law to understand what the clause may mean for you in the long term.”

Co-author Kate Smithers said the “enthusiasm and commitment” of many beginner academics was eroded as they struggled with the “fragmented workloads, precarious contracts and complex performance pressures” of a “neoliberal” workplace culture. This signalled an “impending crisis” for which the sector was unprepared.

“Universities need to provide structural support such as mentoring, fair workloads and recognition for teaching as well as research,” said Smithers, a senior lecturer in Charles Sturt’s School of Education. “Without this, we risk losing talented people and threatening the integrity of higher education. The passion that draws people into academia risks turning into disillusionment and exit.”

First author Leanne Gibbs said the research showed that “personal agency” was not enough to fuel viable academic careers. “Individual effort matters, but institutional structures matter more. University leaders must build environments where ECAs can thrive.”

The authors acknowledged the study’s small sample size but said its findings were “illustrative”, highlighting a need to “reimagine career support as a collective and institutional responsibility”.

“Agency exists at all levels within the university, from executive leadership to peers,” the paper says. “Agency also exists at all career stages. Everyone can contribute to supporting and nourishing academic careers.”

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com