Academic careers

Internal analysis finds women earn 10.5 per cent less than men of similar experience and research productivity

Christopher Phelps surveys a field that lends itself to interdisciplinarity, while a British scholar laments that UK institutions prefer Americans for Americanists

Headhunters are far from lazy and harmful, says Kim Frost, who uses them all the time

Walking supervision sessions around Birmingham and pub-based academic chats have won praise from PhD candidates

Competition for postdoctoral fellowships is fierce, so your application needs to stand out as realistic, coherent and compelling. Here, five Stanford University scientists reveal 10 tips from their own experiences when attempting to secure a place

Lacking insight and seeking only enrichment, search firms deliver obvious, uninspiring candidates, argues a business school professor

‘Too early’ to say if employer and employee contributions will have to be increased again, says chief executive

Effectiveness and impact of one-day strikes targeted at university graduation and open days also questioned by expert and employers

Sites like Patreon and Kickstarter allow backers to fund independent scholars, but for now, the sums are small

Progressing from junior faculty to tenured professor is extremely difficult, but following ‘action-oriented’ competencies can help, research suggests

Eight years ago, Carol Hay and John Kaag took the same position at the same university, and their lives since then offer fascinating insight into academic career progression 

All scientists can improve their writing skills by realising that they need to sell as well as tell the story, says author of new guide

Scholars should cheer up and learn to take the rough with the smooth, says John Tregoning

New book explores the anxieties of Peking and Tsinghua students caught between their parents, the Communist Party and new Western ideas about education

Academic precarity is a special kind of ‘torture’, observes Siobhan O'Dwyer, but scholarly life is not all doom and gloom

Johannes Haushofer lists failures in attempt to 'balance the record' on how he climbed the greasy pole of academia

Most research isn't rocket science, so just do your best, says Beth McMillan

Campus staff will have to report their whereabouts to managers when they leave their ‘normal place of work’ for a morning or afternoon

Tim Softley, Peter Schiffer and Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela explain the benefits of a transatlantic partnership

Asked how they would like to be remembered, high-achieving physicists cited intellectual accomplishments while others referred to personal qualities

Analysis reveals some disciplines could leave graduates at a much greater risk of being replaced by machines in the future

Take it as a compliment if other people are doing similar studies to you, says Sam Schwarzkopf

Graduate start-ups also show employment and turnover growth, although fewer are being founded

Kieran Fenby-Hulse asks whether being gay limits opportunities for researchers

Rejection hurts more when you don't have a long-term contract to fall back on, says Helen Lees

Elite universities are unhappy that new rules targeting charities and big business will hit institutions hard, says Wendy Piatt

Getting a permanent job is only the beginning, not a fairy-tale ending, says Helen De Cruz

Pervasive claims that non-native speakers of English are unfairly discriminated against by publishers are rebutted by linguistics expert

Gaining a PhD is a tough act for most students, so how do those with new babies cope while having the additional demands of parenthood?

Ucea says additional payroll pressures and market instability means uplift is ‘at the limit of affordability’ for many institutions

The good, the bad and the offbeat: the academy through the lens of the world’s media

Several research-intensive universities are on list, but many institutions dispute the findings

Winston Morgan explores what his career might reveal about the position of ethnic minority academics

As the social media platform celebrates its 10th anniversary, Jack Grove examines how it has changed doctoral study

Non-EU citizens took one in five new posts over past decade, leaving 40 per cent of posts for UK researchers, Hefce figures show

A new law to support early career researchers has reopened arguments over limits on the use of short-term contracts in the country

Institutions are criticised in UCU report for allowing 'shameful levels of pay inequality' to persist

Professor Webley was ‘inspired leader’ and will be ‘sorely missed’, say colleagues of the acclaimed academic

The share of women in management or governor roles has steadily increased over the past two years, analysis shows

Matthew Reisz reflects on the challenges of the obituary writer

Heather Mendick shares her experience of escaping the constraints of the university

Students tend to nominate entertaining or ‘sexy’ academics, says paper

Selling yourself can sometimes be quite difficult for academics, but as John Tregoning argues, scientific salesmanship could be vital for career progression

Oxford pro vice-chancellor Sally Mapstone to take on role vacated by Louise Richardson

Leaving the EU would damage international partnerships vital to research excellence, v-cs say in letter to national newspaper

Study suggests there may be long-term benefits from publishing, but critics warn of ‘too much, too soon’

Extra contributions are likely to cost many university staff more than £1,000 a year, analysis shows

Advice on how to cope with all the work and when to say no to opportunities

Doctoral student Ana Kedveš asked her colleagues to submit the strangest questions they have faced

From the Ebola outbreak in West Africa to special needs education in the UK, more mid-career professionals are taking professional doctorates

Researcher recommends reassessing selection criteria for PhD funding as several great scientists did not gain a first or a 2:1

Biology lecturer Anne Osterrieder reflects on the importance of solitude for academics

Former Scotland international rugby player Colin Gregor reflects on how he combined his PhD with his job

Bosses’ pay rose by 3 per cent on average to £272,432, according to a new University and College Union report

Job descriptions demand early career academics be multitalented ‘superheroes’, a study suggests

Many black and ethnic minority staff at universities are also downbeat about their promotion chances, according to a new University and College Union survey

Chief scientist at UK arm of French electronics giant Thales says big business is frustrated at retention rates for such students

One in 12 who suffer the suicide of a friend or relative will leave university, study says

Dave Sayers shares his tips on how to boost productivity

The good, the bad and the offbeat: the academy through the lens of the national press