Career Development Workshop for Early Career Researchers: Surviving your first five years

25th Annual ANZAM ConferenceDecember 8, 2011

Professor Nigel Healey, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of College of Business, Law and Social Sciences

Nottingham Trent University

Overview?

• Why become an academic? (lit. review)

• What to expect in your first academic post (methodology)

• Surviving your first five years (field work)

• How to get promoted (analysis)

• Conclusions (conclusions)

Why become an academic?

1. Because you sleepwalk – from talented, perpetual student to junior academic

2. Because you choose to be an academic– Excitement of curiosity-driven research (“academic freedom”)– Vocational call of teaching– Opportunity to work in a diverse intellectual milieu– Chance to join a global community of scholars (academic vs

soccer)

Why not become an academic?

0

50

100

150

200

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2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025

Millions

Estimates for global demand for higher education

Really, why not become an academic?

What to expect in your first academic post (1)

• As a new PhD, you are hired for your research potential

• You will have to teach (…the courses incumbents don’t want to teach)

• Preparation for teaching– Tutorials and seminars as a postgraduate student– Possibly some formal teacher training– Possibly …nothing

• Expect to be overwhelmed – you have crossed to the dark side from elite student to worker bee

Monash guide for new academic staff

• How can I manage? – Email / computer needs – Office, keys, telephone – Day to day information – Course / unit materials – Teaching policies, including assessment and support materials – Printing and photocopying – Disposing of confidential material – Online & off campus teaching – Equipment in teaching rooms – Resources in my office – Readings for my course – Research activities – Employment related matters

Deakin general information for new academic staff

• A-Z index for staff • Acronyms • Deakin computer and broadband sc

hemes for staff

• Deakin Studies Online help guides • Key dates • Principles of teaching and learning • Staff benefits information • Research supervisor training progra

m

• Supporting students • Teaching and Learning plans • Teaching tips

• Academic probation - procedure • Academic promotions • Career development • Faculty academic mentoring progra

m

• Graduate Certificate of Higher Education

• Induction and Orientation • Managing units • Mentoring Partnership Program • Online teaching environment (Deaki

n Studies Online)

• Academic professional development

What to expect in your first academic post (2)

• Research– Your goal (dream) is to convert your doctoral research into A*

journal articles– Your five year mission is to build a sustainable research agenda

and make publishing a habit– Find a work pattern that works for you – everyone is different– Protect your designated research time (a new challenge after life

as a research student)

What to expect in your first academic post (3)

• Teaching– Your goal is to learn the craft and (in time) develop and teach the

courses that most engage you– Accept your lot as a new faculty member – all experiences are

opportunities for development!– Be disciplined in time management – teaching can take over your

life and it is only part of your job– Use professional development opportunities to improve your

teaching – but remember time management– Treat students as you used to want to be treated (Professors: “I

don’t have to do that any more”)

What to expect in your first academic post (4)

• Administration (aka service)– Many universities use a 40:40:20 model (R:T:A)– Some use teaching remission to make admin more enticing– Avoid taking on heavy admin roles in your early years

• “ I’d love to, but I have all this prep and three papers from my PhD under revise and resubmit”

• “I think this is a role I’d love to do when I am up for promotion to Associate Prof., like Sean and Becky are”

– Resist diversion from your research and teaching priorities while making everyone think you are really collegial (make up on the social side)

Surviving your first five years

• Key tips– Find a supportive peer group of other boot campers at your

university – you have more in common with a new psych lecturer than a management professor

– Find a mentor– Take up running or weights – addictive and obsessive and offsets

hours slumped over a PC– If you have any friends left from before grad school, nurture them– Think carefully before picking another academic as your life

partner – Note: it gets harder not to as you get older

Getting promoted

• Most promotion schemes reflect 40:40:20 model– Need demonstrable evidence of research output – ie, that you have

converted your PhD into a sustainable and productive research agenda

– Need to show evidence of teaching capability (eg, student survey results, peer review)

– Need to show evidence of willingness to gradually build up your university service – Warning: being a “good egg” in the service area will not compensate for weakness in research and teaching

Conclusions

• Hardly anyone regrets becoming an academic (although “these are the good old days”)

• But universities are ancient and their HRM/HRD practices not much better …although improving

• “How hard can Russian be, it’s spoken by 150m peasants?”

nigel.healey@ntu.ac.uk