Career Management in Academia

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Career Management in Academia

• Dr Sara Shinton
• Academic Careers Consultant

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Saras Background

• Research in Physical Chemistry and Polymer
  Science (PhD and postdoc)
• Skills Development and Careers Advice
• Own consultancy since 2000
• Vision for PhDs, Postdocs and Academics to be
  more effective, more fulfilled and in better
  control of their careers

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Aims

• To understand opportunities and barriers in
  academia
• Identify promotion criteria and develop a
  strategic career plan around them
• To design an action plan to achieve your personal
  career goals

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What we will do

• Discuss issues affecting careers in academia and
  implications for YOU
• Develop a strategic career plan
• Identify characteristics of successful academic
  careers
• Identify how you can meet them
• Develop an action plan for your next post
• Tips for effective action planning

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Perspectives on Academia

• What does academia offer that is special?
• Benefits of working in academia
• 5 minutes, then report back

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Ideas from morning session

• Freedom
• to do what you like
• Flexible management of own time
• In choice of research
• Independence
• To manage own project
• To manage own career
• Meet interesting people
• International culture
• Get to go to other places
• Get to work with different people
• Always learning

• Opportunity to spin off company using
  intellectual property from research
• Cooperation between departments
• Social relevance of research
• See broader impact of research in own field
• Not about money/not commercially driven
• Depth of research
• Inspiring
• Curiosity
• Get personal fulfilment

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But whats missing?

• Depth can mean you know a lot about very little
• (Clinical, hospital based PhD there isnt a plan
  after PhD - dependent on supervisor

• Money!
• For funding research
• For salaries of researchers
• Social recognition
• Can feel like a rat race (high competition for
  jobs)

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Ideas from afternoon session

• Dynamic environment
• working with new people all the time/students
• Can develop your own methods and approach rather
  than using/applying established
• Driven by science
• Can take a creative approach
• Exciting to work at the frontier where nothing is
  certain
• Challenging to work where nothing is guaranteed
• Multi-disciplinary
• Work with other departments in your institution
• Work/interact with other groups
• International
• Can work abroad
• Can be part of a global community
• Education - get to teach and pass on knowledge
• Learning - continue to find new knowledge and
  skills
• Freedom to choose own hours
• Less hierarchy than industry
• You get the credit for your discoveries
• Relevant to society/your field

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Ideas from afternoon session

• But
• Uncertainty because of nature of fixed-term
  contracts/external funding
• Difficult to see through whole cycle from concept
  to product (academic focus on concept)
• Pressure and deadlines (worse than outside?)
• Long work hours culture
• Work is so engaging that difficult to switch off
• Have responsibility - your ideas/your freedom/
  your problem if it goes wrong
• Not enough interaction with society and users of
  research

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Implications

• The freedom academia offers brings risks
• How will you ensure that other peoples freedom
  doesnt cause you to take on more than your fair
  share of administrative duties (or other
  responsibilities which distract from research)?

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Perspectives on Academia

• What can/could you be doing to enhance your
  career prospects ?
• Opportunities for development in academia
• 5 minutes, then report back

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Ideas from morning session

• Visibility
• Meeting the right people
• Publishing
• Demonstrating I am the best person in this area
• Building collaborations
• Giving people opportunities to get to know ME as
  well as my work
• Developing skills
• Technical skills (in short supply - find your
  niche)
• Teaching skills
• Weaknesses
• Knowing them - getting help on them - improving
  or compensating for them
• International experience
• Working abroad in a GOOD group
• Getting known at conferences (asking intelligent
  questions contributing to discussions)
• Getting to know Who is Who
• Getting money - to gain security

• Marketing Skills - learning how to sell all of
  this
• Being flexible about employment
• Social skills (its all about connecting with
  people)
• Being in a supportive environment
• Your family and friends
• A mentor
• Work hard
• Have a vision
• Know where you are going
• Be able to talk about your long term research
  plans

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Ideas from afternoon session

• Publish in Science! (high impact, prestigious
  journals)
• Improve contacts and network
• Improve technical/writing/management skills
• Go to Talent Classes and other training
• Get international experience
• Get awards and prizes
• Collaborate
• Be active at conferences
• Plan the research you want to work on next/after
  PhD
• Get your teaching certificate
• Get a certificate which shows proficiency in
  English (or Dutch if international researcher)
• Get funding (Veni, short visits, conferences,
  internships)
• Be VISIBLE
• Get your title, Dr
• Help others get their doctorates (supervise
  students)
• Join a strong group
• Be aware of which fields are buzzing in your
  area

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Perspectives on Academia

• What will you need to demonstrate to make your
  next step up the academic ladder?
• What will your CV look like?
• Steps in promotion
• 5 minutes, then report back

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Ideas from morning session

• Articles/ journals (how many will secure an
  interview?)
• Abstracts and presentations at conferences (have
  I done enough to look like an expert? Have enough
  people seen and heard me?)
• Organising conferences
• Awards and Prizes
• Research experience in other places
• Courses and workshops (certificates where
  appropriate)
• Languages skills - clear level of fluency
• Collaborations
• References (brief them on what they need to say
  about you - personality and qualities) Who is
  willing to speak on your behalf?
• Proposals written
• Funding received (or ability to get funding)
• Personal interests ? A Photo?
• The right style for the job/country
• Amount of supervision (number of students)
• Letter sets out ambitions/plans/ benefits of
  employing me/value I will add to department
• Easy to navigate - use key words as headings

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Ideas from afternoon session

• Publications - how many?
• Grants - how much?
• Prizes - which ones?
• Certificates and diplomas
• Teaching experience (certificate)
• Techniques (which will be in short supply then?)
• Posters/presentations at conferences and meetings
• Media coverage
• Personal interests which echo the needs of the
  job
• References (who would impress them?)
• International experience
• Proof that I can link my research to
  society/engage the public in my subject
• Work experience (especially if it gives you
  useful contacts)
• Voluntary work (especially if it gives you useful
  contacts)
• Outline of current and future research interests
  (show you have a lifetime worth of ideas)
• Memberships of societies/councils/boards - active
  participation in professional community
• Numbers of students supervised and their
  successes
• Organisation of conferences/workshops/seminars

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Perspectives on Academia

• What are the factors which may stop or hinder
  your progress?
• Barriers
• 5 minutes, then report back

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Ideas from morning session

• Availability of jobs
• Children (and related - opportunities to work
  part-time/career breaks)
• Social pressure not to continue from family
• Put too many limitations on career - must work in
  NL/must be in this department/must be in this
  specific field
• Supervisor/faculty dont support me to stay/
  dont promote me
• Political agenda - government doesnt value
  research (PEST audit - see http//www.mindtools.co
  m/pages/article/newTMC_09.htm)
• Personal behaviour (dont meet goals)
• Develop new interests
• Lack of information about what I need to be
  achieving - what success depends on
• Not preparing for interview
• Competition
• Time management (spotting priorities and what is
  really important)
• Loss of drive
• Not pro-active enough

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Ideas from afternoon session

• Personal circumstances - pregnancy or illness
• Lack of motivation
• Lack of motivating colleagues
• Big shift into new area creates gap in CV (no
  papers until established)
• Mess up
• Unable to overcome drawbacks
• Bad luck
• Research area becomes saturated
• Research area becomes unfashionable - no funding
• Politics - some groups favoured some types of
  people favoured (affects diversity)
• Scooped - research published by another group
• Conflict with supervisor
• Burn out
• Lack of funding
• Better offer from industry
• Fraud or plagiarism

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Looking for Inspiration

• Think of an academic who YOU regard as successful
  an inspiration/a role model
• What are their
• Qualities (e.g. characteristics, attitudes
  values)
• Skills (e.g. abilities)
• Achievements
• Success factors (How did they get to where they
  are now?)
• Spend a few minutes adding to your notes, so they
  reflect the type of academic career you want to
  have

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Getting there from here

• Now look at developing a strategy for your own
  successful academic career
• Summarise Where are you now?

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Developing a career plan

• Now think ahead to where you want to be
• Where will you be in FIVE years?
• Spend a few minutes thinking about what you will
  be doing, what you need to have achieved

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Developing a career plan

• Now think about how you will get there
• In ONE year - what will you have achieved that
  shows you are on track?
• In THREE MONTHS - what will you be doing
  differently to increase your chance of career
  success?

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Getting there from here

• Where will you be in 5 years time? Reflect on
  the discussions and your own perspectives, then
  summarise where you see yourself in the future
• Share your views with one other person

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Build a Career Portfolio

• Review progress regularly
• Show how have you used skills, knowledge and
  experience to achieve projects or tasks
• Record what you did, how you did it and what the
  result/benefit was
• Use progress meetings to cover professional
  development

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To Put Academia into Perspective

• Academia is facing the same pressures as other
  sectors
• It still offers a uniquely satisfying career to
  many people
• This session was not to put you off (!)
• .but to help you develop your career
  successfully.

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Useful websites

• www.nwo.nl
• www.sciencecareers.org/
• www.grad.ac.uk/
• www.shintonconsulting.com

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Leaving academia - how have other researchers
done it?

• Case studies from professional bodies http//www.r
  sc.org/Education/SchoolStudents/profiles/index.asp
  
• http//www.iop.org/Our_Activities/About_Careers_in
  _Physics/Resources/Case_Studies/index.html
• http//www.immunology.org/careers/default.htm
  http//www.biocareers.org.uk/research.html
• To find other professional bodies
  http//www.careers.lon.ac.uk/output/page212.asp?no
  de347
• Science Careers (not just scientists)
• AGCAS-RCI case studies (Internet Archive -link on
  shintonconsulting.com)
• University phone directory!

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So, what are the alternatives?
Academic Research
NHS
Or something completely different!