Career Pathways within Academia

1. Academic Careers
Clark Bonilla, Director
Alumni and Career Services
School of Public Policy
1st Annual Public Policy Career Week
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2. Learning Objectives
 Define an ―Academic Career.‖
 Differentiate between ―Academic‖ and ―Research‖ Careers.
 Identify Alternative Career Pathways within Academia.
 Recognize Steps in Career Management.
 Improve Self-Assessment for Career Decisions.
 Understand Academic Labor Market.
 Understand Impact of Organizational Culture on Careers.
 Understand Benefits of GRA, Grants and Fellowships for Career
Advancement.
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3. Introduction
Campus
Career Services
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4. Goal
Learn the steps and resources for career
management to improve career opportunities,
advancement and satisfaction within a
realistic assessment of your place in the
academic labor market.
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5. Intended Audience
 BS Students and Alumni
 MS Students and Alumni
 PhD Students and Alumni
 Postdoctoral Scholars
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6. PP Career Services
 Public Policy’s Career Services addresses
occupational markets, requirements,
professional development, and professional
identity for effective career management
(environmental exploration).
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7. PP Career Advisement:
Market-Based Model
Job Market
Optimal Career
Options
Personal
Education
Preferences
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8. Georgia Tech Career Services
 Georgia Tech’s Career Services focuses on
self-assessment leading to clarified life
values and preferences in career decision
making (self-exploration)
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9. GT Career Advisement:
Sequential Model
2. Choose a
1. Self-Exploration
Degree Program
4. Find 3. Choose a
A Job Career
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10. 1. An Academic Career
What is an Academic
Career?
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11. Career as Occupational Pathway
Barley (1989): ―a structural  Graduate Teaching Assistant
 Graduate Research Assistant
property of an occupation
 Postdoctoral Scholar
or an organization.‖
 Assistant Professor
(Greenhaus & Callanan, 1994, p. 4),
 Associate Professor
i.e., a sequence of  Director, Center/Program
positions held within an  Professor
occupation.  Chair
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12. Career as Work Patterns over Life
 Greenhaus & Callanan (1994): ―the pattern of work-
related experiences that span the course of a person’s
life.‖ (p. 5)
– Objective: positions, duties, decisions
– Subjective: work aspirations, expectations, values
– Career Decision: reasons for position selection, changes in
type or level of occupation (lateral or vertical movement)
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13. “Career Pathways” Defined
The various career choices realistically open to an
individual with a given education, skill sets, experience,
interests, and values, that open up alternative career
paths, i.e., inter-occupational mobility, intra-occupational
mobility (vertical to management, or horizontal to non-
management positions). These pathways expand or
contract over time as the individual has effectively
managed her career, contingent also, in part, on whether
she prefers to be a generalist or a specialist.
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14. Sample
PhD Pathways in Academia
The Ph.D. Scholar
Professorial Administrative Research (Only)
Assistant to Assistant Director,
Professor Research Director
VP, Research Sponsored Programs
Director, Faculty
Associate Professor Director, Center Chief Scientist
Training/Development
Associate Director, Associate Director,
Assistant Professor Research Associate
Governmental Affairs Community Relations
Associate Director, Director, Technology
Postdoctoral Scholar Institutional Effectiveness
Laboratory Manager
Transfer
Visiting Professor Associate Director, Director, Industry
Or Lecturer Institutional Research Relations
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15. Sample
MS Pathways in Academia
The MS Graduate
Instruction Administrative Research (Only)
Assistant Professor, Assistant Director, Assistant Director,
Lab Manager
Community College Governmental Affairs Community Affairs
Instructor, Coordinator, Faculty Research Assistant,
Development Officer
Community College Training/Dev. Survey Research
Adjunct Instructor & Research Associate, Associate, Regulatory
Survey Interviewer
Online Instructor Institutional Research Compliance
Coordinator Officer, Regulatory
Budget Analyst Policy Analyst
Curriculum Dev. Compliance
Contracting Officer,
Tutor QA Analyst
Sponsored Programs
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16. Sample
BS Pathways in Academia
The MS Graduate
Instruction Administrative Research (Only)
Specialist Officer, Coordinator,
Lab Manager
Curriculum Planner Governmental Affairs Community Affairs
Admissions Research Assistant,
Tutor Development Officer
Specialist Survey Research
Specialist,
Advisor, International
Study Abroad Academic Advisor Survey Interviewer
Education
Programs
Contracting Officer, Officer, Regulatory
Lab Assistant
Sponsored Programs Compliance
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17. 2. Student Decision Making in
Choosing Faculty Careers
Rational Agents?
Maybe Not …
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18. Exercise 1: Your Decision Criteria
 Identify the top 10 factors influencing your
decision to pursue a faculty career.
 Rank them (1: greatest, 10: least).
 Classify them as (A) wholly within your control,
(B) partially in your control, (C) mostly out of
your control.
 Reflect on risk and probability. Discuss.
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19. Career Attractors
(Source: Golde and Dore, 2001)
Factors Affecting Pursuit of More No Less
Faculty Career Interested Effect Interested
Enjoyment of Teaching 83.2% 12.4% 4.4%
Working on College Campus 79.9% 19.2% 0.9%
Enjoyment of Research 72.1% 19.6% 8.3%
Lifestyles of Faculty 59.5% 30.1% 10.4%
Enjoyment Received from Faculty 47.3% 44.2% 8.4%
Enjoyment of Service 40.6% 54.6% 4.7%
Exposure to Other Careers 31.9% 51.8% 16.3%
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20. Career Detractors
Factors Affecting Pursuit of More No Less
Faculty Career Interested Effect Interested
Tenure and Promotion Process 3.5% 47.8% 48.6%
Academic Job Market in Field 8.5% 48.9% 42.5%
Work Load Expectations 9.6% 58.5% 31.9%
Obtaining Research Funding 14.7% 58.1% 27.2%
Salary Levels 6.1% 69.9% 23.9%
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21. 3. S&E Career Exits as Indicators
of Decision Efficacy
Why They Leave …
Are They More
Rational Agents?
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22. Survey of S&E Career Exits
(Source: Preston, 2004: 30)
Percentage Who Cited Men Women
Better Pay in Non-S&E Positions 68.0% 33.0%
Career Opportunities Lacking 64.0% 34.0%
Other Fields More Interesting 36.0% 30.0%
S&E Positions Not Available 34.0% 21.4%
Preferred Other Positions 23.0% 35.0%
Promoted Out of Science 18.0% 2.9%
Impossible to Have Family and S&E Work 4.5% 21.4%
Demands of Career Too Severe 4.5% 2.9%
Hours Required Too Long 0% 20.0%
S&E Unfriendly to Women 0% 19.0%
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23. The Student v. Worker:
Comparison of Perspectives
 Idealized Expectations  Real-World Expectations
 Experience-Oriented  Income-Oriented
 Type-of-Work Oriented  Advancement-Oriented
 Individual-Centered  Family-Oriented
 Preference for Ideal  Non-Preference for
Work Actual Work
 Quality of Work  Quality of Life
 Expectation of Full  Expectation of Limited
Employment Employment Options
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24. 4. Academic Labor Market
Good News and
Bad News
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25. (Source: Monastersky, 2007)
Nationwide Trends
 More PhD graduates entering non-tenured positions and Postdoc
 Difficult to transition from visiting faculty/Postdoc to tenured faculty
 PhD students take longer to complete degrees
 Grants and fellowships are more competitive
 Increased use of adjunct faculty
 Difficult to transition from adjunct to full-time faculty
 Difficult to transition to a higher level institution
 Low and stagnate salaries, particularly for postdoctoral scholars
 Overly narrow specializations may hurt employment options
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26. Employment & Under-Employment
BS/BA Degrees Earned All Full-Time Part-Time
(2006) Graduates Employed Employed
All Social Sciences 413,500 287,100 64,100
Political + Related 133,400 85,200 21,400
Sciences
Sociology/Anthropology 123,000 85,700 23,400
Other Social Sciences 80,000 56,200 13,500
Economics 77,100 60,100 5,900
Source: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf10318/pdf/nsf10318.pdf
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27. Unemployment (pre-Great Recession)
BS/BA Degrees Earned Graduates Employed Employment
April 2006 Secured %
All Social Sciences 413,500 212,700 51.4%
Political + Related 133,400 106,500 79.8%
Sciences
Sociology + 123,000 109,100 88.7%
Anthropology
Other Social 80,000 69,600 87%
Sciences
Economics 77,100 65,900 85.5%
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28. Statistics Not Revealed
 Average period of job hunting (unemployment)
 Percentage of chronic long-term unemployment
 Employment within preferred field
 Employment within preferred occupation
 Persistence of part-time employment
 Employment by type of university attended
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29. National Employment Rates for
Ph.D. Social Scientists
Employment Trends 2004 2009
PhD: Employment at 71.6% 73.1%
Graduation
PhD: Postdoctoral 31.9% 35.3%
Appointments
Source: InfoBrief, 11-305, National Science Foundation
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30. Statistics Not Revealed
 Doctoral Program Dropout Rate
 Academic, Industry & Government Employment Rates
 Type of Academic Institutions Hiring Most
 Long-Term Unemployment Rate
 Out-of-Field Employment Rate
 Regional Variations in Employment Rates
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31. National Projections for
Teaching Occupations
 Political Science Professors: +15% (2008-18)
 Sociology Professors: +15%
 Social Sciences Professors/All Others: +15%
 Area/Ethnic/Cultural Studies Professors: +15%
Source: Career InfoNet: US Dept. of Labor, BLS
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32. Where Sociologists Work
Industry %
Educational services, public and private 36.9
R&D in social sciences and humanities 36.0
Social advocacy organizations 8.7
R&D in physical, engineering and life sciences 6.1
Local government (excl. education/hospitals) 5.7
State government (excl. education/hospitals) 2.2
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33. Where Political Scientists Work
Industry %
Federal government 62.8
R&D in social sciences and humanities 10.4
Educational services, public and private 7.7
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34. Source: US Census Bureau, IPUMS Data, 1990, 2000
Income Comparisons
Note: Mean Income in the thousands
Education 1990 2000 % Change
Engineering PhD $64.6 $91.1 41.0
Mathematics PhD $58.3 $86.6 48.5
Natural Sciences PhD $56.3 $73.0 29.7
Social Sciences PhD $54.2 $74.6 37.6
Life Sciences PhD $45.6 $62.7 37.5
MD $98.8 $156.4 58.3
Lawyer $76.9 $114.7 49.2
Managers, College+ 2 yrs. $61.3 $84.9 38.5
College Grads, 4 yrs. Only $30.8 $46.9 52.2
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35. 4: Choosing an Institution
The Proper Institutions
for Your Career
Pathway
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36. Professorial Career
 Do you wish research to be your focus?
 Would you work in federal or industry labs?
 Do you prefer a balance of research and teaching?
 Do you want to teach primarily?
 Would you consider federal agency work?
 Would you consider academic and industry employment
alternating over your career?
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37. (Source: J.C. Hermanowicz, 1998; Merton, 1957; Dannefer, 1984a)
Types of Faculty Careers
Elites Pluralists Locals
High ambition Moderate ambition Less ambition
―uniform moral career‖: Career ―nebulously Teaching career identity
strong career identity conceived,‖ flexible
Strong hierarchy of ascent No hierarchy of ascent Horizontal mobility
Strongly R&D oriented Somewhat R&D oriented Little to no R&D
Community of scholars Mixed communities Local community
Low institutional Mixed institutional Strong institutional
commitment commitments commitments
Strong social stratification Moderate social stratification Low social stratification
Academic only career Mixed sector career Highly mixed career
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38. (Source: J.C. Hermanowicz, 1998)
National
Research Universities
Labs
Mostly Elites, Some Pluralists
Career
Graduates
Trajectories
State Universities Industry
Mostly Pluralists, Some Elites
Career
Graduates
Trajectories
Government
Comprehensive Universities
Mostly Communitarians, Some Pluralists
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39. (Source: Dantzig, 2011)
Job Search and Hiring
Startup Job Search Applying For Positions
 Prepare career plan  Submit online
 Search online job application
postings  Request transcripts
 Post CV online  Request reference
 Attend annual letters
conferences  Prepare for interviews
 Post social media  Interviews
(LinkedIn, Mendeley, etc.)  Review/respond to offer
 Notify referees
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40. (Source: Dantzig, 2011)
The Academic Interview
The Institution Your Faculty Career
 Understand institutional  Relate your career goals to:
priorities – Position Opening
 Faculty policies/benefits – Priorities of School
 How your expertise
– Type of University
contributes to school:  Research abstracts
– Complementary  Biographical sketch
– Novel  Sample Lecture
– Potential Collaborations
 Dissertation Presentation
– Potential Grant Funding
 Research Agenda
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41. (Source: Dantzig, 2011)
Negotiating Startup Package
 Salary
 Reduced teaching load in years 1-2
 GRA for at least 1 year
 Travel costs to annual conferences
 Summer salary for first summer
 Proper office and office technology
 Paid return trip to locate housing
 School grant support
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42. Weighing Offers
 Increasing/Decreasing  Quality of Facilities
Institutional Reputation  Research/Grants Support
 School Commitment to Your
 Geography
Expertise Area
 Quality of Life in Area
 Collaboration Opportunities
 Organizational Culture
 Quality of Students
 Teaching Loads  Level of Grant Funding
 TA Support  Level of Seed Grants
 Interdisciplinary Research  Spouse Support
Support
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43. Chief Online Sources
 Higher Ed Jobs: www.higheredjobs.com
 Chronicle of Higher Education:
http://chronicle.com/section/Jobs/61/
 APPAM:
https://netforum.avectra.com/eweb/DynamicPag
e.aspx?Site=APPAM&WebCode=career
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44. Other Sources
 Web sites of academic associations
 Annual conferences of academic associations
 Academic and professional journals
 Web sites of professional associations
 PPGSA T-Square Site/Career Planning
 Your Graduate Studies Director/Adviser
 Your Mentor
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45. 5: Special Case:
Technology Transfer
An Illustrated
Career Pathway
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46. Technology Transfer
 Definition of the Field
 Key Stakeholders
 Occupations Supporting Technology Transfer
 Case: University Tech Transfer Manager
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47. Technology Transfer Defined
Technology transfer is the process of sharing of skills, knowledge,
technologies, methods of manufacturing, samples of manufacturing
and facilities among governments and other institutions to ensure
that scientific and technological developments are accessible to a
wider range of users who can then further develop and exploit the
technology into new products, processes, applications, materials or
services. It is closely related to (and may arguably be considered a
subset of) knowledge transfer.
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48. Knowledge Transfer Defined
Knowledge transfer in the fields of organizational development and
organizational learning is the practical problem of transferring
knowledge from one part of the organization to another (or all other)
part(s) of the organization. Like Knowledge Management, Knowledge
transfer seeks to organize, create, capture or distribute knowledge
and ensure its availability for future users. Knowledge transfer
recognizes that (1) knowledge resides in organizational members,
tools, tasks, and their subnetworks and (2) much knowledge in
organizations is tacit or hard to articulate.
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49. Knowledge Management
Knowledge management (KM) comprises a range of strategies
and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent,
distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences. Such
insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either embodied in
individuals or embedded in organizational processes or practice.
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50. Key Players in Technology Transfer
Venture
Capitalists
USDOC Angel
SBA/SBIR Investors
Research
University Economic
US Patent
Dev.
Office
Agency
Entrepreneurs Corporations
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51. Tech Transfer
Career Pathways
Government Universities R&D Corporations Econ. Dev. Agencies TT Consulting Firms
US: SBIR TT: Industrial Liaison Marketing Governmental
Chamber Liaison
Officers Associate/Officer Associate Relations Liaison
US: NSF OSP: Contracting University Relations EDC Bus. Dev. Investment Analyst
Officers Officer Associate Associate & Relations Officer
US: SBA Dept: Research Investor Relations Municipal ED US Grants &
Officers Administrator Liaison Officers Contracts Specialist
Research Dev. Marketing Research Regional EDA Business Plan/
US: Patent Officer
Director Associate Officers Startup Coach
State Commerce Intellectual Property Tech Assessment Commercial RE Business Dev.
Officer Manager Analyst Analyst Manager
State Technology Incubator Incubator
Technology Scout Technology Scout
Officer Manager Manager
Federal Relations
Licensing Associate Patent Attorney
Officer
Foundations Director,
Project Manager
Corporate Relations
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52. University TT Office
 Educates researchers about IP processes.
 Assists researchers with IP and patenting.
 Assesses market potential of inventions/IP.
 Identifies potential industry partners.
 Negotiates license agreements.
 Forms start-up companies.
 Identifies investors.
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53. TT Manager’s Responsibilities
 Develop university policy.
 Develop grant proposals.
 Manage post-doctoral researchers and research assistants.
 Draft contracts for research.
 Manage consulting activities.
 Train researchers in research ethics.
 Surveying campus-wide ongoing research projects.
 Identify IP and patenting opportunities.
 Process patenting.
 Market IP and patents to markets, investors, entrepreneurs.
 Process license agreements.
 Support university spinoffs and incubators.
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54. References
Dantzig, Jonathan A. (2011) Landing an Academic Job: The Process and the
Pitfalls. University of Illinois at Urbana—Champaign
Freeman, Richard B. (2006) ―Does Globalization of the Scientific/Engineering
Workforce Threaten U.S. Economic Leadership?‖ Innovation Policy and
the Economy 6
Golde, Chris M. and Timothy M. Dore. (2001) At Cross Purposes: What the
Experiences of Today’s Doctoral Students Reveal about Doctoral
Education.
Preston, Anne E. (2004) Leaving Science: Occupational Exit from Scientific
Careers. NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
Hermanowicz, Joseph C. The Stars are Not Enough: Scientists—Their
Passions and Professions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998.
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