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Pursuing an academic career
- Academic career paths
- Other HEI roles
- Is academia right for you?
It's uncommon to be able to postdoc for your whole career. The postdoc role is often described as a temporary period of research or a training position (Afonja et al. 2021; Hayter and Parker, 2019). So if you can’t be a postdoc for your whole career but want to work in academia, how do you do that?
Here we outline some broad examples of typical routes to securing a tenure-track or faculty academic position. None of these are the recommended or ‘right’ way, they just represent some possible routes.
Lecturer: not all tenured positions are the same
Lecturers in the UK are typically responsible for both teaching students and pursuing their own research. Some independent fellowships buy you out of teaching, or reduce your teaching load, for a period of time, whilst you get your research off the ground.
There are also academic lectureship roles that are teaching-only, with no research.
Meanwhile, ‘third space’ roles sit between academic and professional service career paths. These roles tend to ‘work on widely encompassing projects such as academic development, widening access and student mental health and wellbeing and student satisfaction’ (Denney, 2021, p.2).
We’ve not differentiated between any of these positions and we use the term ‘lecturer’ to encompass all of these options.
We also haven’t gone any further than securing the lectureship position, but do bear in mind that this isn’t the ‘end’. Lecturers apply for research grants to pursue their research and hire staff, if relevant.
From lecturer, the next steps in career progression in the UK are typically;
- Senior Lecturer
- Reader
- Professor
- Emeritus (depends on rank)
Some UK universities have started to adopt the American terminology, starting as an Assistant Professor, then Associate Professor and ultimately a Full Professor. You may want to look at a comparison of academic ranks with other systems.
To progress through the academic ranks, you have to put yourself forwards for promotion. Promotion rounds usually occur annually. It is worth understanding how this works early on in your academic career. This is important because women, for example, tend to be more reluctant to put themselves forward for promotion than men. There are a range of reasons for this, including confidence and issues around unconscious gender bias (Kamerlin & Wittung-Stafshede, 2020; Francis & Stulz, 2020).
Other roles in academia
There are a number of roles within HEIs that you may consider pursuing. Some may be classed as academic, some research adjacent and some fall under professional services. These roles and under which grouping they sit are by no means fixed and differ across, and even within, institutions.
Academic roles
- Teaching-only lectureship: if you're happy to not be directly involved in research
- Research co-ordinator: can be permanent but not always. Typically found in large research groups or overseeing a large project. Could be a type of senior postdoc role underneath a PI but supervising postdocs and PhD students
- Staff scientist: these are relatively uncommon and we are unaware of equivalent non-science roles
Academic or research-adjacent roles
- Lab coordinator or lab manager
- Lab technician or other technical roles
Professional services roles
- Project manager of a research project. Sometimes these can be academic projects.
- Institutional strategic research coordinator, developer and manager roles
- Development roles like research staff development, academic development and organisational development.
UKRI have a 101 jobs campaign to highlight some of the roles that contribute to the success of the research and innovation system. Visit their site to find out more.
Typical routes to securing an academic position
There are several routes to gaining a permanent academic position. Some are more common than others. Here we give some examples of these routes, starting after securing your PhD.
In this route, after securing your PhD, you would apply for postdoc positions and then apply for independent fellowships from a funding body. If your fellowship is tenure-tracked, you could then pass your probation period and become a lecturer. If not, after your fellowship you could apply for lectureship positions.
- Applying for postdoc positions: this could either be by responding to job adverts for open positions or by applying directly to a funding body. Some institutions also have 'in-house' fellowships. The exact name of the role can be unclear, so do check if these fellowships are essentially a postdoc position (fixed term and not tenure-tracked) or more independent and tenure-tracked.
- Independent fellowships: These are offered by funding bodies and sometimes host institutions. These fellowships fund your salary as an independent investigator, as well as your research idea. Independent fellowships are typically very competitive thus securing one comes with a high degree of prestige. This is helpful in securing a subsequent permanent tenured academic position.
Process for securing an independent fellowship
This is funder-dependent but typically involves a written application, a shortlisting stage (or stages) and then an interview. At your host institution, there may be a preliminary internal process to help your application and ensure only high quality submissions go forward.
These fellowships usually have specific rounds that may be only once or twice a year. Make sure you know when these deadlines are in advance because preparing an application takes a significant amount of time. Keep in mind that not all parts of the application are completed by you. You might need to get costings and other information inputted by the relevant people. If your grant submission requires costings (for example, full economic costs of the institution employing you, any other additional staff or students and research work costs) you will typically need to liaise with your institutional (or faculty’s) research support office. Talking to them early is a good idea as they are often busy and may not be able to turn around your request at short notice.
In the UK, an academic norm is to move institution for your fellowship. Some funders specify this, whilst others will expect a justification if you are to stay at the institution you have been at for a while. To secure a permanent academic position after your fellowship, you may need to move again.
Keep in mind that if you don't make it through to the interview stage, you might not receive personalised feedback on why your application was unsuccessful. In addition, some funders may have policies around repeat submissions for unsuccessful applicants. These policies can cap the number of submissions you can make in a fixed time period. Here is an example from the UKRI.
For more information on fellowships, check out these resources;
- preparing for your fellowship interview from Imperial College London
- a comprehensive guide to fellowship applications from the University of Edinburgh
- University of Liverpool (for UoL staff only)
and a number of blogs;
- Ten personal strategies from University College London
- Tips for fellowships from the EDIT lab King's College London
- The 3Ps of applying for fellowships from the nerd coach
- Advice on fellowships from the research whisperer.
Note that these links contain general guidance and tips as well as information specific to those institutions.
As a postdoc, you can apply directly for lectureship positions without securing your own fellowship funding. These jobs are advertised by the host institution as well as on job boards such as jobs.ac.uk. Requirements for these job applications will be institution, discipline and role specific.
In addition to a CV and cover letter, a research vision and teaching statement may also be required. The recruitment process typically includes a sift, and short-list of candidates to be called for interview. The interview stage can be multi-step, sometimes with a first and (if successful) a second interview. Sometimes a presentation to the faculty/department is part of this process, and you could be interviewed by a mixture of specialist researchers, research staff from your broader discipline, teaching only staff, technical staff, and HR staff.
You should be informed of the precise details of the process if you are successfully called for interview. If they don’t specify who will be present at the interview or on the interview panel, then ask.
This route is more common at teaching-focussed universities rather than research-intensive ones. Time spent as a postdoc is often considered default or mandatory in some fields and has a positive impact on future faculty aspirations (Chakraverty 2020). Thus, this route also varies with discipline, so it may be the norm in your disciplinary area but not in another.
Lecturers at teaching-focussed universities (if employed on a teaching and research contract) typically spend a much higher proportion of their time on teaching and the associated admin whilst doing their research, in comparison to those at research-intensive universities. Some lectureships are teaching-only and these exist at both research-intensive and teaching-focussed institutions.
This path into a lectureship directly after graduating with a PhD is more common in disciplines such as in arts, humanities and social science subjects where postdoc positions are relatively new.
This route is sometimes thought of, or referred to, as the via industry route. It is not as common as other routes but may become more typical in future. There is not a rigid pathway but could include completing your PhD, working somewhere other than an academic institution then coming back into academia (via a postdoc or fellowship) to eventually become a lecturer.
Depending on the role and sector, the experience gained beyond academia can be viewed as equivalent to that gained by being a postdoc or a lecturer even. Edwards et al. (2021) reported that, in their study, a third of tenure-track academics did not follow the traditional academic pipeline. UKRI specifically mention this in their 2022 to 2027 five-year strategy, stating that they will ‘incentivise diverse, flexible careers, so that people can pursue great ideas without barriers, moving easily between disciplines, sectors, business and academia’ (p.15).
Is academia the right career for you?
Check your assumptions
Some postdocs lose interest in pursuing an academic career path due to ‘unrealistic expectations or lack of knowledge about aspects of academic life such as academic freedom, administrative obligations, funding, and the time commitment’ (Afonja et al.(2021) p.3).
Do you really know precisely what being a faculty academic entails? Do you know what else the role comprises besides pursuing your own research? Getting a permanent academic position is difficult and demanding, make sure you know what you are actually working towards. If you don’t know, ask. We recommend following the ABC principles of investigation; ‘Assume nothing, Believe nothing, Check everything’ (NCPE, 2005 p.62). Take a look at the case studies of some Principal Investigators for more insight into being an academic.
Be clear on your values, skills and goals
Whatever career path you choose to embark on, being clear on what’s important to you will really help. See the self-assessment section/tools to help you identify your values and strengths. Former Prosper pilot cohort member James Anderson used these self-assessment exercises to confirm to himself that he wanted a career in academia.
What jobs are right for you, and what’s your personality type, because I think sometimes obviously there’s good and bad points to every job, and sometimes you think I’m kind of enjoying it, but would I be better at something else, is there something better out there?
You see these jobs where people are creatives, doing advertising, and you think that would be a really cool job, and I’d really enjoy it. I think what I did learn is by doing the personality tests and what jobs I’m suited to, it confirmed that actually what I’m doing currently fits me quite well.
Actually, those kind of jobs, although they sound quite nice on paper, when you break it down, actually my skillset and what I can do would be completely – I’d be rubbish at that.
Actually, when I did some of the personality tests and the jobs that fitted, a lot of was academic work, project managing in a research environment.
It all fitted and although it didn’t give me lots of new information, it just confirmed that what I thought was right was right, and I am doing the right areas. It took away that idea of maybe I could do something crazy and out there; actually, no, I’m in the right field.
[END OF TRANSCRIPT]
You’ll need to be able to effectively communicate and ‘sell’ your research idea and yourself as a researcher. See the resources on interview questions, communicating your research, skills inventory and STAR(R) stories.
Set yourself a trigger point
Pursuing an academic career is extremely competitive. Should you decide this is a career path you wish to follow we suggest it’s wise to set yourself a trigger point.
A ‘trigger point’ is the point at which you decide to pursue a different career path should your ‘trigger point’ be reached. This trigger point needs to be specific and you need to commit to sticking to it. Here, James Anderson talks about setting his trigger point.
I don’t want to be on short-term contracts for the rest of my life. That’s not the way I want to go. So I gave her a time plan of I’d do one more postdoc, say, one more three-year postdoc; I’d probably put in two Fellowship applications, possibly two more postdocs. If, at that point, I’m not progressing, or I’m still in the fixed term contracts, or shorter term fixed term contracts, then at that point, I would look to move aside essentially. Yes, that was quite – I guess talking to my coach, going what are the trigger points for you wanting to move on? If you’re happy in academia, and you’re happy doing fixed term contracts, then there’s no need to change, but I was explaining to her that those were my trigger points really. If I haven’t got a permanent job by one or two postdocs, or if I’ve had two failed fellowship applications, I think at that point I would do something else essentially.
[END OF TRANSCRIPT]
Trigger points will be unique to the individual but we've provided a couple of examples below.
- ‘I’ll submit [number] of fellowship applications and if I’m not successful I’ll start to look for career opportunities beyond academia’
- ‘I’ll try to get a tenure-tracked role for [number] of years, if I’ve not achieved this by [year] I’ll do something else’
- ‘If I haven’t got a permanent academic role by [month/year] I’ll look elsewhere for a job’
You don’t need to know what the ‘something else’ is at this point, you just need to know at what point you’ll change to that career trajectory.
You may find this episode of ‘a slight change of plans’ helpful when considering your ‘trigger point’, episode ‘The Science of Quitting’- A Slight Change of Plans with Dr Maya Shankar.
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Frequently asked questions
Here are some typical questions that are asked by postdocs about careers in academia.
Typically, postdocs are staff, however, this is not the case in all countries. Not being staff can lead to issues around accessing formal development or training and other employee benefits (such as pension contributions etc.) not being available. Postdocs in the UK are staff but may be employed as employees or workers – there is a difference, as workers can (and are) excluded from rights which employees have (Limas et al., 2022 pp.3-4).
Postdocs in the UK can (typically) put themselves forward for promotion. However, in practice, most don’t because it might shorten the length of their fixed term contract if they get paid more (as their funding is fixed). Some institutions do make up the difference from their own funds if a postdoc is promoted so as not to affect the length of the contract. If you wish to apply for promotion, find out what the process is at your institution.
Read your contract. Postdocs can tender their resignation to terminate their contract, the precise details of this will be in your contract. You will typically have a notice period to work after you’ve resigned, again check your contract for the exact details, this is usually around 1 to 3 months in length, but any remaining holiday you’ve got can reduce this.
Independent fellowships often have eligibility conditions. This might include the number of years since your PhD was awarded (sometimes both a minimum and maximum number of years are stipulated for fellowships not open to freshly graduated PhD holders). Those who’ve held permanent academic positions may also not be eligible to apply for early career fellowships. All of this is specific to the funder and criteria for the individual fellowship! See this article for an illustration of an eligibility pitfall.
It depends, check with your specific funder. Independent fellowships can usually move with you, sometimes after a fixed period of time. For example, after one year at your host institution you can move institution.
Securing either an independent fellowship or lectureship position is a competitive process so you need to be prepared to persevere and not be too disheartened if you don’t succeed on your first attempt. This article includes a Princeton Professors’ widely shared CV of failures, which gives some indication of the enduring perseverance needed throughout ones academic career.
As an example of success rates, UKRI’s 2021 success rate across all of its competitive grants was about 21%, with the success rates for fellowships of around 22% (Baker, 2021). However, the statistics don’t show the full picture. The success rates vary year on year and by funder.
Many institutions have internal pre-screening processes to ensure only high-quality submissions are put forward to the funding body. Institutional reputation is a serious consideration as some funders may impose institutional limitations based on the quality of previous applications submitted by that institution.
In addition, preparing funding applications is time consuming and stressful and can impact on other aspects of researchers lives (Herbert et al, 2014).
Depending on the academic system and discipline you wish to work in (and in which country you’d like to work in), some permanent researcher roles may be available, however, these roles are still fairly limited in number and are sometimes more akin to a technician role. These roles are not the norm in the current UK academic system. See Menard and Shinton (2022) for some details and examples.
In addition check out the Research Culture Uncovered podcast episode S2 E12 The Sisyphus metaphor: researchers in long term temporary contracts
Possibly, it depends on the institution. Dual-career hiring practices is where both partners in a couple are academics and are appointed to two positions at the same institution. This is more common/established in HEIs in the USA than in Europe and the UK. This is also sometimes referred to as spousal hiring or the two-body problem. Some institutions will also consider splitting a role between two partners on request. But this is rare.
If you’re not on a teaching-only contract then yes, you’ll be expected to spend time both teaching and pursuing your own research. It is worth noting that some research grants can be budgeted to buy out teaching time, so lecturers can end up just doing research if they can get enough funding to buy out enough of their time.
Sources of support and funding
When you're looking to pursue an academic career, there are many sources of support and funding. These include:
- Websites of typical funders for your research
- Charities may also fund research, so think broadly
- Research Professional is an online database of funding opportunities, news items and other relevant resources. Find out if your institution subscribes and can give you access
- Ask your PI or line manager who they have been funded by in the past (or find out on your institutional webpages)
- Find out if your institution offers any workshops on grant writing or has internal peer reviewing groups
- Find out if your institution hosts events with funders. These are a great opportunity to ask questions directly to the funder
- Join your local research staff association, or start one up if it does not exist. They can usually signpost you to relevant sources of support
Useful links and resources
Narrative (or contextual) CVs are becoming more commonly used in academia, this article nicely explains them and provides some examples https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00928-4
You may find this paper entitled ‘Ten Simple Rules to becoming a principal investigator’ an interesting read (it is written from a computational biology point of view but the advice applies more broadly) https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007448&type=printable
This paper provides some collated advice from postdocs on pursing a research career in academia https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0250662
This article briefly details how to be strategic about applying for grant funding https://www.natureindex.com/news-blog/how-to-be-strategic-applying-for-research-grants
NIH’s guide for postdocs to gain independence https://www.niaid.nih.gov/grants-contracts/postdoc-guide
The Postdoc Academy (USA based), offer a course built on the National Postdoctoral Association's core competencies to support postdoc skills development, accessible on edX https://www.postdocacademy.org/learning-sessions/
The University of Edinburgh has a Research Careers Tool, you can read about it here and download it from here. They do note that 'the Tool may have more limited purchase for post-graduate researchers, research assistants or post-doctoral research fellows with a clear set of allocated tasks. In both cases, there will be less scope for selecting which research activities to focus on. However, for both of these groups, the Tool may be useful for reflecting on future career plans.'
UKRI's 101 jobs that change the world campaign showcasing the many roles that contribute to the success of the research and innovation system.
CREDs information on the funding landscape for ECRs https://www.creds.ac.uk/funding-landscape-for-early-career-researchers/
Blog post about how to stand out in academic scientific research (written by a biologist) and succeeding in academia
Vitae Pursuing an academic career https://www.vitae.ac.uk/researcher-careers/pursuing-an-academic-career/
Nature have a series of articles, including podcast episodes focused on moving between academia and industry Beyond academia: debunking the industry–academia barrier myth (nature.com)
Research Culture Uncovered podcast from University of Leeds;
- S2 E11 'There isn't only one way to be an academic' - practice research, challenges and barriers...
- S4 E6 From Research to Consulting: Inspiration, Strategies and Tips from Dr Simon McNair.
10 ways to prepare for the academic job market from the University of Pennsylvania.
A toolkit for post-doctoral career development from jobs.ac.uk. Section 2 is aimed specifically at assessing academic career progress.
Blog from PostGradual on 'Academic-adjacent careers': what are they, and how do I find them?
The Higher Education Policy Institute and the British Academy have jointly published a set of essays entitled The lives of early career researchers (HEPI Report 169) written by early career researchers that highlight their experiences and offer solutions to the challenges they face.
References
Afonja, S., Salmon, D. G., Quailey, S. I. & Lambert, W. M. 2021. Postdocs’ advice on pursuing a research career in academia: A qualitative analysis of free-text survey responses. PLOS ONE, 16, e0250662.
Baker, S. 2021. UKRI success rates fall as grant applications ramp up. Times Higher Education. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ukri-success-rates-fall-grant-applications-ramp [Accessed 26 April 2022].
Chakraverty,D. 2020. The impostor phenomenon among postdoctoral trainees in STEM: A US-based mixed-methods study. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 15.
Denney, F. 2021. A glass classroom? The experiences and identities of third space women leading educational change in research-intensive universities in the UK. Educational Management Administration & Leadership.
Edwards, K. A., Acheson-Field, H., Rennane, S. & Zaber, M. (2021). Pipers, Droppers, Nevers, and Hoppers: Observed Career Pathways Among STEM Ph. D. Scientists. D. Scientists
Francis, L. & Stulz, V. 2020. Barriers and facilitators for women academics seeking promotion: Perspectives from the Inside. Australian Universities' Review, The, 62, 47-60.
Hayter, C. S. & Parker, M. A. 2019. Factors that influence the transition of university postdocs to non-academic scientific careers: An exploratory study. Research Policy, 48, 556-570.
Herbert, D.L., Coveney, J., Clarke, P., Graves, N. & Barnett, A.G. (2014), The impact of funding deadlines on personal workloads, stress and family relationships: a qualitative study of Australian researchers, BMJ Open, 4(3), e004462.
Kamerlin, S. C. L. & Wittung-Stafshede, P. 2020. Female Faculty: Why So Few and Why Care? Chemistry – A European Journal, 26, 8319-8323.
Limas, J. C., Corcoran, L. C., Baker, A. N., Cartaya, A. E. & Ayres, Z. J. 2022. The Impact of Research Culture on Mental Health & Diversity in STEM. Chemistry – A European Journal, 28, e202102957.
Menard, C.B. and Shinton, S. 2022. The career paths of researchers in long-term employment on short-term contracts: Case study from a UK university. PLoS one, 17, e0274486-e0274486.
National Centre for Policing Excellence. 2005. Practice Advice on Core Investigative Doctrine. Centrex, Association of Chief Police Officers (no place of publication provided).
UKRI, Strategic Plan 2022-2027: Transforming tomorrow together, 2022 https://www.ukri.org/publications/ukri-strategy-2022-to-2027/ (accessed 23 November 2022).
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