Are you: * planning a career in higher education? * an academic whose career could and should develop? * wondering how you can realize your potential across institutions, departments and disciplines? * looking for a career strategy? Then this timely book has been written for you. Designed for those working, or hoping to work, within the higher education system, this handbook will also be of value to those in more established positions who want to develop their own careers or want to support younger colleagues. With an emphasis on supporting staff development, this timely handbook offers guidance on the craft of performing five key tasks - networking, teaching, researching, writing and managing. Additionally, issues such as getting published, networking, obtaining research funding, principles of teaching and assessment, and seeking promotion are discussed. The handbook is designed to be accessible, illuminating and entertaining, with useful advice and critical viewpoints juxtaposed. So if you want a successfully planned career instead of just 'letting it happen', then this handbook's for you.

With real-world advice from professionals in the field, this Handbook provides step-by-step guidance to approaching tasks and challenges that face academic faculty members, such as interviewing for positions, evaluating contracts and offer letters, reading and preparing a basic budget, giving feedback, and engaging in self-care.

Demystifies the academic career path with practical advice With the number of people being awarded PhDs growing far more rapidly than the supply of academic jobs, those at an early-career stage must think strategically in order to be competitive and successful. Navigating an Academic Career: A Brief Guide for PhD students, Post docs, and New Faculty is a concise and conversational manual that guides readers through starting their academic journey, surviving the demands of their first academic position, and thriving in academia and beyond. Volume highlights include: Firsthand perspective on the characteristics of a successful academic Guidance on interviewing, negotiating, branding, and other essential soft skills Tips for effective time management and writing high-impact research papers Insights into developing leadership skills and mentoring others The American Geophysical Union promotes discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. Its publications disseminate scientific knowledge and provide resources for researchers, students, and professionals.

The Handbook of Career Advising "The Handbook of Career Advising not only provides a general introduction to this important academic advising function, but offers many practical applications that can help students make realistic and timely career decisions. As students face an ever-changing and complex workplace, helping them integrate their academic and career decisions has never been more important. This book is an excellent resource for advisors; it helps them become more cognizant of the critical role they play and will facilitate the development of the knowledge and competencies required to perform this important advising task." Virginia Gordon, associate professor emeritus, The Ohio State University "This book provides a wealth of information for anyone whose work involves helping students discover how intentional choices in curricular and cocurricular educational experiences can prepare them for tomorrow's workplace. The theoretical foundations, information and resources, frameworks for practice, and recommendations for the future included in this book will guide academic advisors as they positively influence students' lives by helping them systematically and enthusiastically approach their career development." Mary Stuart Hunter, assistant vice provost, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, University of South Carolina "The Handbook of Career Advising provides excellent information, resources, and examples of how academic advisors can become more knowledgeable and comfortable in providing career advising. Here, authors address critical issues such as diversity, working with specific student groups, and working with undecided or exploratory students. This book provides examples that illustrate how career and academic advising are significant parts of the teaching and learning process that support student success on our campuses." Casey Self, executive director, Academic Advising, University College, Arizona State University, and 2009 NACADA president

Is a career as a professor the right choice for you? If you are a graduate student, how can you clear the hurdles successfully and position yourself for academic employment? What's the best way to prepare for a job interview, and how can you maximize your chances of landing a job that suits you? What happens if you don't receive an offer? How does the tenure process work, and how do faculty members cope with the multiple and conflicting day-to-day demands? With a perpetually tight job market in the traditional academic fields, the road to an academic career for many aspiring scholars will often be a rocky and frustrating one. Where can they turn for good, frank answers to their questions? Here, three distinguished scholars—with more than 75 years of combined experience—talk openly about what's good and what's not so good about academia, as a place to work and a way of life. Written as an informal conversation among colleagues, the book is packed with inside information—about finding a mentor, avoiding pitfalls when writing a dissertation, negotiating the job listings, and much more. The three authors' distinctive opinions and strategies offer the reader multiple perspectives on typical problems. With rare candor and insight, they talk about such tough issues as departmental politics, dual-career marriages, and sexual harassment. Rounding out the discussion are short essays that offer the "inside track" on financing graduate education, publishing the first book, and leaving academia for the corporate world. This helpful guide is for anyone who has ever wondered what the fascinating and challenging world of academia might hold in store. Part I - Becoming a Scholar * Deciding on an Academic Career * Entering Graduate School * The Mentor * Writing a Dissertation * Landing an Academic Job Part II - The Academic Profession * The Life of the Assistant Professor * Teaching and Research * Tenure * Competition in the University System and Outside Offers * The Personal Side of Academic Life

More people than ever are going to graduate school to seek a PhD these days. When they get there, they discover a bewildering environment: a rapid immersion in their discipline, a keen competition for resources, and uncertain options for their future, whether inside or outside of academia. Life with a PhD can begin to resemble an unsolvable maze. In Behind the Academic Curtain, Frank F. Furstenberg offers a clear and user-friendly map to this maze. Drawing on decades of experience in academia, he provides a comprehensive, empirically grounded, and, most important of all, practical guide to academic life. While the greatest anxieties for PhD candidates and postgrads are often centered on getting that tenure-track dream job, each stage of an academic career poses a series of distinctive problems. Furstenberg divides these stages into five chapters that cover the entire trajectory of an academic life, including how to make use of a PhD outside of academia. From finding the right job to earning tenure, from managing teaching loads to conducting research, from working on committees to easing into retirement, he illuminates all the challenges and opportunities an academic can expect to encounter. Each chapter is designed for easy consultation, with copious signposts, helpful suggestions, and a bevy of questions that all academics should ask themselves throughout their career, whether at a major university, junior college, or a nonacademic organization. An honest and up-to-date portrayal of how this life really works, Behind the Academic Curtain is an essential companion for any scholar, at any stage of his or her career.

This volume is a collection of information about the concerns and problems of the beginning social scientist in the academic and nonacademic world. Covering topics from the senior graduate student's job search to the assistant professor's research and teaching experiences, this book serves as an official introduction to the "rules of the academic game".