Planning Your Academic Career with Intention
Holly M. Hapke, Ph.D., School of Social Sciences Director of Research Development
Six years to tenure is a long time, right? Many of us have made the mistake of believing so. In fact, however, as a new assistant professor, you don’t really have six years to establish the record required in research, teaching, and service to earn tenure. You really have about 3-1/2 years. This is because many institutions have mid-term evaluation and reappointment processes that cull out “unproductive” individuals before they are considered for tenure. And, even if your institution does not do this, you need to factor in the inevitable delays and unexpected interruptions publishing often entails. Thus, the first 3 years of your tenure probationary period are critical for establishing a productive research agenda and mastering the balance between research, teaching, and service.
How does one do this? First, map out short and long-term Professional Development Plans. Start with a 5 or 6-year plan with annual and quarterly subplans and formulate concrete goals with respect to your research agenda, teaching, and service. Determine what kinds of activities facilitate the accomplishment of these goals and which do not. Say “no” to those that don’t facilitate the accomplishment of your goals. (But see note below.) Look for ways to develop synergy between your research, teaching, and service activities so your energy is less splintered. For example, if you develop an innovative teaching practice, consider writing a journal article about it. Balance long-term benefits and objectives with short-term strategies. Tenure often requires greater emphasis on short-term strategy. Academic careers are long, however, so you also want to think about what you want to do after tenure to avoid the mid-career slump that often hits faculty after they earn tenure and promotion. Revisit these plans on a regular basis and update or revise as circumstances change.
Second, learn how to balance teaching, research, and service – When we face choices about how to prioritize our time, it’s often easier to spend it on teaching and service. Teaching is immediate – you must be “on” and ready to perform multiple times a week, which can be very stress-inducing, so we tend to make sure we are prepared. Service-related tasks require less mental energy than research and writing so it’s easy to default to doing these first. But research activity is paramount in tenure decisions, therefore it’s imperative to discipline your time allocation and prioritize writing. One way to do this is to establish a Daily (or Regular) Writing Habit. The science of effective writing demonstrates that we are more efficient and productive working in short regular blocks (daily or a few times a week) than episodic long blocks. Build daily (or regular) writing time into your calendar and make it sacred.
Finally, take ownership of your career. Don’t be passive about the process. Learn about UCI’s procedures, university (CAP), school and department expectations, and your individual employment rights. Set your own goals and take command of your professional development and career.
Note: Saying “no” to service requests is not always easy. Due to cognitive biases, women and minority faculty often do not have the same freedom to decline service work that majority men have. There is often an underlying politics to declining service work, and a “No” from minoritized faculty may be perceived differently than it is from majority faculty. Hence, one must develop strategies for diplomatically negotiating service assignments that are likely to detract from one’s progress toward tenure and/or promotion.