This section is for anyone who is considering an academic career, but it draws on the findings of a recent project which examined the career paths and experiences of recent social science PhD graduates working in academia in the UK and USA. There is often a great deal of uncertainty in the early stages of an academic career, before a permanent position is achieved (which may take five years or more). With this in mind, those interested in pursuing an academic career will benefit from the following: a dedication to their subject; resilience in the face of a tough job market; confidence to deal with criticism; and stamina in the face of heavy demands especially in the early stages of a career. The career stories linked to on the left are loosely based on interviews with current academics.
They are not exemplary paths to an academic career, but rather demonstrate how people with different personalities, priorities and attitudes have negotiated the academic job market with varying degrees of success. The sections below aim to help you think about what is involved in working towards an academic career and whether or not this is the path you want to take after your PhD.





There is a ?significant credibility gap? between researchers? expectations and the likelihood of their forging long-term careers in higher education, a survey has found.





More than three-quarters of research staff responding to the Careers in Research Online Survey 2013 said they aspired to a career in higher education and around two-thirds said they expected to achieve this. But it was ?unrealistic to expect? that this number of research staff, or even half of those in the early stages of their career, would be able to secure a long-term research role in higher education, says the report, based on the survey produced by Vitae, the careers organisation for researchers.





?Anecdotally we expect that probably fewer than half are, in reality, going to make it into academic careers,? said Robin Mellors-Bourne, director of research and intelligence at Vitae and the report?s co-author. The report, unveiled at the Vitae Researcher Development International Conference 2013, held in Manchester on 4 and 5 September, is likely to add weight to concerns that more needs to be done to help the large number of postdoctoral researchers, on which academic research relies, find career paths outside the academy.