Evaluating success in a changing academic landscape

Daniel Schillereff; Lucy Clarke; Emma Shuttleworth; Danielle Alderson

doi:10.1002/esp.5634

Evaluating success in a changing academic landscape

Daniel Schillereff^*, Lucy Clarke, Emma Shuttleworth, Danielle Alderson

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

How one individual characterises another successful individual varies widely. At a time when work–life balance and the use of metrics are key concerns within the academic landscape, Early Career Academics (ECAs) are voicing particular worries about the opacity with which we discuss and define success in academia, which influences recruitment and progression in unseen ways. Drawing on the results of a survey of 92 geomorphologists, earth and environmental scientists (96% from Europe or North America) and textual analysis of 54 job advertisements for early career positions at UK institutions spanning 2010–2021, we posit that there is a divergence between the perceptions, expectations and realities of academic success and that this has widened over the last decade. We find limited evidence of gendered differences in how academics define success, in stark contrast to employment and promotion outcomes within universities. We also find notable differences in how individual, more senior academics value publications and grant capture, which is at odds with advice usually given to ECAs. This mismatch is reinforced by the steady rise in the total number of essential job criteria listed on job advertisements for early career positions. Strong applicants are expected to excel in more areas than a decade ago. We put forward a series of recommendations implementable at local levels (e.g., research groups, learned society committees, departments) to help ensure markers of success are defined, valued and implemented in more appropriate and consistent ways. These include: the necessity of establishing clear guidelines for recruitment, promotion and awards, and ensuring these are visible and accessible; greater transparency around the weightings given to different criteria in a job advert; and a call to the community to reflect on how our individual markers of success match our career advice and the decisions taken by hiring or promotion panels we sit on.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	2387-2394
Number of pages	8
Journal	EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS
Volume	48
Issue number	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5634
Publication status	Published - 30 Sept 2023

Keywords

academic career progression
call to action
career stage
defining academic success
perception versus experience

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10.1002/esp.5634

Cite this

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title = "Evaluating success in a changing academic landscape",

abstract = "How one individual characterises another successful individual varies widely. At a time when work–life balance and the use of metrics are key concerns within the academic landscape, Early Career Academics (ECAs) are voicing particular worries about the opacity with which we discuss and define success in academia, which influences recruitment and progression in unseen ways. Drawing on the results of a survey of 92 geomorphologists, earth and environmental scientists (96% from Europe or North America) and textual analysis of 54 job advertisements for early career positions at UK institutions spanning 2010–2021, we posit that there is a divergence between the perceptions, expectations and realities of academic success and that this has widened over the last decade. We find limited evidence of gendered differences in how academics define success, in stark contrast to employment and promotion outcomes within universities. We also find notable differences in how individual, more senior academics value publications and grant capture, which is at odds with advice usually given to ECAs. This mismatch is reinforced by the steady rise in the total number of essential job criteria listed on job advertisements for early career positions. Strong applicants are expected to excel in more areas than a decade ago. We put forward a series of recommendations implementable at local levels (e.g., research groups, learned society committees, departments) to help ensure markers of success are defined, valued and implemented in more appropriate and consistent ways. These include: the necessity of establishing clear guidelines for recruitment, promotion and awards, and ensuring these are visible and accessible; greater transparency around the weightings given to different criteria in a job advert; and a call to the community to reflect on how our individual markers of success match our career advice and the decisions taken by hiring or promotion panels we sit on.",

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author = "Daniel Schillereff and Lucy Clarke and Emma Shuttleworth and Danielle Alderson",

note = "Funding Information: Thank you to the Executive Editor Prof Stuart Lane, the Associate Editor and two anonymous reviewers for thoughtful and constructive comments. We gratefully acknowledge the 92 respondents to our survey, which form the basis for this publication. We also acknowledge the Guest Editors of the Earth Surface Processes and Landforms Women and Geomorphology Special Issue. The research presented in this paper emerged from discussions the authors held whilst working on a different paper for that important volume. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.",

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Evaluating success in a changing academic landscape

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Keywords

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