It’s a really tough part of the term: many lecturers and students are feeling fatigued and/or sick and Christmas is just around the corner. So perhaps it’s not surprising that one of the most interesting articles in Chronicle this week is a rather pessimistic account of three second-year tenure track professors (the equivalent of the second year of a permanent job) and their lost dreams disappearing under mountains of admin work!
The three commentators in this article showed how easy it is to forget why we all signed up to be academics in the first place: the love of learning and imparting knowledge to the next generation. Typical is the story told by one who excitedly found some new research materials in the library, carried them home to the office only for them to be sitting untouched a week later. Attending meetings, keeping records, making grant applications had simply got in the way of the fun stuff. Another story described starting lots of exciting research projects but never having the time to pursue them to completion, always having to abandon these exciting investigations for the more mundane tasks of being a lecturer. The overall impression is that of the honeymoon period being over and coming back to the real world with a bump. So is having a permanent job in the UK really like that?
It really is tough juggling teaching, administration and research demands, especially at the end of a long term with a stinking cold! However, I think there are lots of ways to help you remember why you became an academic and constantly relive that career joy you felt on first getting hired. Here are a couple that work for me. First, be strict with yourself: set aside a time each week, even during term time, when you do some research. I manage a half a day per week. Second, don’t take on too much: if you show that you’re willing to be on every committee going, your colleagues will take up your offer. Protect yourself and don’t appear too willing. And finally, set goals that will lead to the sorts of things you want to achieve, rather than goals set by others. Be in control of your career and don’t let yourself get swept along by the day to day tasks of your job. Easier said that done of course, but by focussing on the great things about being an academic, you might help to keep your spirits up in the dark days of December!
