This extended working paper reports on an investigation into how the career endings of UK academics and their transition to retirement are managed by the individuals concerned and their employing institutions.
The ‘feel’ for a person that comes from encountering them in their home is difficult to replicate in depth online. The pandemic has forced many changes in the way we work, although the implications will take time to become fully apparent. The most prominent change, of course, is the acceleration […]
Nearing retirement doesn’t have to mean you’re ‘out of the game’. But for those who wish to continue playing, it takes determination, stamina and strategy when the odds are stacked against you. Likening aspects of careers to a game can be a useful analogy, prompting numerous insights about “goals”, “players”, […]
Is the concept of the academic role model primed for an update? The grand achievements of those who came before are often held up as inspiration for current members of the academy, but a more nuanced view might be required. Are role models inspirational or a sign of an impoverished […]
Academic careers matter for several reasons, and much has been written about them. Extensive advice is available on establishing successful academic careers, but a recent contributor to this literature lamented that the ideal model of academic careers ‘fails to attend to the concerns of scholars looking to transition successfully out of the university at the end of their career’ (Hay 2017: 200).