Navigating the academic ladder as an early career researcher in earth and environmental sciences

Abstract

There is growing concern in Higher Education around job security, work-life balance and inequalities, and early career researchers (ECRs) must make difficult trade-offs and life choices. Literature confirms that women navigating academia face additional

The ATTAC guiding principles to openly and collaboratively share wildlife ecotoxicology data

“…In such a DMP, attention should be given to the long-term sustainability of the database under the FAIR umbrella. Academia today is characterized by short-term contracts, particularly for early career scientists [ 2 , 73 ], making it often hard to keep contacts up to date. Even in the case of an apparent stable contact, some thought should be given to the afterlife of the database.…”

Introduction to the Women in Geomorphology special issue

“…Lininger et al (2021) discuss the challenges to conducting fieldwork during pregnancy and early motherhood and provide suggestions for the entire community to help in addressing these challenges. Alderson et al (2023) use responses to a survey to explore challenges faced by early career scientists (ECSs) in the UK academic community, including differences between male and female respondents. They use the survey responses to make several specific recommendations to improve the climate for ECSs.…”

“…SI contains several thoughtful pieces offering insights on diverse aspects of geomorphic research in a human context.Burr et al (2022) review the foundational contributions of women to planetary geomorphology Lininger et al (2021). discuss the challenges to conducting fieldwork during pregnancy and early motherhood and provide suggestions for the entire community to help in addressing these challenges Alderson et al (2023). use responses to a survey to explore challenges faced by early career scientists (ECSs) in the UK academic community, including differences between male and female respondents.…”

Evaluating success in a changing academic landscape

“…There are also persistent concerns that unwritten and unspoken—and potentially unconscious—weightings, priorities and measures of success beyond the criteria set out in a job specification do influence hiring panels. These concerns stem from ECAs often being outside of the decision‐making processes, inconsistent advice from more senior colleagues and opaque or overly generic Human Resources guidance (Alderson et al, 2022; Sutherland, 2015). More institutions are setting out formal expectations for promotion or tenure applicants, but the wide range of measures, from strict metric‐based thresholds through to qualitative descriptors, has been flagged as a limitation (Rice et al, 2020).…”

“…In this commentary, we strive to move beyond anecdotes and draw attention to (in)consistencies and differences in how academics judge success, and the ensuing implications on career progression, at a time when ECAs are questioning what it takes—and what it costs—to be successful in academia (Alderson et al, 2022; Hollywood et al, 2020). We evaluate the perspectives of geomorphologists, earth and environmental scientists gathered through an online survey and a critical review of stipulated job requirements for UK ECA posts advertised over the last 11 years.…”