Struggling to know how to approach my career - 10 years left.

[GenderCriticalAlways]

I'll be leaving academia in 10-12 years.

Because I know that this is on the horizon, I really struggle to make sense of my career and how I should approach it.

If I knew that I had another 30 years in the sector, I could throw myself in - take the opportunities, write the grants, do the networking, write the papers, build the impactful relationships etc.

If I knew I had (say) only another 2 years in the sector, I'd roll back and stop doing everything apart from the absolutely basic essentials.

But I'm stuck in a bit of a mid-space. My career feels temporary so I find it hard to find the motivation to invest in things with long-term pay-off. At the same time, my career also feels long enough that I know I have to still play the game.

And I'm not sure how to reconcile these two things, how to exist in that mid-space. I can't really discuss this at work because I'm not retiring in 10 years so I think me discussing my plans to leave the sector will be perceived as quite bizarre 😆

I just wonder if there are any other academic MNers with about 10 years left in academia and, if so, how are you managing your career?

Wow! I could have written this myself @GenderCriticalAlways I have about 9-10 years left and it pains me to imagine getting through another year, never mind 10. I'm struggling to find any enthusiasm or actual enjoyment in the job now. We seem to be plagued by staff sickness, increasing teaching loads and more students needing quite considerable support for their complex needs.
I am actively looking for alternative jobs so that I feel the remaining years are enjoyable & purposeful. Question is what to do?

very interesting question(s)

I have 25 yrs left, and i often feel that work life would be better if more colleagues were engaging in the same reflection as you are now!

my mentor missed this totally. He was in denial til the very last year and kept going full throttle. Delegated nothing, no succession planning, nothing. It has left a trail of disaster :(

I don’t know what field you are in. In my patch of science that would be two big grants. I would go full pelt at one scientific question I think, with two or three staff members to help me answer it. Id like to pick one question and work solely on that. I’d gradually divest all the other responsibilities like grant panels and studentship panels and so on, if I didn’t care about career advancement I could do that

10-12 years gives you time to see 2 or 3 PhD students through to completion. And to write a book if that is what you are inclined towards.

Or think - what is the one big change that I would like to see in my field? something to help the next generation. whether more support for a particular topic, or a different structure for women in academia or changing something about how your university runs. and then if you pick something, you can campaign for it & make it happen. Right now, you have political capital and you don't need to be afraid so spend it. So it is a great time to go out & change the world (at least one corner of it).

Hah! That is the time I have. Have a couple of books left in me. Could deal with the new MA I am supposed to set up, and the constantly new modules, and the lack of admin support, but things are so so bad at my place and my department is facing redundancies....guess what I am desperately trying to persuade somewhere else to take a punt on me for the last decade and noone's biting. Never thought the last decade would be this miserable. I hate what has happened in this sector and the fact that at my age, it seems impossible to do the things one went into it for and unlikely I'll have a job in a year.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond.

I'm in social sciences. I'm not sure I have that much 'political capital' to be honest. I've only recently been promoted to SL. I'm not one of the 'key players' or 'in-crowd' in my Department. I've always just gotten my head down and gotten on with work.

@bge That's a really interesting approach. I find myself going for the complete opposite to be honest. When I first started in academia I began to build my career in one area and found it absolutely sole destroying. I hated reading the same journals, going to conferences, with the same people, and seeing people basically doing the same (albeit ever so slightly altered) research over-and-over again. In recent years, I've been throwing myself into everything and anything that looks remotely interesting. Jack of all trades, master of none is how I'd describe my research approach. LOL.

I don't necessarily feel as negative towards academia as some posters. I see the problems of course and I'm eager to leave as soon as I can. But I'm happy to spend the next decade here (though I'm not sure how to approach/spend that decade hence the thread). But I don't feel particularly inclined towards academia. I mean I have no passion, interest or affinity for the sector, for my colleagues, for my subject, for my students. It's a decent job but ultimately it is just a job.

approach it such that you want to be in good position to move into whatever your next plan is. Also, keep your options open, what if you change your mind in 5 years?

I've never had a 'career plan' but I stay motivated because I enjoy research & publishing. Most of all I enjoy an intellectual job with flexible hours where I can dress like a scruffbag. do you enjoy any part or your job?

That's really interesting that you've never had a 'career plan' as such. I'm not actually sure they work too well in contemporary academia because the landscape shifts too rapidly and is too uncertain.

I started off with a 'career plan' which has just sort of fallen apart over the years. In a good way, I don't mean that negatively. I began building a track record and reputation in one area. My plan was to become a specialist in that area, one of the 'the names' and rise through the promotion ladder.

But, as I said, I found it absolutely soul destroying to stay in one research area so I started to bounce around different topics, areas, methods, networks, questions. I found this approach far more fun, interesting, varied and motivational. The jury's out whether it hurt my career progression - I don't think so. But I'm not hugely ambitious in an upward way anyway. I would rather have day-to-day job satisfaction and work/life balance than be always chasing the next rung on the ladder.

Oh yes, I absolutely enjoy most parts of my job. Like you, I like doing something intellectually stimulating with huge amounts of autonomy in my own time/pace while dressed like I sleep in a bin 😅But it is still 'just a job' to me and I'm looking forward to leaving.

Is there any opportunity to move to a different role such as pastoral tutor or learning technology?

I'm not really looking to move roles.

I'm happy to stay in my current role for a decade, I'm just not sure how to approach it.

I guess my problem is that I'm not sure what my 10-year plan should be when the end of 10 years is me leaving the sector, rather than going up some rungs on the ladder or making some kind of mark. In short, what should I do with my time over the next 10 years knowing that non-academic life is coming next?

I'm not sure there's an answer to this but I'm really interested in hearing others' perspectives.