Editors
About the volume
Higher Ed Careers Beyond the Professoriate features compelling, practical advice and personal reflections from PhDs working in diverse career fields at higher education institutions. Designed to be of interest to current and potential doctoral students, faculty advisors of graduate students, and PhDs working in or interested in transitioning to higher ed positions beyond the faculty, this volume draws in its audience with engaging, highly reflective narratives from higher ed professionals with PhDs from a wide variety of academic disciplines, personal identities, and employing institution types. While numerous advice and personal narratives for people interested in traditional faculty careers exist, alongside a small handful of volumes focused on career paths outside the academy, this volume will be the first to focus on the growing career fields and opportunities for PhDs interested in working in colleges and universities in positions beyond the professoriate. For those interested in exploring and pursuing higher ed careers beyond the professoriate, this book offers hope, advice, and concrete strategies for building and succeeding in a wide range of higher ed career fields.
Proposals
Chapters should be 3,000-5,000 words. We welcome chapters that are grounded in personal narratives and include what the author wishes they would have known or heard as advice when they were graduate students.
Chapters should engage one or more of the following topics:
- Path to current position
- Influence of personal identity/background on career path and experiences (e.g. race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability, socioeconomic status)
- How the author has navigated work-life balance
- How family, geographic constraints, and other factors have influenced the author’s career path, opportunities, and decisions
- How the author has benefited from cultivating a career path beyond the professoriate
- How the author has pursued professional development opportunities, built professional networks, and developed mentoring relationships
- How the author has navigated decisions about whether to continue to engage in teaching and/ or research
- How the author has navigated expectations about what a “successful” career looks like for a PhD, including pressures or expectations to pursue a traditional academic faculty path
- Advice for what current PhD students can do to prepare for diverse careers in higher ed
- Advice for what current PhD students can do to prepare for a career in the author’s current career field
- Advice and reflections on career transitions from faculty to diverse careers in higher ed
- Practical advice for navigating financial issues related to career transitions and/or diverse careers in higher ed
- Navigating a career path at the institution where you received your PhD
- Understanding the different cultures and compensation trends across areas of higher ed (e.g. academic affairs, student affairs, institutional affairs)
- Understanding compensation norms, packages, and negotiation strategies including salary, benefits, retirement, etc.
- Navigating the class structure within the university as a PhD outside the faculty
Proposal submission process
Proposals of 300-500 words should outline the main areas of reflection and advice to be addressed in the proposed chapter.
Proposals from PhDs of color, queer, non-binary, and trans PhDs, PhDs from working class, first-gen, and/or immigrant backgrounds, and PhDs with disabilities are especially encouraged.
Proposals should be formatted as follows:
Working Title:
Author:
PhD discipline:
PhD-granting institution:
Current position title:
Current employing college or university:
We are committed to centering the voices of scholars of a diverse range of identities. To that end, please share your race/ethnicity, gender identity and any other identities or aspects of your background you wish to share:
Abstract:
Please submit proposals to bsimula@emory.edu no later than January 15th, 2020.
Decisions will be sent by mid-February, 2020. Chapters will be due in December 2020, following review and feedback from the publisher.
