The Academic Career Handbook

Blaxter, Loraine and Tight, Malcolm and Hughes, Christina (1998) The Academic Career Handbook. Open University. ISBN 0335198279

Abstract

This book is a guide to the strategies, opportunities, and practicalities of developing an academic career within the British higher education system. Following an introductory chapter, the first three chapters discuss the nature and development of academic careers, while the remaining five chapters examine different academic roles or tasks. The main text is supplemented by boxed inserts which contain information, opinions, and examples drawn from a wide range of sources. Individual chapters address the following topics: (1) academic careers (the academic life and the changing nature of higher education and careers); (2) starting an academic career (where to look for work, the job interview, and negotiating transitions); (3) networking (approaches to networking, conferences, seminars and societies, journals and newsletters, mentoring and partnerships); (4) teaching (approaches to teaching, tutoring and supervision, resource-based teaching, and assessment/evaluation); (5) researching (forms of research, research funding, managing research, and relating research to other academic roles); (6) writing (the importance of writing to an academic career, writing for journals, writing books, and how to avoid getting stale); (7) managing (academic managerial roles, committee work, running a department, and legal matters); and (8) developing an academic career (taking a lifetime perspective, appraisal and promotion). A list of relevant organizations and journals is attached. (Individual chapters contain references.)