There are many reasons that academics may unexpectedly find themselves at a research career crossroads. This is different to the ‘other’ academic career crossroads, i.e. whether to stay or leave academia generally, which we all reach at some point in our career.
The research crossroads is a place where you suddenly realise that the research direction you thought you were heading in is no longer working for you. This can happen for a few reasons. Competitive effects and funding limitations are now more intense than ever; the fields you thought you were building a presence in aren’t recognising your work; experiments/methodologies you are working with no longer excite you; you can no longer trust the colleagues you trusted; new interests have drawn your attention etc. You have a job and a purpose, but where is your research heading?
If you have access to an excellent trusted mentor, and/or enough research funds to buy independence, and/or other types of academic privilege, you may be able to navigate this crossroads smoothly.
But what if you don’t have access to those things?
Most academics work across multiple closely-related fields and disciplines. I’ve straddled the boundaries of ecology and entomology for years, and (at a smaller scale) cross multiple sub-fields of insect, plant, and community ecology.
But recently I found myself at a major research crossroads through a set of coincidences. After a decade cumulating lost opportunities, professional betrayals, persistent obstacles, rediscovering past interests, and trusted colleagues leaving academia, I took leave to have a baby. My priorities suddenly changed, as they should when you become a parent, and especially during a pandemic. I have less time for non-essential tasks and events, less capacity for field work, and less patience for bureaucracy. Having to be covid-safe to protect your child also means missing out on most ‘in person/indoor’ opportunities that have been unofficially deemed essential to academic career networking and progression: conferences, workshops, meetings, outreach, workplace socialising etc.
So here I am wondering where to go next. Can a mid-career researcher move into a new research niche? And how do they do it?
One thing we rarely get taught in our research training is how to shift discipline. It’s very rare for a researcher to stay 100% within their research lane for their entire career, yet most academic metrics and grant assessments are based on this myth. The stories of success and superstardom that we are sold all portray the stereotypical academic who has been obsessed with their study organism or system since they were a kid. Funding bodies and selection committees expect to see evidence of long-term dedication to a field. PR and scicomm machines generally avoid ‘complexity’ and tend to box academics into neatly labelled fields of expertise.
This isn’t reality! The world needs more academics with cross- and inter- disciplinary expertise to solve our global environmental problems.
We all know academics that move smoothly across fields or disciplines. But we never really know how they did it, because we don’t talk about it openly or normalise it.
To shift effectively, you need cross-disciplinary connections and resources that many academics do not have, because we’re not taught how to build these from an early career stage. Even if you come into academia with previous skills and qualifications, your peers will rarely recognise you for these unless you’ve published on the topic or received funding for it.
Fostering cross-disciplinary connections is usually suggested as being up to the individual, but institutions and the broader academic community have a duty of care to support and encourage this. Here are a few things I think institutions, societies and umbrella organisations can do to support individual academics in their shape shifting endeavours…feel free to share any other ideas and experiences in the comments!
Online free training, qualifications, and resources to enable academics to upskill in related research areas – I think this is most useful for traditionally unrelated disciplines, for example scientists wanting to brush up on law, economics, or humanities fields relevant to their own expertise.
Digital platforms that connect academics with researchers in other disciplines, specifically with the goal of initiating new research – I’m thinking of something different to the currently available social media, where you can be connected to other researchers for specific research ideas and aims, not just general interests
Hosting short conferences and workshops (online/hybrid options) that promote cross- and inter- disciplinary discussions and potential collaboration
More funding and support for academics to conduct collaborative research on academic system problems that transcend disciplines – there are many research questions that need answering to address the systemic problems in academia that inhibit academic progress, scholarship, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and more. As I’ve argued before, I think that academics experiencing tribulations within their own discipline have a unique perspective to contribute to these questions that may be more valuable than a generic assessment from an external discipline, but there is rarely any incentive or capacity to pursue these questions.
© Manu Saunders 2024