Alternative Academic Careers: The Advantages

In a previous post, I described some alternative career paths for PhDs in academia. For those who like the academic research environment but don't think the tenure-track path is a good fit for them, these alternative careers can be a good option. But while alternative careers have some advantages over tenure-track positions, there are also disadvantages to be considered. This post will focus on the advantages of alternative academic careers. My comments will be primarily from the non-tenure track faculty perspective, but I will try to point out features of the other alternative tracks as well.

I think the greatest advantage of alternative academic careers is the ability to do academic research without the pressures and limitations of the tenure-track path, particularly at the junior faculty level. For example, I don't have a tenure clock ticking ominously in the background and I don't worry about losing my job if I don't get promoted within a preset timeframe. I am expected to write grants, but if they are not funded, I won't have to shut down my experiments or lay people off.

Because I work in a large, wealthy lab, I am not limited in the kinds of projects I can work on by (1) the cost of experiments and availability of equipment and reagents, (2) the feasibility of performing the experiments with a small staff and inexperienced trainees, and (3) whether I will be out-competed by larger, more established labs in the field. I also have fewer demands on my time since I don't have to teach, serve on university committees, attend faculty meetings, or mentor graduate students.

In essence, my position allows me to do the things that I love without having to do too many of the things I'd rather not be bothered with. I have access to the resources of a well-staffed and well-funded lab without having had to write the grants to support that lab. Because I don't have to get X papers and Y grants in Z years to keep my job, I can take on cool, high-risk projects. I can unofficially mentor people in lab--by training and supervising technicians and advising grad students and postdocs--but I'm not solely responsible for their development as scientists. And since my PI treats me as a "junior co-PI", I have near-complete autonomy in directing my own research, am involved in many of the projects in the lab, and get a lot of say in how the lab is run.

One result of having fewer responsibilities and pressures is that I have a significantly better work-life balance than most tenure-track junior faculty I know. Don't get me wrong--there is more than enough work to keep me busy for 80 hours a week, but I feel like I can choose not to work all the time without fearing my career will completely fail. Having the freedom to have a life outside of lab is probably the most oft-cited reason for people choosing a non-tenure track career.

These advantages apply to the "Professor" positions on the non-tenure faculty track as well as the Instructor position, which is a kind of pre-Assistant Professor position. I don't know any Adjunct Professors or Lecturers, so I can't speak to what those positions are like. Staff positions are actually lower-pressure and have shorter workweeks than non-tenure track faculty positions--they are more like 9-to-5 jobs and some staff researchers work part-time. These positions can therefore be a good choice for those who want a job, but not necessarily a career, in research science. As for the perpetual postdoc positions, I honestly cannot think of any advantage to these over the faculty or staff positions.

If you think all these advantages of alternative careers sound too good to be true, well, you're right in some respects. There are definitely sacrifices to be made in order to have these advantages, and not everyone will find it to be a good trade-off. Next up: the disadvantages of alternative academic careers.