Education Focused Career Pathways for Graduate Researchers

Abstract

For many graduate researchers, the path to an academic career can feel opaque, especially when considering roles beyond traditional research and teaching positions, such as education-focussed roles. Education-focussed roles play an important part of the educational mission of Australian tertiary institutions, and, like traditional research and teaching positions, are part of an academic culture that can seem impenetrable to those looking for their pathway into this career. 

In this workshop, we discuss the nature of academic careers, focusing specifically on the kind of work undertaken by education-focused academics in the sciences. We de-mystify some of the jargon around academic work and explore what kinds of activities graduate researchers undertaking a disciplinary-based PhD can be doing to better position themselves for success in a future education-focused academic career. Additionally, we’ll take look at key pieces academic job application materials and how they can be tailored to communicate the skills and experiences that are valued in the academic job market for education-focussed roles.