Not all of us know what we want to do with our lives. No matter how long you think about it, you might never come up with a job that you want to do when you are all grown up – even if you are grown up right now! Because of this, some people choose to go into academia. Academia is everything that is focused on the academic side of subjects, including research and education.
So, all the lecturers and professors working at your university would have been academics. If some people can’t decide what job they want to do after university, they simply continue studying and pursue a career in the academic world. Sound like something you might be interested in? Well, these following points will help you decide whether you are really ready for a career in academia.
Are You Prepared For Even More Studying?
When you embark on an academic career, you just won’t be able to get away from all the studying and learning! Once you have completed an undergraduate degree, you will have to go on to pursue a masters degree. After that, you then have to complete a doctorate. All of this studying can take up to ten years to complete! Not sure if studying is right for you? You could sign up for some 2017 learnerships to see how you take to so much learning and education.
Would You Love An Independent Role?
One of the main aspects of academic jobs that attract people to them is the fact that they are completely independent roles. There will be certain institutional and governmental constraints that could restrict exactly what you teach your students, but apart from these, you will be completely free to choose the topics and subjects of your lectures and classes. You will also be free to work on papers and articles for academic journals alongside your classes.
The Salary Isn’t Always Great
Even though there is a lot of work that goes into working in academia, the salary isn’t always as great as you might think it would be. Over the past couple of decades, the income of academic workers hasn’t risen as much as it has in some other job sectors. In actual fact, your students may end up earning a lot more than you just a few months after they graduate! However, most academics are only in the job because they love the subject that they are teaching or researching. So if you are all about your subject of choice and not too bothered about a high wage, then this is the career route for you!
There Aren’t Always A Lot Of Permanent Jobs Around
Finding a permanent full-time job in the academic world can be very hard. Most academics have to work a side job while they are in a part-time academic role waiting for a full-time one to come up. But if you are prepared to work hard for a full-time job, and endure a bit of a wait for one, then this shouldn’t put you off a career in academia.