Please note: This story reflects the personal experience and perspective of its contributor. Academic careers vary widely, and others may experience different challenges and opportunities. 

Career Story 

I gained my PhD in 2007 and have been employed as a postdoctoral researcher since then. While still precariously funded, I am no longer an early career researcher. Instead, I see myself as a “long-term researcher” — someone whose role now includes some responsibilities and activities more akin to those of an academic or mid-career researcher, even if the title does not formally reflect that.

This was not an intentional career path. For several years I worked part-time (0.4 FTE) in research while pursuing a separate career. For a complex set of reasons, I eventually returned to research as my sole career and am now navigating a university system that, in my view, benefits greatly from experienced researchers like me but does not provide many formal routes for recognition or progression.

Over time, I have found being a more senior researcher – working across multiple projects and taking on informal leadership responsibilities – more enjoyable and rewarding than my early postdoctoral years. It suits my strengths better. That shift has reignited my enthusiasm for academia.

If I could advise my younger self, I would encourage myself to commit more actively to pursuing an academic career, and to do so strategically. I would ring-fence more time and energy to identify the research area that truly excites me and prioritise building my own research profile. I would also push earlier for formal recognition of contributions such as supervision and proposal development.

I have learned that my most meaningful impact comes from bringing distinct but complementary expertise into interdisciplinary teams. By facilitating knowledge exchange and team-building across disciplines, I help improve the quality of the research we produce. Advising and mentoring postgraduate researchers, particularly PhD students, has also become a central part of my contribution.

My personal circumstances have allowed me to accept a relatively high level of job insecurity and to work reduced hours (0.4 FTE and more recently 0.8 FTE). Working part-time was a deliberate choice and has been positive for me personally. It has allowed me to carve out an unusual academic role. I recognise that this path would not have been possible for everyone.

Many peers with similar or fewer years of experience are now senior academic leaders. It can be difficult not to compare my position to theirs. I often remind myself that I have not actively pursued the same trajectory, and that lack of formal recognition does not equate to lack of value.

Networks have been central to sustaining this path. Many people I met early in my career remain collaborators. Those peers are now leaders in their fields, and those long-standing relationships are mutually beneficial. Professional networks often overlap with friendships, which makes maintaining them both rewarding and strategically valuable.

Being a long-term researcher may not be a clearly recognised career pathway, but that does not make it illegitimate. It is possible to build influence, expertise and impact without following a conventional ladder.

Reflections I would offer now 

• If you choose a long-term researcher pathway, treat it as a strategic position, not an accidental one. 
• Ring-fence time to develop your own research profile, even when working across multiple projects. 
• Push early for formal recognition of supervision, mentoring and proposal contributions. 
• Distinct, complementary expertise can be a powerful asset in interdisciplinary teams. 
• Networks compound over time. Invest in them early and maintain them intentionally. 
• Do not measure your value solely against peers on traditional promotion pathways. 
• A non-linear or part-time path does not invalidate your contribution.