The rocky road to tenure – career paths in academia

Abstract

This chapter tries to identify and analyse different stages of an academic career from the early stages as a PhD candidate via the selective postdoctoral phase towards reaching permanent employment, preferably but not necessarily as a tenured university professor. As academic career paths and perspectives are currently in a state of transformation recent national attempts to give new structure and perspective to academic careers (tenure-track) will be discussed as well as alternative career models that are possibly emerging (externally funded positions, cross employment). Focusing on the personal perspectives and experiences of academics the situation and problems they currently find themselves confronted with will be reflected.