The Brutal Reality of Starting an Academic Career and How to Survive It

Are you starting your academic career and feeling overwhelmed by the challenges ahead? Do you want to know how to navigate the early career academic stage successfully?
In this video, I will be sharing some practical tips and strategies that might help you not only survive but thrive during the early stages of your academic career. From managing your workload effectively to building strong relationships with colleagues and mentors, I cover all the essential skills and mindset you need to succeed.
Whether you are a postdoc, lecturer, or assistant professor, this video should be helpful for anyone who wants to take their academic career to the next level.
So, if you want to learn how to survive and thrive in the early career academic stage, make sure to watch this video and subscribe to our channel for more useful tips and advice. Let's get started!

[@jamestalksresearch]

Comments and feedback appreciated

[@bgill7475]

How to survive it: 1) Don't get taken advantage of by people who just want to use you to put their name on your papers. 2) Go into industry instead, be valued, and make good money and do research there instead.

[@indyd9322]

Yes, plase talk more about time management!

[@alekseiegorov9857]

Absolutely brilliant! Thank you for sharing your wisdom!

[@Christopherdaviddd]

Thank you for this video. I'm just starting my journey as an academician in medical education and I still have minimal idea about all these points you mentioned. I appreciate this!

[@MrSypratt]

As a recently retired academic I used to tell new faculty to “pick their no’s”… I’d tell them not to accept every invitation to join a committee or agree to every request because over commitment in these kinds of things would come back and bite them big time at their evaluations. It’s sad to see young faculty penalized for doing the things they were asked to do and had to slight their teaching or research for. It wasn’t that there was a conspiracy against these new faculty, but just too many different voices coming up with tasks for them to do.

[@jamestalksresearch]

Thank you. This is a very good point - what you say yes to, or no to, will define your career.

[@robertmaidstone4532]

These videos you've been putting out are really great James. Thank you

[@jamestalksresearch]

Thanks Robert. Much appreciated.

[@robertmaidstone4532]

@@jamestalksresearch would also be keen to hear more about your email management system

[@clairechewapreecha6218]

Thank you so much for sharing this. Really appreciate it!

[@jamestalksresearch]

Glad you liked it, Claire.

[@mudassariqbal1202]

Really liked this James, thank you. Would be keeping an eye on this channel

[@jamestalksresearch]

Glad you liked it.

[@stephwliu]

Great video. Will you say a little bit about how to establish a mentorship relationship?

[@jean-bosco729]

So helpful: A+

[@emmanuelameyaw9735]

Grant money is fixed though.😊. If there were 20 versions of you, then 18 would not get if there was money for 2 grants. All the same, put in your best. Good luck.

[@DaLiJeIOvoImeZauzeto]

A very interesting video, thank you for the useful pieces of advise. What is your opinion regarding publishing a single paper vs. dividing it to smaller ones? Specifically for early researchers. I'm finishing my phd and sitting on a lot of unpublished results which need a few more months to be a strong paper, but I'm currently out of funds. I've been advised to publish a part of it, but I've refused so far. Thank you very much.

[@jamestalksresearch]

Great question. If you had all the time and money you needed, then I would definitely wait until you had a large, comprehensive paper. However, if you don't have the resources right now, then it is always best to have published some of the "big picture", rather than none of it at all. Having published a piece of work can help to establish your career and then maybe you can get more financial resources to get back to publishing the rest? This is a great question and there is never an easy answer.

[@DaLiJeIOvoImeZauzeto]

@@jamestalksresearch Thank you very much for answering so quickly. I should've heeded the advise of an old professor and published. I'll get back on it. Thank you again.

[@priscillabahaw5673]

@@DaLiJeIOvoImeZauzetoI am in the same boat. I am currently extracting papers from my thesis to publish too

[@gianni_drm]

So glad to be out of academia after my PhD.

[@Nickname006]

I feel a strong repulsion when listening to this type of videos. I guess that is a clear sign that it is time to leave academia. I have actually enjoyed doing research a lot, but the culture and the pyramid that one has to climb is hollow to me. Everyone faking to be collaborative but secretly always competing with you, almost as if hoping that you fail.