Early Career Researcher Pathways, Tensions, and Stories

Early Career Researcher Pathways, Tensions, and Stories investigates the employability of doctoral graduates, specifically those from the Humanities, Arts and Social Science (HASS) disciplines. This study is in response to the continuing resistance and concern about the value of HASS research and researchers compared to STEM, and the precarious and tenuous career pathways that they face. There is an apparent contradiction between the call for interdisciplinary research to solve complex problems and the exclusion of HASS research from funding cycles and research priorities.

By providing a deeper understanding of real-life experiences through eight case studies of HASS graduates, Early Career Research Pathways explores how researchers past experiences inform their developing researcher identities and career futures. Researchers’ share deeply individual stories that describe their experiences as doctoral students in Australian universities, as new graduates transitioning to employment, and early career researchers pursuing new pathways. Topics such as enabling social impact through research, the mental and financial health of the early career researcher, various lived-experiences such as COVID-19 and the relative merits of collaboration, cooperation and competition are discussed. Their stories often raising conflicting and still unresolved questions and concerns.

For those thinking about enrolling, this research gives an appreciation of the transformative power of doctoral studies. For those beginning the early career researcher phase there is a chance to use others’ experiences to make sense of their own employment trajectories, whilst those delivering doctoral studies and employing graduates may be prompted to consider how to more fully harness the potential and capacity of this precious workforce.