They forget which game they are playing.
You imagine, at the start, that it is enough to take on everything and be really good at it, and you imagine your research excellence will shine and take you where you want to go.
You think becoming a better researcher, acquiring skills, publishing more, teaching courses, and saying yes to every opportunity is the way forward, because eventually you’ll be recognised for your hard work.
That is the mistake.
Academia does not - and has never - worked this way. Whilst excellence is essential I can tell you categorically it is not enough. It’s the strategy that counts. And if you are are bouncing around from one thing to the next, strategy is absent because you give no time over to develop it. And you don’t know how to develop it.
The academics who build exceptional careers at some decided to ask: how do I get from here → here. They didn’t leave it to serendipity. And the answer required choices to be made. Some comfortable, some less so.
Academic careers are NOT getting promoted from Lecturer to Professor. They are not a series of accumulated titles.
Imagine if you spent just a little of your time on questions that compound:
how to become known for something
how to build a publication strategy that builds a coherent narrative
how to choose - and make - opportunities, instead of accepting them
how to stop confusing frantic activity with progress
It won’t happen by accident: it happens by design. If you’re tired of working harder without reward, it’s time to stop surviving in your academic job, and build the career you want.
Want my FREE TRAINING on how to build that career?