Introduction

Early career faculty members often struggle with a host of issues as they transition into their roles. They face varied and conflicting demands on their time: courses with multiple preparations that take more time than anticipated, committee work, advising, and often the need to develop a research agenda. As a result, many early career faculty members struggle with time management, making career choices, and balancing work-family responsibilities. This chapter shares lessons, insights, and strategies from early career faculty collected as part of a longitudinal study of pretenure faculty. It draws on literature from higher education about faculty work and careers, mentoring, and institutional climate to provide critical context for faculty careers. The chapter normalizes the new faculty experience, naming and making explicit the challenges early career faculty face, and identifying the different dimensions of institutional culture and the political environments that affect faculty work. Finally, it also presents overview of this book.