ABSTRACT
You are reading this book in the light of the very competitive labour market in higher education and you may be debating whether you have the desire or ability to stay on track towards an academic career. This may be because you recognise how few academic jobs exist in your field and how intensely keen the competition is for such vacancies. Perhaps you have already had some temporary contracts in lecturing, researching or tutoring, but hesitate to take further short-term posts because of practical concerns such as low income and the problems associated with obtaining a mortgage. Alternatively, you may have decided there are aspects of academic life which do not fully engage your talents and interests. You may wish to transfer some of your academic skills to another setting to develop your career in a different context.
