A Survey of SHAPE Research Careers

Front cover of the report
Year
2024
Publisher
The British Academy
Number of pages
53

Summary

In November 2023, the British Academy commissioned the Careers and Research Advisory Centre (CRAC) to develop and run a survey as part of the Academy’s SHAPE Research Careers project. The rationale for a survey was to build an evidence base with responses from a spectrum of SHAPE researchers in and, as much as possible, beyond academia, blending quantitative and qualitative insights.

The survey interrogated the project’s key themes of identity, mobility and porosity by inviting views from a broad demographic of researchers in a way that would enable the data to be compared and analysed against other markers, such as career stage, gender, discipline and sector.

Key objectives were to assess:

  • Who SHAPE researchers are and what they do, within and beyond academia;
  • The nature and extent of mobility and porosity within the SHAPE research careers;
  • The motivations for and barriers to research careers for SHAPE disciplines.

910 usable responses were collected, yielding incredibly rich and nuanced insights into the careers of SHAPE researchers. This report, produced by CRAC, presents and analyses the survey’s key findings.

Employment of SHAPE researchers

While 80 per cent of survey respondents were currently employed in academia/higher education (HE), the survey shows that SHAPE researchers work in a range of sectors. The most common sectors of employment other than academia/HE were education and training, the public sector, charity/third sector, creative and cultural, and health and social care; proportions in each of these did vary according to broad disciplinary background.

Those working in sectors other than academia/HE had roles not only in research but also positions requiring management and/or professional/technical expertise and skills, and the survey provided some evidence that SHAPE skills and expertise were in demand beyond academia – enabling such employment to be secured and for success within it.

Although a higher proportion of respondents working in academia/HE held an open-ended/permanent contract than those working in other sectors, this partly reflected strong participation in the survey by established academics, the majority of whom had open-ended employment. Less than half that proportion of academic/HE respondents at early-career stages had secured such stability.

A higher proportion of respondents working in other sectors reported portfolio or multiple employment positions and/or some self-employment compared with those currently in academia/HE. Higher proportions of female respondents working in other sectors also reported either portfolio and/or part-time employment, when compared to their counterparts working in academia/HE.

The overall location profile for SHAPE researchers was not as highly concentrated in London and the Southeast as other aspects of the UK R&D system.

Use of research skills

Research skills remain important and widely applicable across career stages and sectors. Asked whether their research skills had helped them to gain their current role, 92 per cent of those working in academia/HE either strongly agreed or agreed. This was nearly as high among those working in other sectors. The vast majority of respondents working in academia/HE and those working in other sectors agreed or strongly agreed that they regularly applied research skills in their current role. Similar proportions stated that without their research skills they would not succeed in their current role. Only slightly lower proportions agreed or strongly agreed that their research skills were essential for their career progression.

Just under two thirds of those in academia/HE had either conducted primary or experimental research and/or had evaluated and/or produced a synthesis of research or knowledge. More than half had evaluated others’ research or project proposals, planned/managed a research project or a research portfolio and/or conducted new research using existing data/resources. Lower but still substantial proportions had obtained new projects/funding for their own research and/or led and managed other researchers or a research team. A similar trend in results existed for those working in other sectors, with only slightly lower proportions conducting each of these types of activity, although substantially fewer evaluated others’ research or obtained research funding.

When asked if they would like to conduct research in the future, 95 per cent of respondents with a doctorate and 93 per cent of others stated that they would like to do so – it was attractive to almost all.

Mobility in SHAPE research careers

Experiences of mobility varied with the sector in which the respondent works, and, to a certain extent, with gender and career stage. Those currently working in academia/HE tended to have experienced more geographic mobility than those working in other sectors, but less employer or sector mobility. Much of the international mobility had been undertaken by non-UK nationals, though around 30 per cent of total respondents had undertaken at least some international mobility to date. There was a trend suggesting that female respondents tended to have fewer experiences of geographic mobility but more experiences of changing employer or sector while remaining local, compared with male counterparts. Some evidence indicated that those at early stages of career had relatively greater experiences of sector mobility, compared with later-career respondents.

In terms of porosity, higher proportions of respondents currently working in other sectors had experiences of movement both ‘in’ and ‘out’ of academia/HE, compared with those who currently work in academia/HE. There was some evidence to suggest a higher percentage of respondents with a background in the humanities who now worked in other sectors had experienced multiple sector changes, compared with those with a background in social sciences.

Sectoral mobility and research careers: motivations and barriers

Most respondents, irrespective of current sector, referred to aspirations for increased job satisfaction and work/life balance, enhancement of role or career progression, and job security as motivations for considering a sector change, either into or out of academia. A higher proportion of female respondents referred to family circumstances/commitments as drivers to change sector (compared with male respondents), in some cases in order to avoid the necessity for geographical mobility in order to progress in their career. More of the early- and mid-career respondents cited enhanced job security, career progression, and work/life balance as important motivations for changing sectors, compared with later-career respondents.

When considering a potential sector move, higher percentages of those working in academia/HE identified all the potential barriers mentioned, compared with those in other sectors, with lack of experience and credibility, fear that a move ‘back’ to academia would not be possible, and a lack of guidance and support were brought up by many. Those currently working in other sectors were less inclined to identify barriers, but were particularly concerned about whether they would be credible or be taken seriously within academia/HE, because they believed experiences in other sectors were not valued.

The main barriers to progress in a research career were considered to be difficulties in securing funding, insufficient opportunities/positions, and excessive competition, irrespective of sector. As with motivations for sector change, more female respondents referred to family and caring commitments, which limited potential geographical mobility, as a barrier to progression. Similarly, this form of barrier was cited by far more early- and mid-career respondents than by those later in their careers. Issues like insufficient reward or expectations of poor work/life balance were more significant for early-career respondents than others.

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