For years, successive ministers for education, as well as Research Ireland (formerly Science Foundation Ireland), have been encouraging girls to do science in university. A full-time research position is typically presented as the pinnacle of such a career.
What is rarely made clear is the very long and precarious character of such a career. It involves, at the very least, a four-year undergraduate degree, followed by a PhD (ideally three years, but frequently taking four to five years). Typically, in science, your daughter might then need to do several three- to five-year temporary research contract positions (“postdocs”). In the past, she could expect to get a permanent position after one of these. The increase in the numbers of PhDs and postdocs and the relative unavailability of permanent positions in academia means this is no longer the case.
Hence, typically, it will be at least 13-18 years after the Leaving Certificate before there is any possibility of your daughter getting a permanent academic position.
Postdocs in universities are depicted as learning positions and are typically characterised by high levels of dependency on a senior permanent (frequently male) academic who is the grant holder and on whom the postdoc is highly dependent in terms of current workload, authorship of publications, future references, access to academic networks for future research funding, publications and a job. This power imbalance increases postdocs’ vulnerability to gender-based violence and harassment.
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Postdocs have been shown to be highly productive. It is in the interests of senior permanent (predominantly male) academics, as well as Research Ireland and the State to attract women into these positions since women are the high educational achievers. Their work can enhance the careers of the permanent academics, as well as pushing forward the frontiers of knowledge. But for any talented young woman, it will be an extremely long and arduous route to a permanent academic position.
After one or two temporary postdoc positions, it is possible to apply for a tenure-track academic position in many universities. The tenure-track process is very competitive as it offers a potential route to a permanent academic position. It involves a further five years of precarious employment with an annual evaluation against benchmarks, including publications and research funding. So, if your daughter is successful in getting on and surviving that, she may, 15-20 years after the Leaving Cert, get a permanent academic position, albeit often at the lowest level of the academic hierarchy (that is to say, at lecturer level).
Of course, similar caveats apply to other areas. However, since most five-year postdoc positions are in the broadly defined science area, the expectation that at least one postdoc will be undertaken before applying for a tenure-track position is particularly strong in these areas.
At present, there are no professorial positions in the new technological universities. The highest academic positions there (senior lecturer three) are linked to permanent managerial responsibilities which may not be attractive to those who want to do research. In the traditional (established pre-2019) universities, the highest academic position is full professor. This typically necessitates a move from lecturer to senior lecturer, then to associate professor and finally full professor.
Calculating in crude terms the “chance” of any academic getting to that position shows that men in science (broadly defined by the Higher Educational Authority as science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine: Stemm) have the best “chance” – ie, 17 per cent of all male academics in these areas are full professors compared with 10 per cent of their female counterparts. The “chance” of those in other areas (classified as arts, humanities, social science, business and law: AHSSBL) is lower, with little difference in the “chances” of women in these areas versus those in Stemm (9 per cent versus 10 per cent).
The solution presented by Research Ireland and the universities is to encourage PhDs and postdocs to consider careers outside academia.
However, since the reason they have chosen this route is because they want such a career, many are unwilling to consider other options. Furthermore, it is by no means clear that industry is always ready to appreciate the skills of those who have steadily pursued an academic track, although for example, UCC has created a programme (Odyssey) to encourage this route.
If your daughter is genuinely interested in any area, she should of course follow her dream. But it is important for you (and her) to take a reality check.
Getting a permanent job in science in academia often takes at least 13-18 years and her chance of a full professorship is much the same as her counterpart in the “softer” areas – and much worse than her male counterpart in Stemm.
- Prof Pat O’Connor is professor emeritus of sociology and social policy, University of Limerick, and visiting full professor at the Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
