Why I’m going back to academia

From ScienceMag:

Every day as I walked to my office, I felt a pang. The research institute where I worked was on a university campus, but it felt a world apart. I saw my academic colleagues building fulfilling relationships with students through teaching and mentoring—opportunities I could only engage in on a limited basis, in the time I had left after completing my research responsibilities. My decision a few years earlier to leave academia and pursue more applied research had felt completely logical. Several colleagues had made similar moves, and they seemed happy. I had packed my boxes and told myself I was closing one chapter for good. But I was starting to wonder whether there might be a way back.

For some time, I convinced myself I had made the right choice. I worked on projects I enjoyed and was proud of, building national and international collaborations, writing policy reports, and contributing to R&D that had a direct impact on farmers and farming communities.

And I still had some opportunities to interact with students. Colleagues from the university sometimes invited me to cosupervise Ph.D. students with relevant research interests. I jumped at the chance, even though I had to do it on my own time as it was not an official part of my job responsibilities. I gave and attended occasional lectures at the university, and the resulting interactions with students were always invigorating. I loved that every year new students arrived with fresh perspectives, different cultural backgrounds, and questions that sometimes forced me to rethink assumptions I did not even realize I was making. After a lecture a few years ago, one student asked why a particular crop was not grown in a specific region—a simple question that stopped me midsentence. That conversation eventually grew into a research proposal. Every time I supervised or mentored a student or gave a lecture, I left feeling energized. I couldn’t deny that I wanted more.

I was also growing frustrated with some of the challenges and limitations of working at a research institute, where bureaucracy and multiple levels of management can slow even seemingly simple actions such as bringing visiting researchers on for collaborations. Universities, of course, have their own challenges, limitations, and bureaucracies. Competition for funding is intense. Teaching takes time. I was under no illusion that returning to academia would solve every frustration.

Still, whenever I came across a faculty job posting, I felt a spark of excitement and often found myself wondering whether I should give it a try. I even bookmarked a couple of faculty job ads, returning to them for days before finally closing the tabs.

A committee meeting for a Ph.D. student I co-supervise was the final push I needed. The student mentioned how overwhelming it felt to start a Ph.D. in a new country, and we spent a few minutes talking about how he could build a support network. When the meeting ended, I realized the most enjoyable part of my week had been that hour with a student. I no longer wanted to relegate the most rewarding parts of my professional life to essentially a side project. Having made what I thought was a career-defining pivot away from academia, I decided to find a way back.

It’s often said that once you leave the established path to the professoriate it is hard to get back on, and returning hasn’t been easy. My CV looks quite different from those of many others going up for university professor jobs through the traditional tenure-track route. But I talked to my professional network, explored unconventional on-ramps back to academia, and applied for openings, highlighting my unique background and the skills I’ve developed as a result. I was offered a part-time university appointment, and I now have two students to help get my research program off the ground.

I have come to realize teaching, mentoring, and academic life are part of who I am. No matter where my career or destiny takes me, I do not think I can completely walk away from them.

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