The Role of Outside Work in Academic Careers

This study examined the role of college faculty work outside their higher education institution. The study took place at a mid-sized comprehensive state university in the rural Midwest. Faculty (N=400) were surveyed regarding the critical events in their careers. Analysis of the 179 usable questionnaires involved grouping of career events according to the settings in which they took place: schooling, academic career, work outside academia, and life away from work. Outside work was examined in relation to three sets of variables: personal, academic, and chronological. Findings included the following: (1) faculty listed between one and 19 career events with the average being 7.33 and older faculty tending to list more; (2) 23 faculty listed 31 military service events; (3) 21 faculty listed 51 public school teaching or administration events; (4) 27 participants listed 61 business or industry events; (5) 34 people listed 70 professional practice or performance events with women listing more events in this category. Overall, half of the faculty listed outside work events that they considered significant in the development of their academic careers. Experiences in business and industry were more likely to occur before the final degree was received. Public school experiences often represented a career step toward academia. (Contains 21 references.) (JB)