Wow, this is a hard question (especially since I have no actual knowledge of these sorts of transitions!). My sense is that it would depend a lot on how closely what you leave academia for matches up with what you did in academia. Returning after running a small business that is related to your field and in which you still interact with those in your field would probably be a lot easier than returning after running a small business that had nothing to do with your field.
I chose "high school teacher" because it potentially has the least overlap in this way and, maybe more importantly, because of the large status/role differentials. Once others have defined you as a high school teacher it seems that it would be hard to overcome that when searching for a job. It would also be hard to develop a strong academic record as a high school teacher. Both of these reasons are similar to the problems that long-time contingent faculty have when applying for tenure-track jobs.
Wow, this is a hard question (especially since I have no actual knowledge of these sorts of transitions!). My sense is that it would depend a lot on how closely what you leave academia for matches up with what you did in academia. Returning after running a small business that is related to your field and in which you still interact with those in your field would probably be a lot easier than returning after running a small business that had nothing to do with your field.
ReplyDeleteI chose "high school teacher" because it potentially has the least overlap in this way and, maybe more importantly, because of the large status/role differentials. Once others have defined you as a high school teacher it seems that it would be hard to overcome that when searching for a job. It would also be hard to develop a strong academic record as a high school teacher. Both of these reasons are similar to the problems that long-time contingent faculty have when applying for tenure-track jobs.