Creating Impact Outside the Classroom

Can associate professors with tenure be among the most unfulfilled individuals on campus? 

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Speaker 1 0:00

I won't say that I was the most unhappy person on campus , because I really do enjoy my university . I think it is a great place to work , but internally I was feeling unfulfilled . I don't want my work to be stuck behind an academic paywall . I want to leave a legacy . I want to reach my potential and I want to change lives . This podcast , power your Research , is my attempt to help the smartest people in the world do that very thing . My hope is that you use the lessons I share to make more money than what your higher ed job can ever pay you . I've done it , my clients have done it , and so can you . My hope is that you'll apply what you learn here and one day join the Power your Research program where you can work with me one-on-one . I came across some studies late last year that were talking about the fact that associate professors are the most unhappy people on college campuses , and some of these studies are older . I haven't looked for more recent studies . So my question to you is do you believe that associate professors with tenure are still today the most unhappy people on a college campus ? And I'm going to read to you a small part of this research . It says life as an associate professor with tenure can be even more isolating and overwhelming than being an assistant professor . On the tenure track , the path to achieving what amounts to higher education's golden ring is well-marked and includes guidance from more experienced peers . But once a professor earns tenure , that guidance disappears . The amount of committee work piles on , and associate professors are often left to figure out how to manage the varying demands of the job and fit in time for their research on their own . National data collected this year and this year means 2012 . National data collected this year and this year means 2012, . National data collected this year from 13,510 professors at 56 colleges and universities by the Collaborative on Academic Careers and Higher Education at Harvard University show that associate professors are some of the unhappiest people in academe , and I'm wondering if that is still true today . I have to look up some current research for years , you know , 2021 , 2022 . As someone who was a full professor , I got tenure several years ago . I won't say that I was the most unhappy person on campus , because I really do enjoy my university . I think it is a great place to work , but internally I was feeling unfulfilled . Hey , everyone , real quick . I don't run any ads on this podcast , so I have to rely on word of mouth . If this podcast has helped you in any way , please share it with a friend and follow me , dr Sheena Howard , on LinkedIn , where I give more free content on building your brand as an academic . If you tell me you came to my LinkedIn from the podcast , I'll make sure I accept your request .

Speaker 1 3:47

There was a nagging in me that felt like there was something more that I could be doing . I didn't feel like I was using all of my talents , I didn't feel like I was making the impact that I was put on this earth to make , and so I started to pursue more aggressively you know my passion , purpose and mission disconnected from higher ed , because when you're on a tenure track , you're doing things to get tenure which is not always in alignment with what is in your heart , what you're passionate about , the impact that you want to make in the world . Now , for me , I did . I think I feel I did a very good job of doing what I had to do for tenure , but really combining what I was passionate about and what I cared about with my academic journey . So and that wasn't always an easy path I did a dissertation on comics , like superheroes and comic strips in 2007 , when it wasn't cool to do that . So nowadays we have , you know , majors in comic studies , and you know it's okay to study comics from an academic perspective .

Speaker 1 4:56

So I think I took the harder road in combining things that I enjoyed with my academic pursuits , but I still felt that sense of lack of purpose and lack of fulfillment as I reached tenure and then the ranks of full professor , and so that is why you see me doing what I'm doing today making an impact at scale , getting serious about generational wealth and just really using all of the talents that I have to contribute to you and the people of the world in a bigger way , outside of just a 30 person classroom . And so what do you think ? Are associate professors with tenure still the most unhappy people on campus today , in 2023 . Let me know your thoughts . And again , my name is Dr Howard . I'm the founder of Power , your Research , you .