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Careers of researchers can increasingly be mapped against widening horizons in terms of a continuum of increasing distance from the familiarity of HE settings and the type of work undertaken. Thus an early career researcher in HE could continue on the research (project) path; move across to an academic career which combined teaching and research; switch to research work elsewhere (e.g. industry, government, charities); move to a job using their specialist knowledge & understanding but not in research) and  move to a job using transferable skills rather than specialist knowledge. Now the problem for those seeking to offer guidance to career researchers is that it those who were considering shifts away from research who were likely to need the most support.

If the relationship is strong then researchers will often seek informal advice and guidance on personal and professional development from their Research Team Leader. Such discussions are sometimes also naturally triggered by appraisal and annual review. In both cases it is important for the Research Team Leader to understand the limitations of their expertise in advising their research staff. For instance, it may be entirely appropriate for the Research Team Leader to advise the researcher on how to develop his/her academic career if it is clear that the researcher wants an academic career. It is not appropriate though for the Research Team Leader to try and provide advice on careers options that are outside their sphere of experience or for them to try and persuade the researcher to pursue a particular course of action (even if this would be advantageous to the research project).

Many institutions now have dedicated Careers Advisers for research staff and their Careers Centres are moving away from their traditional focus on undergraduates. They have access to a huge range of books, online resources, employers’ databases etc. allied with knowledge of the current labour market and they are often the best first point of contact for researchers wishing to develop their careers outside academia.

Vitae have developed resources explicitly to help with Managing your career. Career management is not just about making job moves, but also about the long-term commitment to building your skills and experience to meet the requirements of current and future roles, so the resource is structured to offer advice and resources covering the essentials of continuous career management.

AGCAS – the professional association for higher education (HE) careers practitioners  also commission and produce a wide range of resources, some of which may be of interest to research staff. These are available  on the  AQCAS resources page.