Beyond tradition: Successful career paths to full professorship

Abstract

German academia has faced multiple changes over the last two decades, including new academic pathways to full professorship inspired by the Anglo-Saxon academic system, such as junior professorship and tenure track. Our study investigates the patterns of academic career trajectories to full professorship that have emerged subsequently. We illuminate the relationship between those “career types” and their determinants. Using data from the prof*panel (N = 660) and sequence-cluster analysis, we find four academic career clusters: a Traditional Career with a long postdoc phase inside German academia and habilitation (degree after doctorate), a shorter, and more Efficient Career with fewer habilitations, a group with more Unconventional Careers were the fastest tracks to full professorship, and International Careers, mostly spent outside Germany. Cluster affiliation is mainly related to time-to-tenure, habilitation, working abroad, and discipline. Our findings suggest that traditional career paths still play a major role, although the influence of internationalization and novel academic career steps, like junior professorship, is growing. Less conventional career paths attract a higher proportion of women and are characterized by more diverse professional experiences. Our findings underscore the ongoing changes in the landscape of academic careers, highlighting both persistent challenges and new opportunities for aspiring professors.