This book presents the results of a systematic empirical study, which will be of interest to specialists in higher education studies as well as to linguists and sociologists, and to all academics more generally.

1. Introduction: Studying the Professoriate.- 2. A Process Perspective on the Professoriate.- 3. Existing Research on Academic Careers.- 4. Professors in Germany, France, United Kingdom.- 5. Two Disciplines: Linguistics and Sociology.- 6. Three Concepts for the Analysis of Professorial Careers.- 7. Working with Online Biographical Data in Research on Academic Careers.- 8. Speed: How Fast Do Professors Reach Their Position?.- 9. Mobility: Moving in and Between Statuses, Institutions and Countries?.- 10. Pathways: Three Career Models.- 11. Conclusion: Academic Careers between Competition and Conformation.

This book examines career patterns of the professoriate. Professors may appear as specialised individualists in their fields, and yet they follow pathways which are anything but unique. Drawing from a unique data set, the authors analyse the trajectories of the almost 2000 linguists and sociologists who hold full professorships in Germany, France and the UK in 2015.  With a background in social theory, they reveal models, structures and rules that organise the professional lives and biographies of the most senior academics. This book presents the results of a systematic empirical study, which will be of interest to specialists in higher education studies as well as to linguists and sociologists, and to all academics more generally.Johannes Angermuller is Professor in the School of Languages and Applied Linguistics at the Open University, UK.  Philippe Blanchard is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick, UK.

Discusses factors influencing the progression of academic careers Combines quantitative analysis of 1800 active professors with 32 in-depth interviews Identifies a dozen career 'types' which define the fields

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