Navigating Pre-Tenure: Strategies to Establish a Successful Early Career in Animal Science

Beginning a university career as tenure track Assistant Professor can be both exciting and stressful. In the end, an Assistant Professor has only a fixed amount of time, typically 7 years, in which he or she must demonstrate enough productivity to be granted a promotion and more importantly, tenure. While that may seem like a long time, the rigors associated with the university system, establishing a laboratory, and general everyday life compresses this time period into what seems like months. As a tenure track faculty member who recently received a promotion and tenure, this interactive session will cover several approaches to my career that helped me achieve this outcome. Topics that will be covered include managing your appointment split, establishing a research team, forming collaborations, securing funding, publication strategies, and allocating personal time. Understanding how your university determines success in each of these areas and allocating your time to meet these expectations, is the key to success. As with any career, there will be “ups” and “downs”; however, learning to weather the “downs” and not becoming complacent during the “ups” will ensure one has a long and impactful career. The major aim of this session is to inspire students to pursue tenure track positions in the Animal Sciences and help them understand this process is not as intimidating as it seems.