Although prospects are challenging, help is indeed out there for women looking to get back into academia after having a career break.

Guest contributor Sara Burton

Sara Burton, now senior lecturer at the University of Exeter, took time off to look after her children full time before returning to academia.{credit}Image credit: University of Exeter- Heather Ford{/credit}

As I sat in my PhD viva voce exam in 1994 year I was fighting distraction – I had just found out I was pregnant and was wondering whether I could drink champagne if I passed.

Having worked in university labs before my first degree and in a small biotechnology company for four years before my PhD – it wasn’t difficult to decide this was the time for motherhood.

So I looked after my two sons full time from 1995-98. When my youngest son was two years old I decided that I wanted to return to my academic career. I noticed a newspaper advert for an associate lecturer with the Open University in the UK. The opportunity was perfect: I could teach in the evenings and at weekends while my husband looked after the boys. Indeed, this worked well for us all.

In addition to my OU role during my sons’ early years I was contacted by an academic I knew when I was a PhD student. And thus I was employed to help manage a research group. Once again, flexibility in working hours was key and enabled me to start at just two days a week allowing me to be both a mum and an academic. Continue reading →