如何享受而不是熬过自己的会计学术生涯，在我看来是学者人生的终极问题。美国会计学会会刊之一Issues in Accounting Education于2008年2月（第23卷第1期，第53-66页）发表了Dana R. Hermanson教授（Kennesaw State University）基于自身经验的一篇评论，题为What I Have Learned So Far: Observations on Managing an Academic Accounting Career。中文标题虽然完全可以设为“如何管理自己的学术生涯”或“如何规划自己的学术生涯”，但我更愿意将原作者的含义转换为“如何享受自己的学术生涯”，主要的考虑是，我认为规划或管理的说法比较“任务化”，而我又从不希望自己的学术行为带有完成任务的意识。

Hermanson教授探讨了如何使会计学者更好地享受自己的学术生涯（包括理解会计学术市场的现实、考虑潜在雇主机构的文化以及坚持自己的关键目标），希望其经验对会计学博士、青年会计学者乃至所有会计学教授都有所裨益。Hermanson教授的写作通俗易懂，深入浅出。

本篇仅摘列Hermanson教授以谈话形式设置的六种不满心态及其对策。有兴趣的读者可进一步阅读全文。

 

六种不满心态

● Professor A (Labor Market): " Why do the researchers get the rewards? I am a great teacher, and teaching does more for society than any research project ever will. My dean and chair are too fixated on research, especially since I stopped doing research years ago! This place treats me badly."

● Professor B (Labor Market): " Why do the new faculty make so much money? I am a full professor, but I make less than the new assistants. I have been loyal to this university for 20 years, and I have never considered leaving. What do I get in return? Low raises."

● Professor C (Culture): " Meetings, meetings, meetings! It seems like all we do is have meetings, even when we could easily accomplish the task through email. I must go to six meetings per week. I no longer have time to do my research, grading, and class preparation. But if I try to work at home, my chair needles me. He says, ' Where were you yesterday? You need to have a greater presence in the office and be part of the team.' Does he want me to chat in the hallway or get my work done? I need a quiet place to think, grade papers, and write. I don’t want to seem rude, or uninterested in my colleagues, but at some point I have to balance my on-campus interaction with getting my work done."

● Professor D (Culture): " Why are all faculty treated identically? We all have the same teaching load, service load, technology, and travel budget, but some of these people checked out years ago. I am doing half of the department’s research, but I get only 10 percent of the resources. This is so unfair!"

● Professor E (Culture): " I expect research standards to rise gradually, but I can’t believe how abruptly the standards have changed here. It’s a totally different set of expectations than when I was hired a few years ago, which doesn’t seem fair. Now they are demanding publications in the top X journals for tenure and promotion, but few faculty members here have ever published at that level. I don’t even think we have the resources to be competitive at the top X journal level. In addition, Professor Z is the editor of ABC Journal, a well-respected journal, and we apparently don’t count that journal very much for tenure here. What is going on?"

● Professor F (Personal Focus): " I have so many opportunities, but how do I say no? People want me to speak to groups, coauthor textbooks, do consulting, advise student groups, and so on. But I cannot do all of these things and still make any progress on research and teaching, let alone have a personal life. How do I stay focused on what’s most important? I want to help people, but I just can’t do it all. I am so over-committed that I am starting to worry about earning tenure and getting promoted. I feel like I am running in ten different directions, with no synergies across my teaching, research, and service. I am forever late, missing deadlines, and holding up projects. I just can’t get caught up. It seems overwhelming, and I don’t know where to begin to catch up."

 

针对六种不满心态的对策

● To Professor A (concerned about researchers getting the rewards): The researchers get the rewards because that is the reality of the academic labor market. At its best, research produces new knowledge, which can fuel professional insights and a richer curriculum, and evidence suggests a positive relation between teaching effectiveness and research productivity. Research also is peer-reviewed and highly valued by accreditation bodies, and research talent is relatively scarce. The labor market drives the salaries, and individual schools will suffer if they ignore the market for faculty research talent.

● To Professor B (concerned about high salaries for new faculty): New faculty are paid a lot because the nationwide shortage of new accounting Ph.D.s is driving starting salaries up much faster than annual raises. Faculty members have to be willing to change jobs to tap into the new market salaries. In this profession, often there is no loyalty premium paid to faculty who stay in one place for a long time.

● To Professor C (concerned about face-time requirements and getting work done): Unfortunately, you are working in a high-face-time culture when you appear to desire an output-oriented environment. Changing the culture can be difficult, but I suggest trying to talk to your administration about the disadvantages of requiring a lot of face time. In the end, do they want to pay you for time on-site or for accomplishments in research, teaching, and service? I suggest trying to get them to recognize that much of the academic workload is solitary, requiring uninterrupted quiet time. Your need for quiet time does not signal rudeness; rather, it is necessary to get your work done. I think you need to find your quiet place today.

● To Professor D (concerned about a lack of differential treatment across faculty members): You are in a homogenous culture, with all faculty treated identically, when a heterogeneous culture may make more sense given the diversity of faculty interests and contributions. If the homogeneous culture has been in place for a long time, then it may be difficult to change. You might consider talking with your chair or dean about the pros and cons of your homogeneous culture.

● To Professor E (concerned about an abrupt shift in research standards): Junior faculty should anticipate that research standards will gradually rise over time. However, abrupt shifts in tenure and promotion standards essentially change the rules after the game has been played and, in my view, violate an implied agreement between the institution and the junior faculty member hired under the old standards. Institutions can completely destroy faculty morale over this issue. If your institution is heading down this path and you cannot prevent it, then it may be time to consider a move—as painful as that may be. When a professor at the institution edits a respected journal, but that journal apparently does not count much for tenure and promotion at the institution, then this is a strong indicator of a major disconnect in the research culture.

● To Professor F (concerned about how to say no to people and feeling scattered and out of control): Your default answer to any professional opportunity should be "No," not "Yes." In other words, decline opportunities unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise. Too many faculty members get over-extended by trying to please everyone and taking on every opportunity that presents itself. In the end, this is bad for everyone. Also, I suggest trying to get multiple outputs from your efforts, such that you create synergies across your teaching, research, and service portfolios. I also suggest that you commit today to keeping up and staying organized. You might consider reading books on the topic or meeting with professional advisors if needed. You also might compare best practices with other academics. Personal disorganization and overextension can be career-limiting factors, and they can rob you of your personal/ family time.