A few days ago, I had lunch with a friend. An exceptional scholar, and a genuinely nice man, he had once again failed to secure a permanent academic position, despite a stellar publication record and a strong résumé. Now, having spent years in the halfway house of the postdoctoral world—neither fish nor fowl—he is ready to throw in the towel. He plans to spend one last year on the academic job market and, if nothing concrete materializes, he will leave academia forever.
As I offered the usual platitudes that were offered to me when I was in his shoes—you’ll get something, it’s a numbers game, they would be crazy not to hire you—I could not help but think of another young scholar, who had won spectacularly, while my friend had lost.
Jason Arday is a professor of sociology of education at the University of Cambridge and, as Cambridge’s press office keeps reminding the world, the youngest black person ever to hold a full professorship at the university.
On paper, Arday’s life story seemed remarkable. From an immigrant background, he is autistic and could not speak until the age of 11. He has said that he learned to read and write only at 18. During his PhD studies, he pinned a piece of paper on a bedroom wall, on which was written: “One day I will work at Oxford or Cambridge.”
