Failures in academia (4) - the Winter season: Late-career

Tells the story of the two most significant career failures in the final stage of my academic career, as well as their unexpected upsides

Anne-Wil Harzing - (updated Tue 4 Aug 2026 13:20)

In my January 2020 blogpost Be proactive, resilient & realistic! I talked about the challenges that even very famous academics have faced in their academic careers. Moreover, in our recent article Every Little Action Counts (Harzing & Sathish, 2026), we include being open about our failures as one of the example micro-practices under the “resist a hero narrative” label, in itself a specific representation of the more abstract concept of humility.

Now that I am semi-retired (see Retirement), I decided to “walk the talk” by reflecting not only on my own career failures, but also on the unexpected upsides that were associated with each of them. Whilst I am not claiming that there are upsides to every failure, our failures often represent cross-roads that can help us to reflect more deeply on the best path through the maze of our academic careers.

Before we start though, let’s get one thing straight. I am privileged! I am white and was born in an affluent Western country (the Netherlands) in the 1960s, an era characterized by wide-spread optimism and belief in social and economic progress. My education was largely free; even at tertiary level there were generous grants available for students who – like me – came from families with low incomes, and only a part of these grants had to be repaid. I did two full tertiary degrees, so received these grants for 7.5 years. This seems incredibly generous now but remember that at that time only about 5-10% of 18-year-olds went to university.

This certainly gave me a much easier start in life, but it doesn’t mean that my academic career was universally smooth. That said, I do not claim the set-backs in my career were unique or even particularly dramatic, although some of them – such as my all but failed PhD and my first redundancy – definitely felt like it at the time. However, I sincerely hope my story will help ECRs to realize that things that appear like major problems at the time can also have unexpected upsides, and might even be positive turning points in your academic career.

I will tell my own career story in four seasons: education, early career, mid-career, and late career. Your own challenges, set-backs, or failures will be different or may appear at a very different stage. But I do believe that the four morals that I derive in this white paper have some general applicability. And remember, this is a story about major cross-roads in my career; it is not about the many daily set-backs that we all experience as academics. Here are three universals that you may not be fully aware of:

  • Every academic gets rejections all the time; for instance, everyone experiences paper rejections, even editors of top journals see their own papers rejected.
  • Everyone has difficult colleagues/collaborators; in fact, you may well be “that difficult colleague” for others. We all have different personalities and preferences.
  • Every academic I know feels undervalued in their own university; especially research-active academics often receive far more recognition outside their university than within.

So, with that in mind, please join me on a journey through the seasons. If you want to skip to a particular section, just use the Tables of Contents below. If you are curious about what happened before my academic journey even started see This little girl: message to my younger self.

Despite the delayed promotions, I had a very interesting – and in career terms productive – time in Australia, both in terms of research and in terms of leadership. I took on the role of PhD director and Associate Dean Higher Degrees (see also PhD student support), and later Associate Dean Research. However, after 10 years of heavy leadership duties and 13 years in Australia, my husband and I were both looking something different, so we moved back to the UK, London this time.

Failure 7: Being fired within my probation period

Before our move, I had been able to secure a very exciting – and well-paid – part-time job at the London campus of a European multi-campus Business School with its headquarters in Paris. I was appointed as a research professor and research development advisor, tasked with helping to boost the School’s research performance.

Not unimportantly, it was a job that sponsored the work visa (tier-2 visa) that I needed to live and work in the UK. Both my husband and I had become Australian citizens and, in the process, lost our Dutch citizenship that would have given us the right to live in the UK. It had never occurred to me that a progressive country like the Netherlands wouldn’t allow dual citizenship.

Unfortunately, about four months into my tenure, the Dean of the School was fired. That wasn’t so much of an issue in itself, changes in leadership are the order of the day at most universities. The problem was that it was a fairly political process. It meant that all employees that were associated with him in some way were ousted too. As the Dean had appointed me and had personally supported my position – apparently against the wishes of other senior people – I was fired within my probation period for “budgetary reasons”.

Of course, being fired is never a great experience, but being fired when you are on a sponsored work visa creates additional complications. A tier-2 work visa is tied to the job. Without the job or a new sponsor – which due to the onerous conditions I had little chance of acquiring – we might have been forced to move back to Australia. The thought of having to do so within half a year of selling up everything in Australia, and within months after having sunk all of our savings into buying a house, caused plenty of sleepless nights.

Upside 7: A great job I might not have found otherwise

Fortunately, I had started the process to regain my Dutch citizenship as soon as we had moved to the UK and – as the institution had to give me three months notice when they fired me – got it back in the nick of time. Moreover, as I had already been able to read the early warning signals - there was significant resistance to my appointment - I had secured a second part-time job at Middlesex University Business School. Now that my other part-time employment had ended, the Middlesex Dean was delighted to offer me a full-time job.

I’ll be perfectly honest: despite needing the job, I hesitated for a moment. I had never worked at a teaching intensive institution before and had made my academic career at a top research-intensive institution. Being used to generous research support, I was worried what the impact would be in terms of institutional support. Moreover, without the well-paying job at the private Business School, my full-time salary would be less than two thirds of what it had been in Australia and that in an area (London) with a higher cost of living.

However, ultimately, I was “sold” by the fact that the Dean relieved me of regular teaching and formal administrative roles, and the wonderful collegial culture in the Business School that I had already experienced in my part-time role. I was given a free hand to develop the School’s (and later the Faculty’s) research culture. Hence, it was a wonderful to opportunity to “give back” to the many academic colleagues who hadn’t had the advantages I had in my career, but without having to completely sacrifice my own research.

Stop equating an academic’s value with their university

Unfortunately, not everyone in my academic community reacted positively. One academic friend talked about Middlesex as a “shitty institution” (before learning I had accepted a job there). And whenever I attended conferences – especially in the UK – I saw academics looking at my name tag with a puzzled look. Some were even blunt enough to ask: “Why are you at Middlesex University, surely you can get a job at a better university”. My answer was always the same: because they are smart enough to let me focus on the things I am good at and really enjoy doing. But at one stage, I even got an anonymous letter (see below).

These days I mainly wonder about the mental health of the person who found it necessary to type up and mail me this letter. But I won’t deny that it did hurt me at the time, and so did the constant strange looks of colleagues at research-intensive institutions. So, please can we stop equating someone’s value as an academic with their university’s standing? There are many and varied reasons why academics choose to work at the institution they do. Not everyone is motivated by financial and reputational rewards alone.

Crafting a supportive research culture

Fortunately, I did very much enjoy working at Middlesex University. Most of my junior colleagues were really talented and cared greatly about the societal impact of their research. However, for one reason or another many of them had never received the support they needed to get past the first hurdles in their academic career.

With the Research Dean’s support, I was able to transform an ad-hoc and fragmented system of support into very successful formal staff development programme (for details see: Reflections on staff development). It included a range of formal workshops & training, informal meetings such as small peer support group meetings, research lunches/teas/coffees, internal individual support in the form of career development meetings, quick-fire email support and detailed support for paper writing, external individual support, and general culture building. One of its highlights was a yearly writing retreat at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor park (see: Our 9th Middlesex writing bootcamp), which as you can see below was family friendly.

I also contributed to the development of supportive research cultures in the wider UK higher education context by sharing my experience at the Chartered ABS course for Research Deans (see: Supportive, inclusive & collaborative research cultures) and at the EFMD course for Faculty Deans on "Rethinking faculty models for impactful schools and resilient careers" (see Supporting Early Career Researchers).

At Middlesex, I was also able to leverage my knowledge about reputation management and university rankings, becoming an advisor to senior management on the topic. Although a direct link is hard to establish, it did lead to Middlesex University – and in particular the Business School – improving its position in the international research rankings (see Middlesex University rising in the research rankings). For the 2021 REF (Research Excellence Framework) submission, I acted as UoA co-chair and we achieved a tremendous result (see: REF, rankings & reputation).

Finally, my job also allowed me time to build up a thriving blog (see: Harzing.com blog celebrates its 10-year anniversary), with currently over 500 postings, my YouTube channel Harzing Academic Resources with more than 200 videos, and five career guides (see image below and Book series: Crafting your career in academia).

Aug 2022:

Only £5.95...		 Nov 2022:

Only £5.95...		 Feb 2023:

Only £5.95...		 May 2023:

Only £5.95...		 August 2023:

Only £9.99...

Supporting female academics at CYGNA

The (female) Deans at Middlesex Business School also strongly supported the CYGNA women’s network that I had co-founded to provide a forum for learning, support, and networking for female academics. CYGNA is celebrating its 12-year anniversary this year, has hosted more than 70 plenary meetings and many more small group gatherings in Cygna Writes, and our CYGS (Cygna special interest groups) on Teaching & Scholarship Research and Career stages. For more information see also: CYGNA - 11+ years of supporting women in academia.

At our 50th meeting we asked members to share a few words about what CYGNA meant to them on a Padlet. The resulting word-cloud below is a perfect summary of what CYGNA aims to be: a friendly, kind, inclusive, and supportive community, providing a safe space/place to exchange ideas, share experiences, provide advice, inspire, and learn.

All in all, my 10-year stretch at Middlesex University was definitely one of the most rewarding things I have done in my academic career, not necessarily financially, but definitely in terms of seeing the direct contribution of my own work to the careers of my colleagues, the reputation of the Business School, and the diffusion of resources for research and career support to the wider academic community.

Failure 8: Taking “voluntary” redundancy for two jobs

Unfortunately, in 2024 the UK HE system was in a dire state; well over 10,000 redundancies were expected within a year and more were still on the horizon; the current tally stands at more than 30,000. The majority of universities were suffering financially, but post-92s – as teaching oriented institutions are often called in the UK – were struggling in particular. And again, I could see the early warning signs: I expected my staff development and research mentorship work to become a “luxury” that the Faculty could no longer afford.

So, rather than being forced to spend my sixties with a high teaching and admin load – something which as a very strong introvert with declining energy levels I could not stomach – I took early retirement in one of the university’s voluntary redundancy schemes. I also preferred to end my academic career on a high, rather than battling through a few more years and experiencing the gradual decline. Last, but by no means least, I knew that if senior colleagues like me would take voluntary redundancy it might protect our junior colleagues’ jobs (which it did).

In addition to my role at Middlesex, I also had a small fractional appointment at a Dutch university where – beyond doing research – I advised on EDI and research rankings. As Dutch Higher Education was going through a similar financial crisis, my role was a luxury they could no longer afford, and I was asked to give my notice. After my two earlier experiences I was getting used to this redundancy thing. But it was still a bit of a shock to me that they would effectively fire someone who was one of their best-performing professors. Of course I could have refused, but I am not one to stay at an institution if I am no longer welcome.

So, this meant that at the tender age of 59 I was “suddenly” retired. As someone who had always claimed she loved her work so much that she would work until at least 70 this was a bit of a shock. You can read the full story here: Why did I take early retirement & farewell messages. It was by no means an easy decision, and I had to consider carefully whether I was able to live off my savings until one of my pensions kicked in. So, I wouldn’t say that my retirement was completely voluntary. If the financial situation in the sector had been different, I would probably have preferred to continue on at least a fractional basis.

Upside 8: More time for the things I really care about…

But ultimately, I am quite happy with my decision to retire from paid employment. It has allowed me to focus – for the first time in many years – on my own writing and in particular on my white papers and blogposts. After 30+ years of publishing academic articles I am more than a little tired of the convoluted and long-drawn-out publication process in my field.

However, I still love writing. I continue to add new pages to my resources website, which now approaches 1 million words. I still blog on an almost weekly basis, with more than 500 posts since March 2016. But since 2024 I have also taken to writing up white papers in earnest. These are non-peer-reviewed writings, but they are carefully crafted and all deal with academic matters.

Between 2008 and 2023, I had already written up a dozen or so short white papers, largely related to my bibliometric work such as The four C's of getting cited, Reflections on the h-index and The four P's of publishing. A few longer white papers are based on original research such as the much-loved How to address your teacher?, the provocative Running the REF on a rainy Sunday afternoon: Do metrics match peer review? and the detective story of The mystery of the phantom reference.

However, since my early retirement, I have crafted around twenty white papers and have plans for at least another dozen. They vary from extended blogposts on pet peeves of around 1,500-2,000 words to more substantive pieces with career advice of around 3,000-6,000 words, and from full blown papers based on original research between 8,000-18,000 words to personal reflections on my own academic journey, often lavishly illustrated with pictures. Combined, they make up the bulk of my seventh research program: Transforming Academia.

Extended blogposts on pet peeves

Substantive pieces based on original research

Career advice and useful resources

Personal reflections

Volunteering activities

My retirement from paid employment also gives me more time to continue the many academic volunteering activities that I continue to really care about. I have already discussed my resources website, the Journal Quality list and the Publish or Perish software above. These are long-standing commitments dating back 20-27 years. More recently, my academic volunteering work includes the CYGNA women’s network, my YouTube channel, my five career guides, and Positive Academia (spearheaded by Christa Sathish).

Healthy living

Retirement also forced me to think about what matters most to me at this stage of my life. Being confronted with a range of medical issues (see also: Did you break your wrist too?) shortly after my early retirement, it soon became abundantly clear that taking proper care of my health is paramount. Not having formal work commitments allows me to spend more time on daily exercises and walks, but also just sit in our lovely local park watching the birds. As my husband is also semi-retired, we can venture further afield whenever inspiration strikes or when we have had a bad night’s sleep. I relish this freedom.

Moral 4: Disastrous career events may lead to new starts

In my late career stage, I was effectively made redundant three times, once by being fired, once by taking voluntary redundancy, and once by being requested to give notice. I can’t say any of these filled me with happiness. But ultimately, even though some things could have been handled better, I can’t say I blame any of the three universities involved. I certainly don’t bear any ill-will towards them. After all, I am only a small pawn in the big chess game of Higher Education, and the sector is going through a serious crisis.

Moreover, even things that may on the surface seem unambiguously disastrous (being fired) can sometimes lead to positive reflection points in our lives. Of course, I had the fortune of having a stable home life, which not everyone is blessed with. With prudent financial management, retirement was also financially possible for me, which again will not be the case for everyone. So being fired is not necessarily something I would recommend. But I do feel that many academics continue to be engaged in full-time paid work – with all the stresses it involves – for far too long.

Many of us are probably scared about what might happen to us if we lose our academic identity and therefore avoid taking the decision that might improve both our daily lives and longevity. Having been retired for two years myself, I can honestly tell you that – unless you want to – there is no need to lose that academic identity. You will always remain an academic. But stepping down from paid employment not only creates more opportunity for younger academics, it also gives you what my former PhD supervisor always called “eternal academic freedom”, the liberation to focus on what really matters to you.

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Copyright © 2026 Anne-Wil Harzing. All rights reserved. Page last modified on Tue 4 Aug 2026 13:20

Anne-Wil Harzing is Emerita Professor of International Management at Middlesex University, London. She is a Fellow of the Academy of International Business, a select group of distinguished AIB members who are recognized for their outstanding contributions to the scholarly development of the field of international business. In addition to her academic duties, she also maintains the Journal Quality List and is the driving force behind the popular Publish or Perish software program.

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