Parks, S. L. I., & Dietz, L. J. (2017, June), Mid-Career Change: Benefits and challenges of leaving industry for academia   Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--28666

\bibitem{asee_peer_28666}
  Parks, S. L. I., \& Dietz, L. J. (2017, June), \emph{Mid-Career Change: Benefits and challenges of leaving industry for academia }
  Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Columbus, Ohio.
  10.18260/1-2--28666

Shannon L. Isovitsch Parks P.E. and Laura J Dietz.  "Mid-Career Change: Benefits and challenges of leaving industry for academia ".  2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio, 2017, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2017.  https://peer.asee.org/28666 Internet.  18 Dec, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_28666}
  Shannon L. Isovitsch Parks P.E. and Laura J Dietz.
  "Mid-Career Change: Benefits and challenges of leaving industry for academia ".
  \emph{2017 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Columbus, Ohio, 2017, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2017.
  https://peer.asee.org/28666 Internet.  18 Dec, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_28666
author = "Shannon L. Isovitsch Parks P.E. and Laura J Dietz"
title = "Mid-Career Change: Benefits and challenges of leaving industry for academia "
booktitle = "2017 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition"
year = "2017"
month = "June"
address = "Columbus, Ohio"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/28666}
number = {10.18260/1-2--28666}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Mid-Career Change: Benefits and challenges of leaving industry for academia 
By Shannon L. Isovitsch Parks, PE, PhD, and Laura J. Dietz, PhD

Typically, a career in academia begins immediately after graduate school or after retirement from a long career in industry.  Transitioning from industry to academia at a mid-career point is often challenging because potential faculty members have not had the opportunity to publish, or develop an independent program of research.  However, as many colleges are expanding their STEM programs and offering more applied degrees in the engineering sciences there are new opportunities for recruiting faculty members with industry experience who can teach and train a new generation of engineers.  This is particularly true for faculty appointments at teaching focused, rather than research-based institutions of higher learning. 

This paper presents a case study of a new tenure-track engineering faculty member joining academia after almost 20 years working in a combination of consulting, non-profit, and manufacturing industries.  Several aspects of this mid-career change will be discussed, including the benefits of leveraging industry experience to enhance the quality of the material presented to students in the college classroom and facilitating collaboration between college students and local industry as a part of coursework.  Student satisfaction measures of the class and the importance they place on new faculty members having industry experience will be collected, analyzed, and presented.  Challenges such as being the only female faculty member in the department, with only 1 female student (4%) in the classes taught the first semester; as well as adjusting to a new work-life balance, with a 90-mile commute and a child starting day-care, will be discussed.  Methods employed by the department and other faculty members that helped with the transition, such as a reduced teaching load the first semester, and a faculty discount at local lodging are included.

AU  - Shannon L. Isovitsch Parks P.E.
AU  - Laura J Dietz
CY  - Columbus, Ohio
DA  - 2017/06/24
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Mid-Career Change: Benefits and challenges of leaving industry for academia 
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/28666
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--28666
ER  -