Professional Development in Applied Linguistics: A guide to success for graduate students and early career faculty

Success in academia requires more than an understanding of discipline-specific literature and an ability to teach and do research. It is also necessary to develop an understanding of a range of professionally-oriented skills such as how to identify and apply to doctoral programs, how to make the most of conferences, how to achieve a semblance of work-life balance, and how to land a job. Unfortunately, however, training on such professional matters is often inconsistent and/or idiosyncratic. This book seeks to consolidate and demystify these critical and often-misunderstood aspects of professional development in the context of applied linguistics. Put another way, this book is an attempt at the text many of us wish we had as we began our graduate studies. Throughout the book, readers will find anecdotes and insights informed by individual authors’ first-hand experiences. The resulting tone across the volume is that of a meet-up with a trusted and thoughtful mentor. As readers “meet” with these mentors, it is the hope of this volume that their guidance will help move readers closer to realizing their professional goals in applied linguistics.

Review :
This edited volume effectively fills the need it has set out to address; that is, to provide an accessible professional development resource for graduate students and early-career faculty members specifically geared towards applied linguistics. The editors and authors are very aware and up front about the context in which this book is situated – that much of this information is already available floating amongst peers, colleagues, advisors, and online resources, but not collected and curated in one place as an easily accessible resource. The value of gathering the breadth of advice and information into an edited handbook is apparent – one can imagine teachers and supervisors recommending this edited volume to their students or students finding this at their institution’s library. This highly engaging edited volume cracks the code – or at least makes explicit – many of the unwritten norms and expectations of academia and the field of applied linguistics in particular. With wit, humor, and a bit of sarcasm, the authors and editor provide sound and sage practical advice for professional success from graduate school to tenure and beyond. In spite of its limitations, this book is, as I said at the beginning, groundbreaking in AL [Applied Linguistics]. It focuses on a non-academic yet essential issue in AL, and it serves as a pioneer in providing professional development guidance or a service to AL graduates and ECRs [early career researchers]. Hopefully, this book will raise the attention for graduates' professional development of the worldwide educational settings in AL. Furthermore, although this book is targeted at graduates and ECRs in the field of AL, it could also be useful for graduates and ECRs in other connected fields such as STEM or medicine. On the contrary, even though research is being done in different fields, the phases or processes among graduates and ECRs are literally quite identical. Therefore, this book is not only a milestone for AL but also for wider academia as this book could support all graduates and ECRs who are following professional path in academia. In sum, this book provides readers with reliable and up-to-date information because most chapters were written by established scholars in the field who are professors in a variety of universities and those who served in university admission, job search, dissertation and other committees. The academic tone is very friendly and engaging. Most chapters make use of illustrative comics to effectively make a point on a related topic and engage the reader. The contributors have shared suggestions based on their wealth of personal and academic experiences. Furthermore, this volume provides current PhD students in AL programs with practical suggestions on what to focus on in terms of publications, conference presentations, and networking, during their doctoral years to ensure that a CV of a graduating doctoral student (aka ABD) can pass the test of the academic job market. Furthermore, this manual can be an excellent practical resource for junior faculty who are hired into a tenure-track position at a university. Last but not least, this is a useful book for a university faculty member, who on top of teaching, research and service, is asked to supervise both master’s and doctoral students. Plonsky has pulled together an amazingly useful book for a range of academic life milestones and activities. The book should be required reading in all graduate programs as individuals move along their academic paths. This timely collection of essays is written in an engaging style, and provides a wealth of excellent advice for graduate students and early career faculty - as someone whose career has spanned grad school through retirement, I certainly would have appreciated some of this advice all along the way [...] The authors have all shared their own hard-won insights; this is a delightful read for someone who has been there, done that, and it is sure to become a well-worn guide for new A[pplied] L[inguistics] scholars. A unique book that guides graduate students and early carer researchers through the pathways to professional success as academics in applied linguistics. Insightful and incisive, and full of practical advice from experienced mentors. A must-read for anyone who is seriously considering a career in academia.