Mid-Career faculty: a systematic review of challenges in their academic careers

The academic career is an evolutionary process experienced by those who pursue an academic profession through teaching and research in higher education institutions. Traditionally divided into early, mid-career, and established stages, the mid-career stage, which often corresponds to the rank of associate professor, has been underexplored. This systematic review addressed this gap by critically analysing the specific challenges associated with mid-career academics. From an initial search of the Web of Science and Scopus databases, which identified 894 articles, 84 were selected for detailed analysis. The studies analysed on mid-career faculty reveal the challenges that associate professors face, including significant systemic inequalities in academic promotion processes, primarily due to high demands for scientific productivity and gender disparities. Also, challenges inherent to the associate professor rank, such as academic workload and work-family conflict, are identified. However, the studies’ predominantly quantitative nature and focus on the United States underscore their limited scope. This review highlights future research approaches that incorporate other contexts, intersectional and qualitative perspectives to delve deeper into these differences and inequalities, particularly in crucial processes such as faculty promotion.