ACADEMIA Letters University Unwritten Rules for a Successful Academic Career Ken Swartzel Most faculty blindly go through their careers doing the best job within their appointment expecting to be rewarded for a job well done. This does work, but usually not within the timeframe expected by the faculty member, and rarely does this approach produce envisioned full potential. Within this short letter I will share a few unwritten rules for academic success. Determine what you want. If your ultimate goal is to become a world class instructor, researcher, high level administrator, something else, then how best to go about this quest? Often in conflict with these objectives is the fact that educators tend to be altruistic. They derive joy in helping others. Putting a focus on themselves may be too uncomfortable. How- ever, as faculty move along in their careers they realize that they are able to help others more as they themselves are rewarded. Many find that jumping to different schools makes climbing the ladder easier than staying in your home institution. Within your academic world determine what is rewarded? What are the goals set by the upper administration? How are the upper administration members rewarded –how can you help make them look good? Keep in mind that all the talents you developed to get your current position will help you determine these answers. Do a little investigating. Do this with the best possible attitude. People must like you—at least a critical mass—never, ever make enemies! Ask yourself –if I am asked a ques- tion about an issue—if this person thinks it is important, then it must have some merit. Ask yourself “how can I make this happen”, not “how can I kill it?” As you become the one asking, are you getting support? Your job to success is to find the people who have the authority to say yes—always work with them, forget about the people who only have the authority to say no. Your own definition for career success may change over time. For the institution, success is rewarded with increased salaries and support—follow the money. Track several faculty over Academia Letters, March 2021 Corresponding Author: Ken Swartzel, krs@ncsu.edu Citation: Swartzel, K. (2021). University Unwritten Rules for a Successful Academic Career. Academia Letters, Article 572. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL572. 1 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0