147 Letter from Susan Houge Mackenzie
A message in a bottle for future women tourism researchers
In my sister chapter for this book, I drew on an actual and metaphorical river to explore my personal and academic journey and how that informed my contributions to knowledge. This chapter is a continuation of that journey, as it represents the message I would send ‘downstream’ to future women tourism researchers based on my ‘upstream’ experiences.
Begin how you intend to continue. By this I mean, get into good work habits early. I got onto a number of bad work habits when I was a PhD student and early career academic that persist today as an full-time academic with two young children. There are some things that might work short term (e.g., burning the midnight oil as a PhD student; saying yes to every collaboration – more on that later) that are unsustainable over the long term. Creating a boundary between work and home is important to do from the outset, as academic work can easily take over your energy and attentional resources outside far beyond your physical office space. This has never been more true than in the Covid-19 era where online interactions permeate so much of our working lives. Draw firm physical, mental, and technological boundaries (and please email me tips on how to effectively do this when you figure it out).
Keep your horizons open. This is particularly important for early career researchers. During the PhD process, it’s very easy to think that ending up at a top research institution is the be and end all of your existence. This thinking is powerfully reinforced by academic environments, particularly in research-intensive institutions. I found it incredibly helpful throughout my PhD and post-PhD to work in non-academic environments. For example, after completing my PhD with zero publications, I spent six months travelling and working as a river guide in South America. This experience, along with other industry-based and teaching roles, assured me that to life would be okay if I didn’t end up in academia (and might even be better as I could choose where I wanted to live). I’m sure this dilemma is crystal clear to any woman academic who has grappled with deciding whether or not to move their family (or move away from family) halfway across the world to, for instance, a small town in a foreign country for an academic job. The tension between moving where the academic jobs are and ensuring your family’s well-being is a real challenge to consider – regardless of whether children are involved or not. I was fully open to a non-academic pathway before getting my first job offer, and remain open to that path if academic work ceases to be fulfilling or manageable. Having experience and interests outside of academia, and awareness of work opportunities beyond the academic setting, is incredibly helpful for your mental health and your career prospects. While we (supervisors and students) often focus on how challenging it is to get the ideal