I-O Career Paths in Academia
The career paths in academia were found to have three levels (see figure above) that include Individual Contributor (Assistant and Associate Professor), Expert Individual Contributor (Full Professor), and Managerial (e.g. Department Chair, Dean, Vice President Provost, President).
The progression from Individual Contributor to Expert Individual Contributor is often the progression that Academics first follow. However, from there, Academics may move up to a managerial position and continue to stay in a managerial position until retirement or leaving the school. Or, they may move into a managerial position for a few years before returning to a professor position. Others may bounce back and forth between the two or even hold two positions (e.g., Full Professor and Department Chair) at the same time. Still others may remain as a Full Professor and never pursue a managerial position.