Dr Alex Carthey, Macquarie University

This article was first published on Twitter and is reproduced here with the permission of the author. You can follow Alex at @alexcarthey.

[I have] finally hit submit on my second attempt at a DECRA. How was the process? Brutal. 49 pages of the most intensely scrutinised and carefully thought out text. Edited and re-edited and re-edited (and then re-edited!) for clarity, accuracy, and precision.

I don’t know how to feel about revealing this, but: this application has been NINE YEARS in the making. I was awarded my PhD in 2013. From 2012 onwards I was thinking about and working towards the ‘next step’, i.e. a DECRA.

I mean, sure, I had two kids along the way with attendant time off and (mostly) part-time work. I also took on whatever research or non-research work was available because my partner has a permanent academic position here and we have young kids.

But I can say in all honesty that DECRA has been this continual, overshadowing presence in my mind that whole time. I’ve been strategising my career, gathering advice, working towards this one application (well, two really).

I can’t wait to wake up tomorrow, knowing that, whatever the outcome (~17% chance of success in return for aaaaalll that work), I don’t have to think about working towards my DECRA anymore!! Huzzah. Well, except for rejoinders.

The system is broken. There is so little funding available for so many talented researchers, that it can take someone *this* long and this much work to get a (slim!) chance at one of the only opportunities available for early career researchers.

There are so few jobs in my field, in my location, that winning something like this is one of the few paths available to me to continue my career (which I love). I know that’s super common, especially for scientists with commitments tying them to one place. I am still ‘early career’ despite 5 years of undergrad, an Honours year, 4 years of PhD, and 8 years post-PhD (4.5 FTE in active research). Eighteen calendar years in science yet I am still considered basically a trainee!

We 100% need performance relative to opportunity and adjustments to eligibility to account for career interruptions. But can we do better at acknowledging the experience and expertise in a field that comes with this type of career path?