On juggling the tension between scholarship and consulting (or it can feel like Sisyphus).
Early in my career, I was advised to keep it to myself if I did any consulting.
A senior faculty member told me the story of a colleague who had an extensive consulting business and even shared his revenues to fund the #PhDprogram.
Despite generous contributions, the remainder of the #faculty loathed the 'consulting faculty member."
The senior faculty member shared that while our contracts gave us the right to work outside the uni one day a week, it just wasn't worth the social cost.
At mid-career, I learned of another faculty member who has spearheaded e-gov work in his State - and been paid for the work - along the way, his colleagues had opted to stop giving him merit raises - with no explanation- you connect the dots!
Recently, I listened to an exchange between two senior faculty about whether work with industry was consulting or design science - with the takeaway being the goals of the work defined whether it was science or not.
Given the social, economic, and professional implications, how should an early career academic balance scholarship and consulting?
First, know that many faculty never consult.
Most of your colleagues will not understand the time invested or lessons learned from working with the industry.
They will see you making money - which they see as anathema.
Second, be selective in choosing your engagements.
Some engagements afford opportunities for learning, impact & money.
The ideal one does all three.
Very few do all three.
Rarely, have I seen faculty be happy when consulting for just money.
Often, I have seen them happy doing impactful or interesting work.
Third, be discreet.
Given that most contracts let you consult a few days a month, you don't have to tell everyone you are doing it.
You do need to file the proper paperwork with your uni & disclose COIs.
So do the paperwork & don't broadcast.
You avoid issues with jealousy or misunderstandings this way.
Fourth, have your ducks in a row.
If you consult, ensure that your teaching, service & research are in order.
Your primary job should be as a faculty member.
No one has patience for someone saying they don't have time to publish who is making side money - including me - & I value the learning that comes with consulting.
Finally, be able to connect to academic job to your consulting work.
As a baseline, bring it into the classroom.
I use my experience with practice as illustrations in classes.
Then bring it into your scholarly work.
I use my experience with practice to inform my research.
If you do this, even colleagues who don't understand consulting will respect your work more.
Note: I'm not delving into the question of is design science research or consulting. It's not one that I'm well-positioned to answer. I'll leave that to the Design crowd!
Best of luck.
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