From mobility attractiveness to mobility fatigue: The impact of repeated transnational mobility on the lives and aspirations of early‐career academics

Abstract

Abstract In the early stages of their career, academics often move abroad for fixed‐term positions, urged by the normative imperative to gain international experience and the need to accept academic opportunities where they arise. Drawing on three case studies comprising biographical and qualitative network interviews with academics, complemented in one case by a semistructured interview with a partner, this paper examines how early‐career academics experience repeated transnational mobility and deal with its implications on their and their family members' personal lives. The analysis shows that the repetitive nature of mobility associated with fixed‐term appointments is a significant aspect of academic precarity and provides insights into the compromises made by academics as they try to balance competing aspirations and demands pertaining to the different domains of their mobile lives.