Beach bummer

While the sun may shine, Australian academics are now also expected to be full-time entrepreneurs drawing in funding to underwrite research and salaries from private industry. There is little time spare to hit the beach ("Where you can hit the beach running", THES, July 16).

Employment prospects for historians have dwindled to less than a trickle. For those in the humanities, research funding is even more precarious and uncertain.

So, while those expats working in optical fibre research may find life rosy, for those who wish to enter an academic career a note of caution should be sounded. For example, the last tenure-track position to be advertised in Australia in the field of modern British history (University of Queensland), was the first post in this field to be offered in almost 15 years.

Suzanne Rickard Visiting fellow, history, Birkbeck College University of London Research, page 24