Where is our way? A collaborative autoethnography of overseas‐educated Chinese female PhDs' academic career decision journey

Abstract

Given the intricate and competitive global academic landscape and Chinese female PhDs' critical situation of being marginalized and otherized, this study aims to examine the academic career decision‐making experiences of three unmarried and childless Chinese female PhD graduates. Collaborative autoethnography is employed to delve into the three authors' experiences and reflections regarding the influential factors impacting their job‐seeking and decision‐making process as recent graduates, who earned their PhD degrees in 2022 from three popular destinations for international students in East Asia, namely Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan. Research findings indicate that various contextual and individual factors have shaped the authors' decision‐making and diverse career options were adopted to strike a ‘happy medium’ between long‐term career aspirations and increased competition for academic positions. This study provides implications for policymakers and university administrators to attract highly skilled female international professionals and overseas‐educated Chinese female PhDs considering a professional career in academia.

Decision making of PhD students regarding careers and employment in East Asia

“…The article by Liu, Li and Chen (2023) consists of an autoethnographic study about Chinese women who acquired their doctorate outside mainland China and the factors influencing their career decision journey. The study is particularly relevant because the authors present the perspective of unmarried, childless and highly educated women who recently completed their PhDs.…”

“…When it comes to returning to the home country or entering a profession, including the academic profession, the gender of the PhD students and graduates plays a central role. The choices and decisions of female PhD students and graduates are guided by constraints that do not seem to affect their male counterparts to the same extent (see the articles by Liu et al., 2023 and Chen et al., 2023). Mobility and adaptation are concerns guiding the decision‐making of PhD students and graduates, and the findings show that they establish strategies to make sure they can cope and eventually succeed (see the articles by Ge, 2023; Liu & Li, 2023).…”