Academics beyond Midlife: Some Observations on Changing Consciousness in the Fifty to Sixty Year Decade

Abstract

This article draws on in-depth interview data collected from forty-seven professors between the ages of fifty and sixty. The central focus is on the twenty-three interviews done with the men. A review of the literature suggests that professionals in the fifty to sixty year decade are actively assessing how to divide their energies at work and between work and other life spheres. After describing how aging is experienced in the fifties by both men and women, the article describes a set of related patterns of consciousness change among the male professors interviewed. As male professors approach sixty, they express a number of interconnected feelings and concerns that distinguishes them from younger colleagues. First, they stress the need to exercise greater selectivity in the allocation of their time. They recognize that a limited amount of time lies ahead in their careers and that they must make qualitatively good decisions about the work they do. Second, the men in our sample evidence a decreased intensity toward research work. Third, many men express a growing humanism; a concern with getting beyond the objective boundaries of their respective disciplines. Last, professors begin to develop an exiting consciousness as they approach sixty.