Career choice and satisfaction across ages and rankings in academia: A review of literature

Effective manpower development is a major requirement for economic sustainability and

national development in the 21stcentury. The academia is saddled with the responsibility of

producing a quick-witted and proactive workforce that will help chart the path for

advancement in the global economy. However, this can only be achieved through the services

of highly committed academics across the ivory towers. In recent times, factors associated

with career choice and career satisfaction appear to be strong determinants of commitment

among academics in developing countries like Nigeria. Furtherance to this, the current paper

argues that high levels of unemployment in the nation accounts for the influx of young

academics into academia as a last resort, rather than a vocation. On the contrary, many of the

older academics might have chosen this career path out of passion and a need to invest in

younger generations. The paper posited that high-quality education will depend greatly on a

good person-career match of academic staff in the ivory towers.