Introduction

Abstract

The introductory chapter of this book provides an overview of its main aims and objectives, as well as details of the methodological approach taken in the research that informs the discussion. This is accompanied by an overview of the book’s theoretical influences, with my understanding of precarity informed by prior work on ambivalence and liminality that helps explain the peculiar development of research careers in academia. I also argue that while the book can be seen as a relatively straightforward account of the present state of research careers in one specific national context, Portugal, it can be interpreted as a case study of precarity within a highly skilled profession, recognizing how the condition persists rather than dissipates with experience. With much prior work on precarity focusing on relatively unskilled or inexperienced workers, I am therefore able to reveal important nuances that are arguably under-appreciated despite having major implications for social and economic development, as well as having implications for the personal and professional well-being of many researchers.