Racial differences in job attitudes of early-career academics: the experiences of Asian Americans in higher education

Asian Americans have a unique positionality in higher education because they are racially marginalized while being overrepresented in some science and technology fields. Being stereotyped as the “model minority,” Asian Americans’ experiences and job outcomes differ from both the majority and other racial minority groups. However, there is limited research on their experiences in higher education, particularly regarding job attitudes. We studied the experiences of Asian American scholars to understand their job attitudes compared with scholars with different racial/ethnic identities and the impact of inclusive academic climates on those attitudes. We conducted a national survey of early-career scholars (i.e., doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, and assistant professors) in four science fields (two each in the natural and social sciences). Our analysis of the sample (N = 2866) showed that Asian American scholars had lower professional role confidence and work withdrawal than scholars in all other racial groups and also lower affective job commitment than scholars from other racial minority groups. Citizenship was significantly associated with work withdrawal, indicating its potential role in lower work withdrawal among Asian American scholars who were disproportionately foreign nationals. Doctoral students had lower commitment and professional role confidence than assistant professors but were more confident than postdocs. Inclusive departmental and professional field climates positively shaped job attitudes and helped to reduce racial differences among early career scholars. This research extends the current understanding about the experiences of Asian American scholars and highlights racial differences in job attitudes in higher education.