Understanding Early Academic Careers Through the Lens of Psychological Precarity: A Qualitative Longitudinal Study

ABSTRACT For many early‐career academics (ECAs), unstable and short‐term contracts are a major contributor to employment precarity. However, even when job security improves, feelings of professional and personal insecurity often persist. This study uses psychological precarity as an analytical lens to examine how such insecurity is experienced and internalised, shaped not only by employment conditions but also by institutional culture, role ambiguity, and the search for professional legitimacy. A reflexive thematic analysis of longitudinal focus group data with 12 early career researchers over a 12‐month period in a higher education institution was conducted. Five themes were identified: (1) the persistence of psychological precarity beyond job security; (2) systemic drivers of precarity; (3) navigating the boundaries of an ill‐defined role and workload; (4) relational supports and complexities; and (5) the search for work‐related value and meaning. Rather than identifying new forms of insecurity, the findings demonstrate how employment insecurity, organisational ambiguity, identity, and relational dynamics interact to produce enduring experiences of psychological precarity. The study highlights the value of psychological precarity as an analytical lens for understanding early academic careers and offers institutional recommendations to reduce psychological burden, particularly within international higher education contexts.