Path to becoming an academic

Joan Acker starts out her autobiographical piece, “I never intended to become an academic or a sociologist. But by now I have spent over thirty years as both”. Her path there was not straightforward, and she pursued other careers first.
While out of the work force, she realized that much of her self-confidence and drive had been lost through years of part-time work and staying at home. She decided that she had to do something to change, but she decided not to go back into social work because she felt like she was battling against impossible problems. Instead, she decided to go back to school. She was accepted into the doctoral program at the University of Oregon’s Department of Sociology.
In 1961, Joan Acker, her husband, and her children moved to Eugene, Oregon. Acker was thirty seven at the time. She found that combining work and school with parenthood much easier in that small town. Her house was two blocks from campus, and the public schools weren’t much further. After finishing her Ph.D, Acker was offered a tenure track position at the University of Oregon. She has been there ever since.