Navigating Academic Careers in Software Engineering: An Empirical Study of Faculty and Postdoctoral Roles
Academic hiring in software engineering is shaped by rapidly evolving technologies, shifting research priorities, and a growing emphasis on diversity and industry collaboration. Despite these changing dynamics, the current landscape of academic career pathways remains insufficiently understood. To address this gap, this paper analyzes 701 job postings from the SEWORLD archive (June 2021–June 2024), primarily focusing on postdoctoral and faculty roles. A mixed-method approach combining descriptive statistics, text mining, and topic modeling highlights several key trends: (1) an increasing requirement for interdisciplinary expertise and practical skills in areas such as AI, security, and cloud computing; (2) notable disparities in geographic distribution and compensation structures; and (3) diversity initiatives that, while present, often emphasize gender over other underrepresented categories. The findings offer actionable curriculum and hiring insights for academic institutions, educators, and early-career researchers, pointing toward curriculum enhancements that integrate advanced technologies, industry-relevant practices, and inclusive recruitment strategies.
Mon 23 JunDisplayed time zone: Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna change
10:30 - 12:30 | Employability and Professional CompetenceSoftware Engineering Education at Sirius Chair(s): Guttorm Sindre Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) | ||
10:30 20mTalk | Advancing Software Product Management Education: Insights from an Industry Survey Software Engineering Education Hannah Estes North Carolina State University, Katie Hollowell North Carolina State University, John Cheek North Carolina State University, Shiv Patel North Carolina State University, Hanna Reese North Carolina State University, Kathryn Stolee North Carolina State University | ||
10:50 20mTalk | How do Software Engineering Candidates Prepare for Technical Interviews? Software Engineering Education Brian Bell Virginia Tech, Teresa Thomas Virginia Tech, Sang Won Lee Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Chris Brown Virginia Tech | ||
11:10 20mTalk | Navigating Academic Careers in Software Engineering: An Empirical Study of Faculty and Postdoctoral Roles Software Engineering Education Mohamad Kassab Boston University, USA | ||
11:30 20mTalk | Teamwork Quality in Agile Capstone Courses: Insights from 790 Software Engineering Students Software Engineering Education Camilla Kielland Lund University of Oslo, Idunn Stabell University of Oslo, Viktoria Stray University of Oslo / SINTEF, Yngve Lindsjørn University of Oslo | ||
11:50 20mTalk | Preparing Autistic Students for the AI Workforce Software Engineering Education JiWoong (Joon) Jang Carnegie Mellon University, Ren Butler Carnegie Mellon University, Rory McDaniel Independent, Aidan San University of Virginia, D. Matthew Boyer Clemson University, Somayeh Asadi University of Virginia, Richard Kubina, Jr Penn State University, Taniya Mishra SureStart, Andrew Begel Carnegie Mellon University | ||
12:10 10mTalk | Enhancing Learning and Mitigating AI-Assisted Misconduct: A Case of Using Video Assignments in a High-Enrollment Software Engineering Course Software Engineering Education Andrey Saltan Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT) | ||
12:20 10mTalk | UML Crisis! An Educational Perspective Software Engineering Education Zheng Li Queen's University Belfast, UK, Aidan McGowan Queen's University Belfast, Yan Liu Concordia University, Wahab Hamou-Lhadj Concordia University, Montreal, Canada |
Sirius is located just behind the registration desk.
Facing the registration desk, its entrance is on the right.