Using the life course perspective to examine the longer-term career patterns of more than 5,000 humanities and humanistic social sciences PhDs, this study illustrates the multiple pathways to the professoriate and the importance of academic aspirations and linked lives in career trajectories. Marital status and having young dependents in the household influence the career patterns of men and women differently; however, there is permeability between other employment sectors and tenure-track faculty positions. While the majority of PhDs intended academic careers, PhDs in the non-profit (non-academic) sector report a higher rate of job satisfaction compared to PhDs in tenure-track faculty positions.