Chile has one of the most marketized higher education systems in the world, with academics being urged to be productive and to generate income not only for the university budget but also directly to enhance their salaries. A general crisis in Chilean higher education has ensued, with severe political repercussions. This study reports on a current qualitative research project that is concerned with the ways in which Chilean university academics build their identities in such a highly marketized and turbulent context and in which they have to perform more tasks and take on additional obligations (Kogan et al, 2000; Malcolm & Zucas, 2000). It examines in turn the dimensions that make up academics’ identities and their possible interactions according to the institutional context they face (whether a state or a private university); the extent to which and the ways in which academics stabilize their identities and tasks in their everyday activities; and the ways in which scholars reconcile conflicting expectations and competing tasks, in relation to teaching, research, service and administration. Factors such as gender, academic experience and disciplinarity are also explored. This research was funded by the Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (Chile).