Effective manpower development is a major requirement for economic sustainability and national development in the 21stcentury. The academia is saddled with the responsibility of producing a quick-witted and proactive workforce that will help chart the path for advancement in the global economy. However, this can only be achieved through the services of highly committed academics across the ivory towers. In recent times, factors associated with career choice and career satisfaction appear to be strong determinants of commitment among academics in developing countries like Nigeria. Furtherance to this, the current paper argues that high levels of unemployment in the nation accounts for the influx of young academics into academia as a last resort, rather than a vocation. On the contrary, many of the older academics might have chosen this career path out of passion and a need to invest in younger generations. The paper posited that high-quality education will depend greatly on a good person-career match of academic staff in the ivory towers.