As language teachers and teacher educators transition into doctoral research and on into full-time academic positions in universities, they begin to encounter research practices and policies associated with neoliberal systems of higher education. These might be quite different from previous research experiences, such as self-initiated participation in short-term action research focused on their classroom practice, resulting in tensions in the professional life of researchers. This article reports on a study that explored the researcher identity dilemmas that result from such tensions. Using short story analytical methods, it focuses on aspects of the research experiences and developing researcher identity of one language teacher educator as she transitions through the early stages of her doctoral program at a Colombian university. Following analysis of the short stories, the tensions and identity dilemmas are mapped out in a conceptual framework that outlines what the tensions are (e.g. meaningful v. meaningless research, meeting institutional standards v. doing research to impact one's community), what they mean for the teacher educator's sense of herself as a researcher, and what she plans to do about the situation. Implications for early career teacher researchers are suggested.