What It's Like on the Other Side

[anonprof]

Since there seems to be some interest in this topic from the venting thread...what it's like as a TT asst. prof...

Remember that there will be a selection bias of folks who are currently profs reading and posting here (they are probably more likely to be unhappy and looking around). That said, I'm neither unhappy nor looking around (at least right now). I come here to keep up with what's being said (about my institution and others); it's a nice procrastination break in the middle of the day.

That said -- I'm firmly in the camp that it's better to be on the other side. Yes, you will have additional pressures on the TT, but for me, as Biggie states in the venting thread, having respect and feeling like a part of a faculty is really, really nice and makes up for some of that pressure.

I feel also like I have a good work/family balance. One of my advisors in grad school told me once that she didn't work at all on the weekends and I was shocked; but I have tried to emulate her. That alone helps a lot with this balance.

Now, I'm at a somewhat unusual R1 (saying any more would tip off where I am!), but I'm very happy here.

I would say -- things to look for on interviews -- do people talk at all about what they like to do outside work? Do they talk about music venues, restaurants, nonprofits, etc.? Do folks have kids' artwork displayed in their offices? Do you get weird tension vibes in group settings? Do people try to show one another up with questions at your job talk? What do the grad students say (often, they are more honest)? Do the faculty seem to genuinely know one another well? Do they socialize?

I think there are very good environments for asst. profs and very bad ones. These are some things to think about when you are interviewing.

I also know that many of you feel frustrated to not be interviewing right now - just know that it's incredibly hard on the market. We aren't interviewing anyone with fewer than 5-6 publications. It's just that hard right now. I honestly don't think it will be like this forever.

Anyway, I'm not trying to increase anxiety; just know that this year sucks and that I don't think it will always be this bad. Places are starting to come out of the financial crunch and more jobs will mean more to go around.

Hope this helps.

[realitycheck]

Thank you!

[liberal arts prof]

I have to agree with anonprof - life is much better on the other side. I'm prof in my second year at an SLAC and I'm really really really happy. I'm working no harder now than I did in graduate school. That said, I worked really really really hard in graduate school. But I never worked weekends, nights or summers. And no, I wasn't one of those lucky fully funded folks, I was teaching my own classes or TAing just about every semester. I've just always had to work a ton to get by, even as an undergrad (I wrote my senior thesis on the backs of blank waitressing order forms). So I learned time management early. As you can imagine, working this hard and actually getting paid for it as an Asst Prof is AWESOME! Yes, there are tenure worries, but I specifically chose a department that was family friendly, who didn't have massive publishing expectations and had a decent quality of life. Keep in mind I spent THREE YEARS on the market to do so. I realize not everyone has this "luxury," but I worked as both a lecturer and a soft money researcher until I found the job that was right. That said, I've never been particularly wedded to academia, so I was perfectly willing to leave and start over in another career if I couldn't find a job where I could have the type of life I wanted.

FWIW, most of my friends in asst prof positions who aren't at R1s are either quite happy or at least pretty contented. I can't say the same for my R1 friends.