A new opening at George Washington University, Washington DC, "open to all areas of biophysical chemistry, especially those with application to cancer research, nanoscale biomaterials, or bioimaging (https://nic.gwu.edu), and that complements the existing strengths of the Department." Job posting is at https://www.gwu.jobs/postings/36853.
Are you only focused on USA/Canada because you can't get accurate positions data for other countries? I think that foreign universities that advertise in Science/Nature are interested in hires from North America. Not sure if that's the case if they advertise in the local paper only though. Some countries there are no advertisements, so you just have to write to the chair of the chemistry department and ask if they have a position and whether it's okay to interview there.
A position in the States is so unattractive these days, with NIH funding being so hard to get, and the NSF budget actually shrinking this year. If I had to do this again this year, I don't think I would even bother to apply in America (not that you even can get an interview if you're a junior person based outside the continent; that's a cruel joke that nobody tells you except some famous prof at the only interview in NA you do get), or would only bother with industry jobs.
I really hate writing lots of grants... And even after you publish your first paper in a high IF journal and do your first conference talk, it's still so soul crushing. Maybe you need to publish lots and give lots of talks? I guess I'll feel better about all of it in five years when I'm working as a manager in the family restaurant. Well, good luck to all the candidates!
Anon 7:11 - that $46 million extra for NSF is a 0.6% increase over current levels. That's slightly less than the current US inflation rate. So, yes, the new NSF budget is smaller than last year.
That $46 million proposed increase (from the Senate, not the House) was specifically to build 3 new research ships. The rest of the NSF budget had no increase.
The University of Oregon announces a cluster hire in the area of Energy and Sustainable Materials, broadly defined. Target research areas include: electronic and energy devices, advanced/in-situ characterization, computational materials chemistry/physics, inorganic cluster chemistry, solid-state and materials physics/chemistry, surface science and catalysis.
Appointments may be made in or across any academic department(s), at any rank, and are the first step in a long-term initiative to grow the basic and applied sciences. The hires will join an innovative and highly collaborative team in the Materials Science Institute. Exceptional candidates with backgrounds in chemistry, physics, chemical/electrical/mechanical engineering, and materials science, as well as those with industrial research and development experience, are encouraged to apply. Salaries and start-up packages will be highly competitive.
A few updates/corrections: - Hope College priority date is 9/23 - Tusculum College is a post for a NON-tenure track teaching job starting THIS Fall, 2016, NOT 2017 - Rockefeller University is a very specialized school and only hires biomedical-related scientists, so their "open call" is actually a bio/medicinal chem call. - The Susquehanna University listing is for Biochemistry, not open field - Texas A&M priority date is 10/14
I'm sitting on a faculty search committee this season, and I'd like to put in a plug for those of you considering R3 and R2 level schools. While it's true that good grad students are harder to find and that equipment and resources are likely to be more limited, it's also true that you have the opportunity to be the proverbial big fish in a small pond. Startups at major R1's can be well in excess of $1MM, while a startup at a state R3 or R2 might be in the $100-$200K range. At first glance, the best career choice seems like a no-brainer. But consider this: Many departments and colleges require that the PI bring in enough extramural funding to match their startups before the candidate applies for tenure. I will concede that grant money is easier to get when you have more students and papers, but there's a huge difference between bringing in $200k and $1MM. The former can be done with a handful of seed grants or a single major federal grant. The latter often requires multiple successful federal grants. I would argue that the combination of absurdly large startups coupled with an expectation of 100% return on investment (sometimes in indirect costs, no less!) is setting up many faculty for failure and disappointment.
BTW, if you are applying to an R3 or R2, make sure you tailor your cover letter and research program to the department. Committees really can tell when you genuinely want to join a specific department and when you've just changed names on your cover letters and proposals.
Thank you for the advice. Outside of tailoring it towards what is in the announcement, what else can be added/changed and what would the committee like to see?
Same poster here: We know that most folks are applying to 30+ positions this season, and that a lot of them view our program as a "backup" if they don't get a job at a top 20 department. We don't want to waste our time bringing out somebody who views our department as a backup plan, so cover letters or teaching statements that clearly convey your ACTUAL motivations for applying will get your application to the top of the pile (along with the diversity applicant pool, if you are not a protected class). For example, if you're returning to your home town or moving closer to family, you should definitely state as much in your cover letter. It shows that you might actually accept the position and that you are committed to being here for a long time, not just long enough to move up and out. Anecdotally, I heard a story about a person who got invited to an interview in the Pacific Northwest because he expressed his passion for hunting the local wildlife.
NC State University is seeking candidates for a tenure track faculty position in chemistry or color science for an appointment in the Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science with a preference given to physical or physical organic chemists or color scientists. The successful candidate will be expected to teach thermodynamics or color science at the undergraduate and graduate levels and to develop an active research program in a color, polymer or fiber chemistry related field. Academic rank of initial appointment is open to all levels.
All applications must be made through http://jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/73827 where full details about this position can be found. Resources and benefits for prospective faculty can be found at: https://www.ncsu.edu/human_resources/employment/resources/
St. John’s University in Queens, NY has a Tenure Track Assistant Professorship in Physical/Computational chemistry. If you know anyone who aspires to a *genuine* teaching/research mix at a PUI (they should know what being at a PUI is, and what it entails!), and are not merely applying as "backups" to R1/R2/R3 applications, please send them this job ad!
Lock Haven University invites applications for a full-time tenure-track faculty position in the department of Chemistry at the Assistant Professor rank to begin August 19, 2017.
Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Applications received by November 4, 2016 will receive full consideration.
Specific duties: Teaching lecture courses and laboratories as assigned in the Department of Chemistry, primarily in Biochemistry and Organic chemistry.
Preference will be given to candidates with experience in Molecular Biochemistry.
The Ohio State University is looking to expand drastically, with up to five new, tenure-track faculty positions in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry (in all areas):
I'm having trouble getting one of my references to submit letters on time. Totally in character for him (too many commitments and spends too much time trying to make them perfect), but I am quite worried that it is costing me. Anyone know if search committees typically still consider an application while waiting for that last letter, or if they throw them in the trash?
It's my grad. school supervisor. Am I correct in thinking that despite two postdoc references, it's still important to include him? I've heard not having your grad. school supervisor submit a letter looks very weird.
correct on all fronts -- faculty are USED to other faculty being incapable of meeting deadlines. If they like your application, they'll specifically reach out to a slow letter writer. and, yes, a graduate advisor's letter is valuable. and, finally, if it just can't be shaken out, it's possible to move ahead, but generally the direct ask DOES finally generate the requisite letter.
Thanks for your reply. Although I am not the original commenter who raised this issue, I was having anxiety about the same thing. This gives me at least some assurance.
2nd CC's statement. We've never tossed an application that we've been interested in based on a missing letter. We evaluated and send reminders if the candidate is one we'd like to explore further.
Great, thanks to both. I'm away and had nobody here to ask for advice, so will now sleep better. It's very nice to have a forum to get some guiding in this process.
Also agree with Cramer. If a letter for a promising application is missing, we will prod the delinquent referee. One missing letter is certainly not grounds for trashing the file, but it could hold up the decision on who makes the short list. To the extent the search committee is inconvenienced, their irritation will fall on the advisor, not the applicant.
In my department we actually do our first cut without looking at the letters. They are known to be biased, particularly when making comparisons between different former (or current) students/postdocs. It also forces a more careful consideration of the candidates' actual CV and proposals. After winnowing down to ~30, we look at the letters, at which point we would do what the others have described.
Hi! I will graduate with a PhD in chemical engineering. My research involves molecular simulations and statistical mechanical models. I've heard of ChemE's getting offers from all of the top schools (Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, ...) but not even hearing a word from any of their applications to chemistry departments. Should I even bother applying to chemistry departments? Disclaimer: I do not have postdoc experience.
The position at University of Denver is not "biochemistry/biophysics, organic synthesis, and Environmental Analytical Chemistry" It's just biochemistry/biophysics, with a focus on the molecular basis of aging and age-related diseases
I'm currently on a search committee reviewing applications. I just threw out an application because the cover letter was applying to the wrong university. The candidate was solid, but the small details count in this process.
A few departments no longer require cover letters. I believe the general attitude is to place more emphasis on other aspects of the application. But regardless, the candidate missed out on an opportunity because of lack of detail and the department might have missed out on an otherwise great candidate who is applying to 50 schools requiring similar documentations except for the address on the cover letter.
Cover letter is just outdated. We no longer send physical letters so obviously people receiving the letter know that it is addressed to them because the letter was uploaded in their system. Small details matter only to small minded people...
Well, if this example represents your decision making process, no wonder the job market looks the way it does. What exactly are you accomplishing by this fanatic rigidity? Have you considered being more scientific when making decisions that cost years of time and millions of dollars? Are you looking to hire a cover letter, or a person?
@ Oct 22. Yes, I'm looking to hire a person. More specifically, I want to hire the right person. Poor attention to detail like this suggests that the candidate is probably using a shotgun approach to getting an interview. While there's nothing inherently wrong with that approach, you have to remember that the pool is very deep and I have at least 20 applicants who have carefully and specifically described why they want to live in our city and work at our university. So no, the cover letter is not dead. It's very much alive and gives the candidate an opportunity to differentiate themselves from their peers and convince us that they want to put down roots in our area. We want to hire the best scientists, but we also want to hire a colleague with whom we can work for the next 30 years and who will not leave when the poachers come calling. The difference between 20 and 15 first author publications on a CV is actually rather insignificant, and it's very difficult to weigh the merits of proposed research when most of it is speculative at best. The cover letters and reference letters give us a rare view at a candidate's personality and motivations. "Soft skills" count as much in landing a job in academia as they do in the private sector. @ Anon 4:52, small details can make all the difference in the world. Responding to a text message during an interview dinner is a small detail, but it definitely has major repercussions. Inattention to small details is a great way to get a paper rejected, a grant proposal returned without review, and a rejection letter in a job application.
The only piece of information available to you is that the applicant used wrong university name in his cover letter. That's it. And while it probably means that the applicant has indeed applied to more than one university, everything else is your conjecture. It sounds like you are trying to predict whether that person will still be at your school 30 years down the road. Your intentions are entirely sensible, yet your decision is based on a single bit of information. You are trying to predict a state of a chaotic system 30 years into the future using a linear model derived from a very limited number of experimental data points. This is utterly non-scientific. Complexity of your theories about the applicant greatly exceeds the amount and quality of the data that you are using. For sure, such situations can trigger an unpleasant knee-jerk emotional reaction in you ("he doesn't care about our university"), but if you choose to follow those instinctive reactions, you are loosing objectivity.
@October 25 2:21 you put it brilliantly :) those of us seeking jobs understand that selecting candidates from large pool of highly trained and smart people is no easy task and we understand that rejection is part of the game. I would be happy and satisfied if I know that I am rejected on scientific grounds : E.g if faculty find my research not promising or I do not have enough high impact results etc. Again not perfect metrics of success but at least they do tell you something as opposed to nothing.
Maybe I am wrong but part of me feels that real creative scientists are the ones who are busy doing research and thinking of novel ideas with little time to fanatically check their cover letters polishing every word to please the commitees sensitive taste. So could be that you are selecting the wrong candidates by such a superficial.
IMO, departments should hire candidates who are "poachable" because it means they are after high calibre scholars. It should be a signal to departments if their faculty members are never approached by other schools. And whether or not the faculty members choose to stay in a department depends on how they feel about the department, whether it be collegiality, calibre, resources, or competitiveness. The hiring committee should be proud if their candidate is later approached, and if the department wants to remain competitive, should do whatever it takes to retain their talent. I don't think it is customary for departments to want to hire someone for 30 years at the onset, and hence the tenure process -- What if the candidates don't live up to their first impressions?
That's nothing. I've had a candidate (PhD student position, though) who thought he was talking to a different person in a Skype interview. He was asking all these questions completely irrelevant to my lab and I finally asked him if he was sure he knew what position he it's applying for...
Perhaps the original poster is at PUI or R(2-3) school where the hiring dynamics are a bit different. I'm on a search committee at such a school and we really do have to dig into the "soft" application materials for insight. We received over 80 applications for our open position, and we had to trim the list to 10 applicants for phone interviews, after which we have the budget to bring 4 candidates to our campus. It was pretty easy to whittle the list down to 20, but the final 10 really had to stand out. In our case, at least 3-4 had brilliant cover letters describing specific reasons that they were interested in joining our department, and these folks are now getting phone interviews. Conversely, a few folks who trained under Nobel laureates are not getting callbacks. Our department will never compete with R1's for candidates requiring a $1MM startup and an army of grad students, so we have to try to identify the applicants who are genuinely interested in our program based on geography, personal ties, sports affiliations, opportunities to mentor undergrads, etc, etc. While the proposals and reference letters are very important, our department truly relies on additional personal information during our selection process, and the best place to convey that is in the cover letter (or convincing your references to comment on your desire to be at a PUI, be closer to your hometown, etc). While I probably wouldn't dismiss a candidate for an simple error in the cover letter, I can honestly say that failure to personalize the application can be a mistake at some institutions. It's a buyer's market and the applicant pools are quite deep. As such, it behooves one to take the time to put the extra polish or customization on an application.
If I may add something here. Perhaps the cover letter seems dated to some folks, but honestly I found it extraordinarily useful to pay attention to it. On a phone interview I had to field some of these "soft questions", and when I did, I had immediate and natural responses. This preparation was because I had done my homework to write on the cover letter why I was interested in the institution. I was able to, for example, say why I was excited about the school, or what specifically I would bring to the department and how my work would fit within their existing faculty. If I had not explicitly worked on including these things in the cover letter, I might have not been able to so quickly indicate why I was interested in the school. Plus, doing a little research about the university helped me find cool things about the department (and others on campus) which raised my excitement about the opportunity afforded by the opening. And enthusiasm goes a long way in this process, I hear...
I'm applying for 40 positions this fall. I have read about each institution and would be happy to work at any one of them. It would therefore be absolutely silly of me not to apply for all of them. But 40 applications means the cover letters are similar to each other; and yes, much of it is cut-and-pasted.
I doubt I made a mistake with addresses, but if I did, it really does not give you any extra insight into my abilities or character. You’re just letting your crankiness from working on a tiring job influence you.
When I apply to a school, I care about the quality of equipment and students and that’s really it. I’m not going to expound on local geography, or sports teams or culinary specialties in the letter, because these aren’t why I’m applying.
The casual throw-ins of a cover letter are a terribly inaccurate means of assessing the applicants fit. Do a phone interview. It’s cheap.
Basing too much on a cover letter is a poor way of filtering that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because you never meet the filtered-out candidates.
This discussion has been so eye opening to me. If I don't get any offers this round, next time I will explicitly discuss why I want to be in each city/geographic area in my cover letter. I discussed my desire to be at a PUI in detail, and specific programs that schools had that were especially appealing to me, but no non-professional aspects of living in the area. I'm coming from a postdoc in California and applied to some schools in the South and the Midwest, so I imagine this might have hurt me. One of the schools I applied to in a more remote area is near family, but it feels so awkward to go into personal details like that in a professional cover letter. Live and learn!
In the last year, I talked to a Very Senior PUI administrator, and they specifically denigrated responding to the "why do you want to work here?" question with various personal details (i.e. my family lives here.)
Rather, they wanted to hear specific aspects of their program that the candidate thought were a good fit, and that they would complement.
I suspect "my family is nearby" is something to mention in an in-person interview during casual conversation, rather than as an upfront detail.
" denigrated responding to the "why do you want to work here?" question with various personal details (i.e. my family lives here.) "
Interesting, I'd have thought that would be a pretty good answer especially in a lot of podunk locations. I don't know that schools like Eastern New Mexico State, Wyoming, or University of Northern Maine would really have differentiable programs and a family or other personal attachment to the area is the only reason I could see for wanting to live there. Maybe there's a reason I'm not a university admin.
I think it goes like this: you've got a too-big list of applicants that seem indistinguishable, so you start searching for differences. The letters look like they contain some, so you incorporate them as a ranking dimension. Makes sense.
Of course, the tiny hints provided by the wording in the letter aren't really informative, so you've reduced the candidate pool by using an uninformative metric rather than useful ones.
@November 1, 2016 at 12:33 AM >This discussion has been so eye opening to me These are all rumors and cookbook recipes, really. Don't get too excited thinking that you've discovered the Holy Grail, which will improve your chances of landing a perfect job. It is all turning into a set of voodoo rituals, and in some five years candidates will probably develop a set of beliefs on what font size gives you the highest probability of finding a job. Given the current situation, with hundreds of applications on the table, the process is more like rolling the dice rather than selecting the best fit for the department. Seeing trends in pure randomness, and trying to rationalize those, is a recipe for insanity.
Reminds me of the Skinner's pigeons experiments, in which psychologist/behaviorist B.F. Skinner looked at the genesis of "superstitious" behaviors from random uncorrelated events.
"Very Senior PUI administrator" may be using some old-school criteria which may be common but not very applicable in today's world. That's the same cohort that always thinks we should stop "whining" in letters to C&EN.
We have a TT position chem/biochem related to molecular basis for aging and age-related diseases: https://du-openhire.silkroad.com/epostings/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.jobinfo&jobid=1935&source=ONLINE&JobOwner=993360&company_id=16973&version=1&byBusinessUnit=&bycountry=&bystate=&byRegion=&bylocation=&keywords=&byCat=&proximityCountry=&postalCode=&radiusDistance=&isKilometers=&tosearch=no&city=
Seeking advice (especially from search committee members): If an application requires 5 reference letters for a TT position, where would the letters come from? For junior researchers, it's unusual to have had 5 supervisors who know your work well enough. Aside from my PhD adviser and two postdoctoral advisors, I'm having a hard time finding the 4th & 5th writers. Would an undergrad research adviser even make sense considering it was so long ago? Peers? Collaborators?
In my experience finding a job, when I was confronted with the task of 5 reference letters (not frequently), here's the list of people I would ask to write for me:
Post-doc adviser Another professor at my post-doc institution who knew me well PhD thesis adviser Another committee member who knew me and my work well A collaborator at another institution
Maybe your undergrad adviser could be tapped if he/she still knows you well and is in your field, but I would imagine you would want someone who is more familiar with you and your abilities as the currently stand.
For applying for a postdoc position and for applying for postdoc fellowships, I needed at least 3 references from graduate school. Some postdoc fellowships required 4 references, plus postdoc sponsor. So because of that, I have at least 5 people who I have asked for reference letters in the past few years. Aside from my PhD advisor and postdoc advisor, I would feel comfortable asking the following people for rec letters: a collaborating senior scientist from a national lab from my postdoc, 2 faculty I collaborated with at my grad institute during grad school, and a faculty member from my grad institute who was the chair of my qual committee and on my thesis committee who I have a good relationship with. If they are asking for 5 letters, clearly not all of those people have directly supervised research. But if they wrote you a letter for a postdoc position, why wouldn't they write a letter to support a faculty application?
I used to submit 5 letters of recommendation, but my Ph.D. advisor passed away, so now I submit "only" four. You never know who won't get around to submitting the letter or who will submit it too late.
If I do not get an interview soon enough I am voting for Trump! Because academic hiring in america is rigged and corrupted by the establishment who does not like outsiders (non-Ivy league) like me :p
Just wanted to throw this out there: anyone trying to get back onto the job market after taking a break (having kids, health issues)? How is it going?
I am in such a position: I work part-time as a TA and adjunct, and now that the kids are going to school I am ready for full time employment (and I want more professional respect, being an adjunct sucks!) so I'm applying for PUIs, I got two phone interviews but since I didn't hear back from them I am not very hopeful. I can't help but feel professionally deficient and guilty for taking time off to raise a family, and because I took the non-traditional (scenic) career route no one seems to be able to guide me on how to prep my job applications.
I didn't do a post-doc, but I don't want to because of the unfriendly hours, and is it really needed for teaching? Another issue is the complete lack of role-models; my PhD school had no female faculty, other Unis where I have worked (big R1s) I am younger than the youngest female faculty members and I have more kids than them.
Anyone going through this please give a shout out, I really feel alone and isolated. Even the grad students look down their nose at me.
Don't let anyone look down at you just because you have kids. Your family is more important than any job. If having a family disqualifies you for a given job, then that job is not worth it.
The link on the spreadsheet for the Teaching-Stream posting at the University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus (Deadline, Dec 1st), is incorrect. The official announcement can be found at: http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/physsci/sites/utsc.utoronto.ca.physsci/files/Assistant%20Prof%20teaching%20Inorganic%20Chem.pdf"
Nov. 2 Thank you for applying for the recently advertised position of Open Rank Faculty. The search for this position has been discontinued, without success in filling the position. We appreciate the time and effort you put into your application and we extend our best wishes on your job search.
Hi, I checked with the contact listed in the job announcement. For clarification, the cancellation is for the Open Rank Faculty search, but they are still reviewing applications for the Open-Area Assistant Professor position. I think this needs to be corrected on the google sheet?
Thank you for applying for the Tenure-Track Position in Physical/Theoretical Chemistry at the University of New Hampshire. Review of all applicants with completed application packets has begun. If you are selected you will be contacted by Monday Nov, 28th for a Skype interview (to take place during the Dec 1st - 8th timeframe), as a semi-finalist. Finalists selected from those interviews will be invited for an on-site campus interview in the January/February timeframe; details forthcoming with selection.
Thank you again,
Physical/Theoretical Chemistry Faculty Search Committee Department of Chemistry Parsons Hall, UNH 23 Academic Way Durham, NH 03824
From their website, it looks like WashU has been conducting onsite interviews. A colleague has also received an on site interview for University of Oregon for the Chemical Biology opening.
As seen below they've probably already been contacting people. The sad rule of thumb I am experiencing is that if you don't hear within about 3 weeks of the deadline, you're likely not going to. Yes, Cali schools may schedule interviews for later, but the market is competitive, a large number of CA schools are hiring during the current cycle and they will contact attractive candidates pretty quickly.
Keep your heads up guys, i am in the same boat. Having personal met a faculty from USC who was in the search committee last year i realized that my chances are slim to none of being interviewed there. I was told straight that some of the interviews are arranged on a personal basis. She said that they want someone they can work with so they can pick and choose whoever they want and that if I were in their place i would do the same. What this means is that before the review even begins they call their trusted college at Berkeley or Caltech and ask them to send someone. That is why you may see a postdoc interviewing who only spent a 1-2 year in position with just pending publications.
@11:22PM A big part of this business is creating illusions in people's minds. Keep chasing that carrot on the stick, while believing that this whole process is a fair competition. Ooops, the carrot wasn't there to begin with. Well, listen, this was a great lesson - people aren't always fair to you. Wasn't this lesson worth of all those years you spent in grad school?
"It would take far too much work to find the "best"candidate"
True, and I don't think anyone has ever found a way to do it so they play the odds: candidate X had 7 papers and worked for Y who is also excellent versus candidate Z who had 8 papers but worked for W whom I have never heard of....no idea won't know the best choice for a decade, but need to decide by Tuesday next.
If someone can find a way to assure future performance of job candidates based on past performance HR departments around the world would be flocking to them (though applying similar to trading would be more profitable).
A friend has an interview with Stanford , I think chemistry, not ChEM-H, and I was contacted for an interview with USC and UC Santa Cruz a couple of days ago.
Important thing is to not to take whatever outcome one has personally. Do and not let it affect your science/life/confidence. After all everyone is confused and uncertain about their future (yes including big shot PIs) trying to make decisions the best way they can. No one has a crystal ball to see that you will make a great discovery 10 years from now or that they are wring not hiring you. Who knows what future holds. I mean if Trump can get the White house with his proposals and resume... :p
Bellarmine University - negative responses receive and offer accepted Rollins College - on-site interviews conducted University of Central Oklahoma - on-site interviews conducted and offer extended Bates College - on-site interviews conducted Earlham College on-site interviews conducted and offer extended Centre College - on-site interviews conducted Grinnell College - on-site interviews in progress Williams College - on-site interviews in progress (Physical/Analytical) Williams College - on-site interviews conducted and offer extended (biochem)
looks like Blogger doesn't work with anonymous comments from Chrome browsers at the moment - works in Microsoft Edge, or from Chrome with a Blogger account - sorry! CJ 3/21/20
Have at, be civil.
ReplyDeleteA new opening at George Washington University, Washington DC, "open to all areas of biophysical
ReplyDeletechemistry, especially those with application to cancer research, nanoscale biomaterials, or
bioimaging (https://nic.gwu.edu), and that complements the existing strengths of the Department."
Job posting is at https://www.gwu.jobs/postings/36853.
Are you only focused on USA/Canada because you can't get accurate positions data for other countries? I think that foreign universities that advertise in Science/Nature are interested in hires from North America. Not sure if that's the case if they advertise in the local paper only though. Some countries there are no advertisements, so you just have to write to the chair of the chemistry department and ask if they have a position and whether it's okay to interview there.
ReplyDeleteA position in the States is so unattractive these days, with NIH funding being so hard to get, and the NSF budget actually shrinking this year. If I had to do this again this year, I don't think I would even bother to apply in America (not that you even can get an interview if you're a junior person based outside the continent; that's a cruel joke that nobody tells you except some famous prof at the only interview in NA you do get), or would only bother with industry jobs.
I really hate writing lots of grants... And even after you publish your first paper in a high IF journal and do your first conference talk, it's still so soul crushing. Maybe you need to publish lots and give lots of talks? I guess I'll feel better about all of it in five years when I'm working as a manager in the family restaurant. Well, good luck to all the candidates!
The NSF budget is not shrinking this year. They "only" got a 46 million dollar increase.
Deletehttp://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/04/senate-spending-panel-leaves-nsf-flat-cuts-nasa-science
Anon 7:11 - that $46 million extra for NSF is a 0.6% increase over current levels. That's slightly less than the current US inflation rate. So, yes, the new NSF budget is smaller than last year.
DeleteBut how can there be inflation if no one is making any more money? Sounds like the NSF is doing better than the rest of us!
Deletehttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/CsbBDz3XgAAL8y9.jpg:large
http://i3.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/018/489/nick-young-confused-face-300x256_nqlyaa.png
That $46 million proposed increase (from the Senate, not the House) was specifically to build 3 new research ships. The rest of the NSF budget had no increase.
DeleteRutgers-New Brunswick has an Inorganic TT position open:
ReplyDeletehttp://chem.rutgers.edu/tenure-track-faculty-position-inorganic-chemistry-rutgers-university-department-chemistry-and
The University of Oregon announces a cluster hire in the area of Energy and Sustainable Materials, broadly defined. Target research areas include: electronic and energy devices, advanced/in-situ characterization, computational materials chemistry/physics, inorganic cluster chemistry, solid-state and materials physics/chemistry, surface science and catalysis.
ReplyDeleteAppointments may be made in or across any academic department(s), at any rank, and are the first step in a long-term initiative to grow the basic and applied sciences. The hires will join an innovative and highly collaborative team in the Materials Science Institute. Exceptional candidates with backgrounds in chemistry, physics, chemical/electrical/mechanical engineering, and materials science, as well as those with industrial research and development experience, are encouraged to apply. Salaries and start-up packages will be highly competitive.
https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/7250
Prof. Shannon Boettcher, University of Oregon
A few updates/corrections:
ReplyDelete- Hope College priority date is 9/23
- Tusculum College is a post for a NON-tenure track teaching job starting THIS Fall, 2016, NOT 2017
- Rockefeller University is a very specialized school and only hires biomedical-related scientists, so their "open call" is actually a bio/medicinal chem call.
- The Susquehanna University listing is for Biochemistry, not open field
- Texas A&M priority date is 10/14
Thanks for the corrections.
DeleteI'm sitting on a faculty search committee this season, and I'd like to put in a plug for those of you considering R3 and R2 level schools. While it's true that good grad students are harder to find and that equipment and resources are likely to be more limited, it's also true that you have the opportunity to be the proverbial big fish in a small pond. Startups at major R1's can be well in excess of $1MM, while a startup at a state R3 or R2 might be in the $100-$200K range. At first glance, the best career choice seems like a no-brainer. But consider this: Many departments and colleges require that the PI bring in enough extramural funding to match their startups before the candidate applies for tenure. I will concede that grant money is easier to get when you have more students and papers, but there's a huge difference between bringing in $200k and $1MM. The former can be done with a handful of seed grants or a single major federal grant. The latter often requires multiple successful federal grants. I would argue that the combination of absurdly large startups coupled with an expectation of 100% return on investment (sometimes in indirect costs, no less!) is setting up many faculty for failure and disappointment.
ReplyDeleteBTW, if you are applying to an R3 or R2, make sure you tailor your cover letter and research program to the department. Committees really can tell when you genuinely want to join a specific department and when you've just changed names on your cover letters and proposals.
Thank you for the advice. Outside of tailoring it towards what is in the announcement, what else can be added/changed and what would the committee like to see?
DeleteSame poster here: We know that most folks are applying to 30+ positions this season, and that a lot of them view our program as a "backup" if they don't get a job at a top 20 department. We don't want to waste our time bringing out somebody who views our department as a backup plan, so cover letters or teaching statements that clearly convey your ACTUAL motivations for applying will get your application to the top of the pile (along with the diversity applicant pool, if you are not a protected class). For example, if you're returning to your home town or moving closer to family, you should definitely state as much in your cover letter. It shows that you might actually accept the position and that you are committed to being here for a long time, not just long enough to move up and out. Anecdotally, I heard a story about a person who got invited to an interview in the Pacific Northwest because he expressed his passion for hunting the local wildlife.
DeleteStony Brook University position AJO posting expires on 2/3/2017. Priority date should really be 10/1/2016
ReplyDeleteFixed.
DeleteUniversity of Wisconsin - Madison
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ohr.wisc.edu/Weblisting/External/PVLSummary.aspx?pvl_num=87974
NC State University is seeking candidates for a tenure track faculty position in chemistry or color science for an appointment in the Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science with a preference given to physical or physical organic chemists or color scientists. The successful candidate will be expected to teach thermodynamics or color science at the undergraduate and graduate levels and to develop an active research program in a color, polymer or fiber chemistry related field.
ReplyDeleteAcademic rank of initial appointment is open to all levels.
All applications must be made through http://jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/73827 where full details about this position can be found. Resources and benefits for prospective faculty can be found at: https://www.ncsu.edu/human_resources/employment/resources/
St. John’s University in Queens, NY has a Tenure Track Assistant Professorship in Physical/Computational chemistry. If you know anyone who aspires to a *genuine* teaching/research mix at a PUI (they should know what being at a PUI is, and what it entails!), and are not merely applying as "backups" to R1/R2/R3 applications, please send them this job ad!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?JobCode=176338669
University of Iowa physical/computational has posted a review date of 10/17
ReplyDeleteFixed, thank you!
DeleteA few job posts don't have deadlines, some just state the "start date of reviewing applications". Any thoughts on what this actually means?
ReplyDeleteGet your stuff in by that date.
DeleteDitto the ditto. We begin the triage process the day after the "start date".
DeleteLock Haven University invites applications for a full-time tenure-track faculty position in the department of Chemistry at the Assistant Professor rank to begin August 19, 2017.
ReplyDeleteReview of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Applications received by November 4, 2016 will receive full consideration.
Specific duties: Teaching lecture courses and laboratories as assigned in the Department of Chemistry, primarily in Biochemistry and Organic chemistry.
Preference will be given to candidates with experience in Molecular Biochemistry.
https://jobs.lhup.edu/postings/3299
The Ohio State University is looking to expand drastically, with up to five new, tenure-track faculty positions in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry (in all areas):
ReplyDeletehttps://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/OSU/Chem-Biochem
Towson University invites applications for a tenure-track 10-month assistant professor position in analytical chemistry beginning in August of 2017:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.towson.edu/provost/budget/documents/3016_fcsm_chem_asst_prof_anaylitical_chemistry.pdf
San Diego State University is looking to hire an analytical chemist with mass spec expertise: https://apply.interfolio.com/38038
ReplyDeleteI'm having trouble getting one of my references to submit letters on time. Totally in character for him (too many commitments and spends too much time trying to make them perfect), but I am quite worried that it is costing me. Anyone know if search committees typically still consider an application while waiting for that last letter, or if they throw them in the trash?
ReplyDeleteIt's my grad. school supervisor. Am I correct in thinking that despite two postdoc references, it's still important to include him? I've heard not having your grad. school supervisor submit a letter looks very weird.
correct on all fronts -- faculty are USED to other faculty being incapable of meeting deadlines. If they like your application, they'll specifically reach out to a slow letter writer. and, yes, a graduate advisor's letter is valuable. and, finally, if it just can't be shaken out, it's possible to move ahead, but generally the direct ask DOES finally generate the requisite letter.
DeleteThanks for your reply. Although I am not the original commenter who raised this issue, I was having anxiety about the same thing. This gives me at least some assurance.
Delete2nd CC's statement. We've never tossed an application that we've been interested in based on a missing letter. We evaluated and send reminders if the candidate is one we'd like to explore further.
DeleteGreat, thanks to both. I'm away and had nobody here to ask for advice, so will now sleep better. It's very nice to have a forum to get some guiding in this process.
DeleteAlso agree with Cramer. If a letter for a promising application is missing, we will prod the delinquent referee. One missing letter is certainly not grounds for trashing the file, but it could hold up the decision on who makes the short list. To the extent the search committee is inconvenienced, their irritation will fall on the advisor, not the applicant.
DeleteOrganic/materials chemist at Clarkson University: https://clarkson.peopleadmin.com/postings/3101
ReplyDeleteChris Cramer adds more comments about the faculty hiring process here: http://chemjobber.blogspot.com/2016/10/cramers-corner-admissionsthe.html
ReplyDeleteIn my department we actually do our first cut without looking at the letters. They are known to be biased, particularly when making comparisons between different former (or current) students/postdocs. It also forces a more careful consideration of the candidates' actual CV and proposals. After winnowing down to ~30, we look at the letters, at which point we would do what the others have described.
ReplyDeleteHi! I will graduate with a PhD in chemical engineering. My research involves molecular simulations and statistical mechanical models. I've heard of ChemE's getting offers from all of the top schools (Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, ...) but not even hearing a word from any of their applications to chemistry departments. Should I even bother applying to chemistry departments? Disclaimer: I do not have postdoc experience.
ReplyDeleteWhen is the approximate timeline where most of these job interviews are scheduled?
ReplyDeleteI just did my Skype interview for UTEP Bioinformatics position (review started 8/31) yesterday.
ReplyDeleteThe position at University of Denver is not "biochemistry/biophysics, organic synthesis, and Environmental Analytical Chemistry"
ReplyDeleteIt's just biochemistry/biophysics, with a focus on the molecular basis of aging and age-related diseases
Thanks, fixed.
DeleteI'm currently on a search committee reviewing applications. I just threw out an application because the cover letter was applying to the wrong university. The candidate was solid, but the small details count in this process.
ReplyDeleteWould you be able to let us know when was the initial review start date and when will the first contact to the short list be expected?
DeleteA few departments no longer require cover letters. I believe the general attitude is to place more emphasis on other aspects of the application. But regardless, the candidate missed out on an opportunity because of lack of detail and the department might have missed out on an otherwise great candidate who is applying to 50 schools requiring similar documentations except for the address on the cover letter.
DeleteCover letter is just outdated. We no longer send physical letters so obviously people receiving the letter know that it is addressed to them because the letter was uploaded in their system. Small details matter only to small minded people...
DeleteWell, if this example represents your decision making process, no wonder the job market looks the way it does. What exactly are you accomplishing by this fanatic rigidity? Have you considered being more scientific when making decisions that cost years of time and millions of dollars? Are you looking to hire a cover letter, or a person?
Delete@ Oct 22. Yes, I'm looking to hire a person. More specifically, I want to hire the right person. Poor attention to detail like this suggests that the candidate is probably using a shotgun approach to getting an interview. While there's nothing inherently wrong with that approach, you have to remember that the pool is very deep and I have at least 20 applicants who have carefully and specifically described why they want to live in our city and work at our university. So no, the cover letter is not dead. It's very much alive and gives the candidate an opportunity to differentiate themselves from their peers and convince us that they want to put down roots in our area. We want to hire the best scientists, but we also want to hire a colleague with whom we can work for the next 30 years and who will not leave when the poachers come calling. The difference between 20 and 15 first author publications on a CV is actually rather insignificant, and it's very difficult to weigh the merits of proposed research when most of it is speculative at best. The cover letters and reference letters give us a rare view at a candidate's personality and motivations. "Soft skills" count as much in landing a job in academia as they do in the private sector. @ Anon 4:52, small details can make all the difference in the world. Responding to a text message during an interview dinner is a small detail, but it definitely has major repercussions. Inattention to small details is a great way to get a paper rejected, a grant proposal returned without review, and a rejection letter in a job application.
DeleteThe only piece of information available to you is that the applicant used wrong university name in his cover letter. That's it. And while it probably means that the applicant has indeed applied to more than one university, everything else is your conjecture. It sounds like you are trying to predict whether that person will still be at your school 30 years down the road. Your intentions are entirely sensible, yet your decision is based on a single bit of information. You are trying to predict a state of a chaotic system 30 years into the future using a linear model derived from a very limited number of experimental data points. This is utterly non-scientific. Complexity of your theories about the applicant greatly exceeds the amount and quality of the data that you are using. For sure, such situations can trigger an unpleasant knee-jerk emotional reaction in you ("he doesn't care about our university"), but if you choose to follow those instinctive reactions, you are loosing objectivity.
Delete@October 25 2:21 you put it brilliantly :) those of us seeking jobs understand that selecting candidates from large pool of highly trained and smart people is no easy task and we understand that rejection is part of the game. I would be happy and satisfied if I know that I am rejected on scientific grounds : E.g if faculty find my research not promising or I do not have enough high impact results etc. Again not perfect metrics of success but at least they do tell you something as opposed to nothing.
DeleteMaybe I am wrong but part of me feels that real creative scientists are the ones who are busy doing research and thinking of novel ideas with little time to fanatically check their cover letters polishing every word to please the commitees sensitive taste. So could be that you are selecting the wrong candidates by such a superficial.
IMO, departments should hire candidates who are "poachable" because it means they are after high calibre scholars. It should be a signal to departments if their faculty members are never approached by other schools. And whether or not the faculty members choose to stay in a department depends on how they feel about the department, whether it be collegiality, calibre, resources, or competitiveness. The hiring committee should be proud if their candidate is later approached, and if the department wants to remain competitive, should do whatever it takes to retain their talent. I don't think it is customary for departments to want to hire someone for 30 years at the onset, and hence the tenure process -- What if the candidates don't live up to their first impressions?
DeleteThat's nothing. I've had a candidate (PhD student position, though) who thought he was talking to a different person in a Skype interview. He was asking all these questions completely irrelevant to my lab and I finally asked him if he was sure he knew what position he it's applying for...
DeletePerhaps the original poster is at PUI or R(2-3) school where the hiring dynamics are a bit different. I'm on a search committee at such a school and we really do have to dig into the "soft" application materials for insight. We received over 80 applications for our open position, and we had to trim the list to 10 applicants for phone interviews, after which we have the budget to bring 4 candidates to our campus. It was pretty easy to whittle the list down to 20, but the final 10 really had to stand out. In our case, at least 3-4 had brilliant cover letters describing specific reasons that they were interested in joining our department, and these folks are now getting phone interviews. Conversely, a few folks who trained under Nobel laureates are not getting callbacks. Our department will never compete with R1's for candidates requiring a $1MM startup and an army of grad students, so we have to try to identify the applicants who are genuinely interested in our program based on geography, personal ties, sports affiliations, opportunities to mentor undergrads, etc, etc. While the proposals and reference letters are very important, our department truly relies on additional personal information during our selection process, and the best place to convey that is in the cover letter (or convincing your references to comment on your desire to be at a PUI, be closer to your hometown, etc). While I probably wouldn't dismiss a candidate for an simple error in the cover letter, I can honestly say that failure to personalize the application can be a mistake at some institutions. It's a buyer's market and the applicant pools are quite deep. As such, it behooves one to take the time to put the extra polish or customization on an application.
DeleteIf I may add something here. Perhaps the cover letter seems dated to some folks, but honestly I found it extraordinarily useful to pay attention to it. On a phone interview I had to field some of these "soft questions", and when I did, I had immediate and natural responses. This preparation was because I had done my homework to write on the cover letter why I was interested in the institution. I was able to, for example, say why I was excited about the school, or what specifically I would bring to the department and how my work would fit within their existing faculty. If I had not explicitly worked on including these things in the cover letter, I might have not been able to so quickly indicate why I was interested in the school. Plus, doing a little research about the university helped me find cool things about the department (and others on campus) which raised my excitement about the opportunity afforded by the opening. And enthusiasm goes a long way in this process, I hear...
DeleteI'm applying for 40 positions this fall. I have read about each institution and would be happy to work at any one of them. It would therefore be absolutely silly of me not to apply for all of them. But 40 applications means the cover letters are similar to each other; and yes, much of it is cut-and-pasted.
DeleteI doubt I made a mistake with addresses, but if I did, it really does not give you any extra insight into my abilities or character. You’re just letting your crankiness from working on a tiring job influence you.
When I apply to a school, I care about the quality of equipment and students and that’s really it. I’m not going to expound on local geography, or sports teams or culinary specialties in the letter, because these aren’t why I’m applying.
DeleteThe casual throw-ins of a cover letter are a terribly inaccurate means of assessing the applicants fit. Do a phone interview. It’s cheap.
Basing too much on a cover letter is a poor way of filtering that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because you never meet the filtered-out candidates.
This discussion has been so eye opening to me. If I don't get any offers this round, next time I will explicitly discuss why I want to be in each city/geographic area in my cover letter. I discussed my desire to be at a PUI in detail, and specific programs that schools had that were especially appealing to me, but no non-professional aspects of living in the area. I'm coming from a postdoc in California and applied to some schools in the South and the Midwest, so I imagine this might have hurt me. One of the schools I applied to in a more remote area is near family, but it feels so awkward to go into personal details like that in a professional cover letter. Live and learn!
DeleteIn the last year, I talked to a Very Senior PUI administrator, and they specifically denigrated responding to the "why do you want to work here?" question with various personal details (i.e. my family lives here.)
DeleteRather, they wanted to hear specific aspects of their program that the candidate thought were a good fit, and that they would complement.
I suspect "my family is nearby" is something to mention in an in-person interview during casual conversation, rather than as an upfront detail.
" denigrated responding to the "why do you want to work here?" question with various personal details (i.e. my family lives here.) "
DeleteInteresting, I'd have thought that would be a pretty good answer especially in a lot of podunk locations. I don't know that schools like Eastern New Mexico State, Wyoming, or University of Northern Maine would really have differentiable programs and a family or other personal attachment to the area is the only reason I could see for wanting to live there. Maybe there's a reason I'm not a university admin.
I think it goes like this: you've got a too-big list of applicants that seem indistinguishable, so you start searching for differences. The letters look like they contain some, so you incorporate them as a ranking dimension. Makes sense.
DeleteOf course, the tiny hints provided by the wording in the letter aren't really informative, so you've reduced the candidate pool by using an uninformative metric rather than useful ones.
@November 1, 2016 at 12:33 AM
Delete>This discussion has been so eye opening to me
These are all rumors and cookbook recipes, really. Don't get too excited thinking that you've discovered the Holy Grail, which will improve your chances of landing a perfect job. It is all turning into a set of voodoo rituals, and in some five years candidates will probably develop a set of beliefs on what font size gives you the highest probability of finding a job. Given the current situation, with hundreds of applications on the table, the process is more like rolling the dice rather than selecting the best fit for the department. Seeing trends in pure randomness, and trying to rationalize those, is a recipe for insanity.
Reminds me of the Skinner's pigeons experiments, in which psychologist/behaviorist B.F. Skinner looked at the genesis of "superstitious" behaviors from random uncorrelated events.
Delete@Hoppenheimer
DeleteYes, this is exactly what is happening in the applicant pool.
"Very Senior PUI administrator" may be using some old-school criteria which may be common but not very applicable in today's world. That's the same cohort that always thinks we should stop "whining" in letters to C&EN.
DeleteWe have a TT position chem/biochem related to molecular basis for aging and age-related diseases: https://du-openhire.silkroad.com/epostings/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.jobinfo&jobid=1935&source=ONLINE&JobOwner=993360&company_id=16973&version=1&byBusinessUnit=&bycountry=&bystate=&byRegion=&bylocation=&keywords=&byCat=&proximityCountry=&postalCode=&radiusDistance=&isKilometers=&tosearch=no&city=
ReplyDeleteAnyone contacted yet?
ReplyDeleteNorthwestern has already scheduled interviews. For the most part...
ReplyDeleteAccording to the last year's records, contacts to the applicants are usually made one month later from the initial review dates
ReplyDeleteSeeking advice (especially from search committee members): If an application requires 5 reference letters for a TT position, where would the letters come from? For junior researchers, it's unusual to have had 5 supervisors who know your work well enough. Aside from my PhD adviser and two postdoctoral advisors, I'm having a hard time finding the 4th & 5th writers. Would an undergrad research adviser even make sense considering it was so long ago? Peers? Collaborators?
ReplyDeleteIn my experience finding a job, when I was confronted with the task of 5 reference letters (not frequently), here's the list of people I would ask to write for me:
DeletePost-doc adviser
Another professor at my post-doc institution who knew me well
PhD thesis adviser
Another committee member who knew me and my work well
A collaborator at another institution
Maybe your undergrad adviser could be tapped if he/she still knows you well and is in your field, but I would imagine you would want someone who is more familiar with you and your abilities as the currently stand.
5 letters? Could be they have already selected the candidate. Is the job description highly specific?
DeleteFor applying for a postdoc position and for applying for postdoc fellowships, I needed at least 3 references from graduate school. Some postdoc fellowships required 4 references, plus postdoc sponsor. So because of that, I have at least 5 people who I have asked for reference letters in the past few years. Aside from my PhD advisor and postdoc advisor, I would feel comfortable asking the following people for rec letters: a collaborating senior scientist from a national lab from my postdoc, 2 faculty I collaborated with at my grad institute during grad school, and a faculty member from my grad institute who was the chair of my qual committee and on my thesis committee who I have a good relationship with. If they are asking for 5 letters, clearly not all of those people have directly supervised research. But if they wrote you a letter for a postdoc position, why wouldn't they write a letter to support a faculty application?
DeleteI used to submit 5 letters of recommendation, but my Ph.D. advisor passed away, so now I submit "only" four. You never know who won't get around to submitting the letter or who will submit it too late.
DeleteI have a skype interview with Amherst college this week for their inorganic position.
ReplyDeleteThrough the grapevine I've heard that Brown University has sent out their interview requests.
ReplyDeleteUCF and Michigan Chemistry have have sent out interview requests.
ReplyDeleteWhat position for UCF? They are hiring 4 (including interdisciplinary)
DeleteOops, sorry. Biochemistry.
ReplyDeleteIf I do not get an interview soon enough I am voting for Trump! Because academic hiring in america is rigged and corrupted by the establishment who does not like outsiders (non-Ivy league) like me :p
ReplyDeleteLet's make academics great again!
DeleteThat was so close to being perfect. It should have been "let's make academia great again!"
DeleteTotally fallacy that only Ivey leaguers get hired.
DeleteI heard somebody has an interview with Stony Brook.
ReplyDeletePostdoc in my lab got an invitation from University at Albany.
ReplyDeleteRice U is already interviewing candidates.
ReplyDeleteFor what position are they interviewing? Do you happen to know any candidate names?
DeleteIt was a P-Chem talk so it is for experimental p-chem position.
DeleteEmory Interviews Scheduled
ReplyDeleteOrganic?
Deletepittsburgh has suspended their search and ga tech has interviews scheduled
ReplyDelete@not_org_chem NYU Chemistry interview scheduled 11/2
ReplyDeleteWhat's the typical size of phone interview candidate list? 6-8?
ReplyDelete10-12
Delete1 phone and 1 skype so far...
DeleteColorado State sent out their first round of rejection letters
ReplyDeleteThis was for Organic/ChemBio position
DeleteThat must be Organic or Chemical Biology position, right?
DeleteKansas State University just posted at Inorganic Assistant Professor Position opening
ReplyDeletewww.ksu.edu/chem
Posted that to The List yesterday.
DeleteU Minnesota interviews are scheduled.
ReplyDeleteLouisiana Tech (Inorganic Position) called for interview
ReplyDeleteSeems awfully quick. The deadline was November 1st? They already have someone in mind?
Deletethey will do the skype early next week
DeleteMiami U (Organic Position) called for interview
ReplyDeleteBoston U (Materials) called for interview
ReplyDeleteBoise State U is almost finished w/ phone interviews and will be making invitations for campus visits soon.
ReplyDeleteHi Everyone,
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to throw this out there: anyone trying to get back onto the job market after taking a break (having kids, health issues)? How is it going?
I am in such a position: I work part-time as a TA and adjunct, and now that the kids are going to school I am ready for full time employment (and I want more professional respect, being an adjunct sucks!) so I'm applying for PUIs, I got two phone interviews but since I didn't hear back from them I am not very hopeful. I can't help but feel professionally deficient and guilty for taking time off to raise a family, and because I took the non-traditional (scenic) career route no one seems to be able to guide me on how to prep my job applications.
I didn't do a post-doc, but I don't want to because of the unfriendly hours, and is it really needed for teaching? Another issue is the complete lack of role-models; my PhD school had no female faculty, other Unis where I have worked (big R1s) I am younger than the youngest female faculty members and I have more kids than them.
Anyone going through this please give a shout out, I really feel alone and isolated. Even the grad students look down their nose at me.
Don't let anyone look down at you just because you have kids. Your family is more important than any job. If having a family disqualifies you for a given job, then that job is not worth it.
DeleteHope College is conducting on-site interviews.
ReplyDeleteUniversity of Nevada Reno has started in person interviews.
ReplyDeleteUNC-chapel hill has interviews scheduled for their analytical and physical positions
ReplyDeleteanalytical and organic/chemBio*
DeleteSaint Louis has scheduled their onsite interviews.
ReplyDeleteCincinnati has scheduled their inperson interviews.
ReplyDeleteNorth Central College sent out rejection letters
ReplyDeleteThe link on the spreadsheet for the Teaching-Stream posting at the University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus (Deadline, Dec 1st), is incorrect.
ReplyDeleteThe official announcement can be found at: http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/physsci/sites/utsc.utoronto.ca.physsci/files/Assistant%20Prof%20teaching%20Inorganic%20Chem.pdf"
Fixed, thank you.
ReplyDeleteKent State scheduled their interviews.
ReplyDeleteUCSB has started scheduling interviews (through the grapevine)
ReplyDeleteTCU has conducted phone interviews
ReplyDeleteWestminster has started conducting in-person interviews.
ReplyDeleteAccording to dept website it looks like Texas A&M has interviews scheduled.
ReplyDeleteBased on seminar schedule, U. Texas and U. Minnesota interviews have been scheduled.
DeletePrinceton has started to contact people for interviews.
Deleteinorganic or pchem?
DeleteInorganic for Princeton
DeleteBioMolecular Sciences at Mississippi Pharmacy has 2 opening positions in Pharmacognosy and Pharmacology:
ReplyDeletehttps://jobs.olemiss.edu/postings/10971
https://jobs.olemiss.edu/postings/10974
PSU (Portland State University) sent out rejection letters
ReplyDeleteInorganic openings for UCLA and UC Davis have started to schedule interviews.
ReplyDeleteCornell interviews are scheduled.
ReplyDeleteDoes "interviews are scheduled" mean everyone else are rejected?
ReplyDeletePretty much yes, if you see 6-7 interviews that's the typical size of candidates chem departments will be considering.
Deleterejection recieved in waterloo (nanotechology), rejection received in portland state (anayltical/p-chem)
ReplyDeleteuniversity of toronto (toxical chem): 4 finalist announced
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMonmouth University has cancelled their search.
ReplyDeleteJust confirming: was there a notification somewhere that Columbia canceled their search?
ReplyDeleteyes...they sent out emails to applicants
DeleteNot to all applicants, clearly (I haven't received such a notification). Can you be more specific, Anonymous @ 5:33?
DeleteNot to me, either. Surprised that even for a cancellation letter there are some different layers of candidates?
DeleteI did not receive a cancellation letter either. Were there two positions and one was canceled perhaps?
DeleteNov. 2
DeleteThank you for applying for the recently advertised position of Open Rank Faculty. The search for this position has been discontinued, without success in filling the position. We appreciate the time and effort you put into your application and we extend our best wishes on your job search.
Thank you,
Jim Leighton, Chair
Hi, I checked with the contact listed in the job announcement. For clarification, the cancellation is for the Open Rank Faculty search, but they are still reviewing applications for the Open-Area Assistant Professor position. I think this needs to be corrected on the google sheet?
DeleteHello, Anon1:35:
DeleteCan you share your information with me? chemjobber@gmail.com. I'm going to change it either way...
Cheers, CJ
york u (analytical/p chem) deadline extended in email
ReplyDeletePlease note the application deadline has been extended to November 21,
2016.
Thank you for applying for the Tenure-Track Position in Physical/Theoretical Chemistry at the University of New Hampshire. Review of all applicants with completed application packets has begun. If you are selected you will be contacted by Monday Nov, 28th for a Skype interview (to take place during the Dec 1st - 8th timeframe), as a semi-finalist. Finalists selected from those interviews will be invited for an on-site campus interview in the January/February timeframe; details forthcoming with selection.
ReplyDeleteThank you again,
Physical/Theoretical Chemistry Faculty Search Committee
Department of Chemistry
Parsons Hall, UNH
23 Academic Way
Durham, NH 03824
Aw! That's nice that they do that. I wish all schools would...
DeleteHas anyone heard from UNH about the Skype interviews yet?
DeleteAccording to the seminar calendar, U of Utah seems to have interviews scheduled
ReplyDeleteIowa State in conducting phone interviews
ReplyDeletetheory or inorganic?
DeleteTheory
DeleteFrom their website, it looks like WashU has been conducting onsite interviews. A colleague has also received an on site interview for University of Oregon for the Chemical Biology opening.
ReplyDeleteI received a phone interview from IUPUI on 11/17/16, for its Analytical AP position. Thanks
ReplyDeleteDo many SCs contact have a sort of their deadlines to inform shortlisted candidates before Thanksgiving?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have any idea about Vanderbilt? They started screening on 10/15.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone hear from Wesleyan University (computational chemistry)?
ReplyDeleteWesleyan scheduled interviews for computational chemistry.
ReplyDeleteMany thx
Deletehas anyone heard from uc merced and purdue?
ReplyDeleteMerced has started scheduling on site interviews
DeletePurdue has also scheduled skype interviews
DeleteHas anyone heard anything about the USC or Stanford searches?
ReplyDeleteCali schools tend to schedule their interviews later (e.g early to mid Dec), more relaxed climate i suppose :p
DeleteThis isn't relaxing for me...
DeleteAs seen below they've probably already been contacting people. The sad rule of thumb I am experiencing is that if you don't hear within about 3 weeks of the deadline, you're likely not going to. Yes, Cali schools may schedule interviews for later, but the market is competitive, a large number of CA schools are hiring during the current cycle and they will contact attractive candidates pretty quickly.
DeleteKeep your heads up guys, i am in the same boat. Having personal met a faculty from USC who was in the search committee last year i realized that my chances are slim to none of being interviewed there. I was told straight that some of the interviews are arranged on a personal basis. She said that they want someone they can work with so they can pick and choose whoever they want and that if I were in their place i would do the same. What this means is that before the review even begins they call their trusted college at Berkeley or Caltech and ask them to send someone. That is why you may see a postdoc interviewing who only spent a 1-2 year in position with just pending publications.
Delete@11:22PM
DeleteA big part of this business is creating illusions in people's minds. Keep chasing that carrot on the stick, while believing that this whole process is a fair competition. Ooops, the carrot wasn't there to begin with. Well, listen, this was a great lesson - people aren't always fair to you. Wasn't this lesson worth of all those years you spent in grad school?
"believing that this whole process is a fair competition"
DeleteI don't think anyone is naive enough to believe that job competitions are fair. Really just a microcosm of life....
Truth. Most places don't care about hiring the best, just the best on paper. It would take far too much work to find the "best"candidate.
Delete"It would take far too much work to find the "best"candidate"
DeleteTrue, and I don't think anyone has ever found a way to do it so they play the odds: candidate X had 7 papers and worked for Y who is also excellent versus candidate Z who had 8 papers but worked for W whom I have never heard of....no idea won't know the best choice for a decade, but need to decide by Tuesday next.
If someone can find a way to assure future performance of job candidates based on past performance HR departments around the world would be flocking to them (though applying similar to trading would be more profitable).
A friend has an interview with Stanford , I think chemistry, not ChEM-H, and I was contacted for an interview with USC and UC Santa Cruz a couple of days ago.
ReplyDeleteDo you know what area of chemistry Stanford and USC are looking for? Some schools list open search but invite all analytical or physical candidates.
DeleteI was told that USC is in fact doing a fully open search and the search committee is looking at all areas. Not sure about Stanford.
DeleteI have an on site interview with Notre Dame.
ReplyDeleteNIU is requesting phone interviews.
ReplyDeleteClarkson has cancelled search.
ReplyDeleteStanford interview scheduled and finalized. Up on calendar soon.
ReplyDeleteFor both chemistry and ChEM-H?
DeleteFor Chemistry yes I can say for sure. Chem-H not so sure.
DeleteU Wisconsin-Madison, U Michigan on-site interviews scheduled.
ReplyDeleteOnly two interviews were shown on UWM's web. They should have more coming soon.
DeleteThree now... someone is still working on Thanksgiving!
DeleteMaryland has on-site interviews scheduled.
ReplyDeleteWhy ain't I getting anything? Sigh...
ReplyDeleteyou are not alone. Cheer up, bro!
DeleteImportant thing is to not to take whatever outcome one has personally. Do and not let it affect your science/life/confidence. After all everyone is confused and uncertain about their future (yes including big shot PIs) trying to make decisions the best way they can. No one has a crystal ball to see that you will make a great discovery 10 years from now or that they are wring not hiring you. Who knows what future holds. I mean if Trump can get the White house with his proposals and resume... :p
DeleteYeah, it's been pretty depressing for me too. Not even a phone interview so far.
DeleteI've come up empty so far too. It has been rough. Good luck to all of us!
DeleteThis an extremely helpful resource. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteDoes anybody know of a list like this that also includes biology jobs?
theres some at the academic wiki. biology: https://sites.google.com/site/wikibiologypostings/home
Deletehappy thxgiving, everyone
ReplyDeletePenn State has at least one interview scheduled, according to their website.
ReplyDeleteBuchwald Group at MIT has taken over the job market this year. It appears there are no worthy candidates left in the entire country...
DeleteBellarmine University - negative responses receive and offer accepted
ReplyDeleteRollins College - on-site interviews conducted
University of Central Oklahoma - on-site interviews conducted and offer extended
Bates College - on-site interviews conducted
Earlham College on-site interviews conducted and offer extended
Centre College - on-site interviews conducted
Grinnell College - on-site interviews in progress
Williams College - on-site interviews in progress (Physical/Analytical)
Williams College - on-site interviews conducted and offer extended (biochem)
Rejection letter received from UC Santa Cruz
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine had a phone interview at Rockefeller a few weeks ago
ReplyDeleteRejection letter from WASHU received.
ReplyDeleteNortheastern (computational) interview being scheduled.
ReplyDeleteCool! What field are they looking for? Material science or more bio-oriented?
Delete