Tuesday, October 8, 2019

The 2020 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 381 research/teaching positions, 11 teaching faculty and second open thread

The 2020 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 381 research/teaching positions and 11 teaching assistant professor positions.

Want to add a position? Here's a Google Form to enter positions. In 2019-2020, we will be adding teaching professor positions, targeting positions that demonstrate an intention to renew permanently, 3 year terms and a promotion ladder and/or are titled "assistant teaching professor" or "associate teaching professor." As of 9/20/19, we are adding community college positions if they explicitly offer tenure.

See an error? Please contact us at chemjobber@gmail.com

On October 9, 2018, the 2018 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 377 positions.

This will be the second open thread; the first open thread will close at noon Eastern on Tuesday, October 8. Here is the link to the third open thread. 

296 comments:

  1. University of Louisville is scheduling Skype calls

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  2. CSB/SJU is scheduling on-campus interviews

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    1. So if CSB/SJU has sent some rejection e-mails, and is scheduling some on-campus interviews, what does it mean if I haven't been contacted either way?

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    2. I would assume that means they have already selected 3-4 final candidates. Zoom interviews were last week, and campus interviews are happening over the next few weeks. They might be holding on to another group of candidates in case nothing pans out after campus interviews.

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    3. Thanks for the response. That makes sense, although I'm surprised that there's a "wait list" of people who weren't interviewed by Zoom.

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  3. Union College is scheduling campus interviews.

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  4. Cal State Fullerton is scheduling phone interviews.

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  5. I know that it's imprecise science, but after you find out that a school is scheduling phone interviews from this blog, how long should you wait until assuming that you are out of the running? A day? A week? Do interviews always get scheduled together?

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    1. my guess is that they will send out invites in a batch process. so once you see it on here, you won't likely hear anything from said school for a while - until they interview the initial round of candidates, a second batch of invite may be extended if the "perfect one" is not found.

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    2. UNLESS there are multiple positions. Then, they could have multiple committees and each committee could send out in batch process.

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    3. Since the Committee Chair probably sends emails to all shortlisted applicants at the same time, a day or two? Although I usually hold out hope for at least a week.

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  6. Ursinus is scheduling phone interviews.

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  7. Do you guys know which schools (and in what capacity) are affected by the PG&E shutdown?

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    1. UC Berkeley has shut down class for today, might continue for tomorrow.

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  8. Can anyone provide some insight or suggestions on the right time to bring up a two-body problem/opportunity with the search committee during the interview process, particularly at a PUI?

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    1. After an offer has been made unless there are multiple positions available that both bodies are qualified for.

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    2. If it were me, I'd wait until you have an offer. While it's technically illegal to base their hiring decisions on your situation, it'd be easy for them to go with someone else if your situation is too complicated for them.

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    3. I was pretty upfront about the two-body problem when I had on-site interviews because I knew if there were not opportunities for my partner in the area, I'd have a hard time accepting a position. My partner and I were both flexible about jobs during the process though -- we'd agreed that being in the same place was more important to both of us than being in academia, which gave us more flexibility to inquire about industry/other jobs in the vicinity. You might also be surprised by the programs that some schools have to recruit top candidates (especially PUIs that are relatively isolated/away from population centers) since the two-body problem is not rare.

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  9. What does "Referred to Hiring Department" mean?

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    1. Sometimes applications have to go through HR before they go back to be assessed. Might be it, but could be something else.

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  10. Does anybody know any update about Oregon State?

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  11. The College of New Jersey is scheduling video interviews.

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  12. Anybody heard from Penn State yet?

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  13. Duquesne are scheduling video interviews

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  14. Kalamazoo scheduling video interviews; St. Edward's scheduling phone interviews; Trinity scheduling on-sites

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  15. Williams scheduling phone interviews

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  16. Towson (teach) position is scheduling phone interviews.

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  17. Skidmore sent out questions to their short list.

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  18. is it really that none of the R1 (except UT Austin) has not scheduled phone interview? i found that really surprising.

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    1. Just today WashU and Oregon State started scheduling apparently (and Utah on Friday) so this might be the week!

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  19. University of Utah are scheduling Skype interviews.

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    1. Is this the Chemistry or Biochemistry position?

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    2. Is it material chemistry or analytical chemistry?

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    3. Analytical chemistry in my case; not sure about materials chemistry.

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    4. Analytical chemistry too here.

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  20. Is it okay to apply to multiple positions in the same university? Does it affect negatively? eg. applying to a tenure-track assistant professor position in a particular field, lecturer and an instructional professor position

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    1. Yes, in fact, I've been told it's generally only a good thing because they can sometimes joint appoint you. You have to let the search committees know that you've applied to both departments though, if you want that advantage.

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    2. You're not describing two tenure-track positions in different departments where you could be joint-appointed so your start-up cost can be split between two departments. You're describing a tenure-track position and two non-tenure track positions. It would depend on the University. In my experience, those tracks do not mix. Instructional professor positions are considered career-track positions so applying for a tenure-track and non-tenure track career position especially in the same department seems counterintuitive. It may weaken your tenure-track application if you're expressing interest in positions that don't rely on research and grant-writing. Short-term lecturer/instructor positions are sometimes considered "stepping stones" to tenure-track positions (more PUI than R1) if it's treated as a teaching postdoc. I would get more feedback from tenure-track faculty who have served on search committees.

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  21. Lafayette scheduling on site interviews

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  22. How many schools are you guys applying to? And how many interviews have you gotten so far?

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    1. I have applied to 50 so far, but I'm applying across multiple departments. No interviews yet, but it looks like only 2 have notified people.

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    2. i am on about ~20

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    3. I have applied so far 15, got one skype interview. I will apply 15 more those have deadline at the end of this month.

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    4. Wow, 50, that's wild. I've read about people applying to >100. How much time do you guys typically spend on each application?
      I've applied to three so far and doing two more today. It literally takes me hours if not days to do each application because I'm trying to tailor to each school.

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    5. @9:10.. I'm 1:42. I'm on the market for my second year. Last year, I applied to 16 places, had two interviews, but no offers. This is the last year I'm going to do it, and I don't want to end in a similar situation as last year, so I'm going all out. I submitted my first application back in early August, so I've had my materials ready for a while. I spend about 2 hours on each application. I obviously tailor the cover letter the most. In the teaching statement, I mostly just have to pick out courses I want to teach, and in the research statement, I add a section on potential collaborations that's tailored to each department. Otherwise, most the documents are the same from university to university (unless they have some random page requirement).

      I think if you know that you're going to be a popular candidate (i.e. you have a Science/Nature/Cell paper and/or a transition award), applying to a ton of departments is overkill, but otherwise it seems like a lot of getting an interview comes down to luck, so I want to stack my odds.

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    6. @10:11 hope you get one this year!!! I'm mostly applying to PUIs and it seems like they're all unique in their application requirements, so it's quite involved.
      I am assuming you are applying mostly to R1s, or are you applying to all types of schools? Would be interesting to see stats for people applying to the different types of positions and how many applications it takes on average to get an offer.

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    7. @10:27, yes, I'm only applying to R1s. I could see PUIs requiring a lot more individual tailoring. but i could also be doing it all wrong since I didn't get a job last year, so who knows???

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    8. I'm applying to 33 departments, R1 only, not all of them in chemistry since I'm interdisciplinary. I'm not ruling out additional applications if something else opens up.

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    9. @10:27 here are some stats! https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2019/10/09/796466.full.pdf

      In general, >15 applications for an offer. The majority of participants in the survey were from the life sciences, but lots of interesting data.

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    10. Anon @7:15 PM. Thanks for posting, this is actually pretty encouraging. I was worried that my stats were weak, but it turns out I'm pretty much the "median" applicant from this article. I guess, I have to just keep applying. Two more apps are getting send out tomorrow!

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    11. @7:15 PM. this is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you so much for sharing it! Pretty encouraging stats.

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    12. I just submitted application #18. I have 9 left to submit, so that makes 27 total applications (but I am applying primarily to PUIs, no R1s).

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    13. @12:34, wow that's a lot. How many have you heard back from?

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    14. @2:11 Most deadlines are just passing, so I've only heard from two. One rejection, one campus interview (next week). It's a crap shoot!

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    15. @7:15 PM and @10:11 PM.

      Just to give a little perspective on the other side of things here. I'm in my fourth year of applications, having applied to 25+ R1s each year. I'm now up to 50+ publications with several first-author Sci/Nat/Cells. I've gotten identically zero phone interviews - complete and total radio silence.

      So... your mileage may vary significantly.

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    16. @11:02 AM, I don't know what to say. But if this is not made up, then you might want to think about if academia is the right direction to go. If you do get 50+ publications and several first-author CNS papers, I don't think it would be that difficult to find a job in non-academia positions.

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    17. @11:45 AM Sadly not made up... Postdoc term ends after this year, and I'm not looking for another one, so it's either someone pays attention this time around or I go elsewhere =/. It's been an increasingly demoralizing application process year after year...

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    18. Anon @11:02AM, I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how frustrating that must be. Does your research proposal call for some exotic/expensive equipment? Is it possible that one of your rec letter writers is sabotaging you?

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    19. @1:42 PM. Nope and nope. Equipment needs are well within norms for my field, and perhaps even on the low side. Rec letter writers are all definitely in my corner as well. We're collectively out of ideas at this point =D.

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  23. Hi, I am first time on interfolio, a quick question about applications using it. When the lists of sent deliveries show the status as "complete", does it mean my application has been submitted?

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    1. Yes. It is just a platform where the committee will fetch your application. The profile remains editable until they locked it for review.

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  24. Page limits are the worst. Like, how do you write three good proposals in four pages?

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    1. Either do a 1 page summary and 3 x 1 page proposals, or don't do three proposals. 2 x 2 pages seems more appropriate for a four page limit.

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    2. Ended up doing 1 pg summary, with 3 X 1 pg proposals, but just needed to complain. =]
      I feel like I had to cut out so many elaborately written paragraphs and now the proposals feels dry and too concise.

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  25. WashU scheduling Skype interviews

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    1. Is this Washington University at St. Louis?

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  26. Saint Francis University is scheduling phone interviews.

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  27. Anyone hear from LSU and WVU?

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  28. Does it seem like there is less activity on the forum this year than same time last year?

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    1. I'd love to contribute, but I haven't received any interview requests!

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    2. =[[[[ Hope you get something! I only got one video interview at the school that is my top choice, so now I'm nervously waiting, having occasional pangs of anxiety when memories of all the awkward things I said during the interview resurface, and hoping the committee will look past them or maybe even find them charming somehow.
      But also applying to additional schools in the meantime. =[]

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    3. Seems like schools are slow this year for some reason? The R1s especially.

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    4. @1:34, could this be an indication of fewer candidates? Or conversely that they're overwhelmed by heaps of applications?

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  29. Has anyone heard anything from Georgia Tech? Their deadline was Sept 1.

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  30. Oregon State University is scheduling video interviews

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  31. Has anyone heard anything from Colgate or St. Olaf? St. Olaf asked for letters a little over a week ago (which they don't do until after a first round of screening), but I haven't heard anything concrete.

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    1. Colgate was holding phone interviews last week. No word from St. Olaf beyond the reference follow ups you mentioned.

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    2. For St. Olaf, did they specifically ask you about the letters, or did you hear that they asked for letters from your references?

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    3. Oct 14 @ 3:12. I heard through my references that the letters were requested. Never got anything directly from St. Olaf

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    4. Same, I got email notifications that letters had been submitted to St. Olaf, but nothing directly from them. (I am OP.)

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    5. You'd think that after existing for decades, this system would become less opaque, rather than more...hang in there everyone! As the wonderful Tom Petty said, the waiting is the hardest part.

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  32. Anyone heard anything from OSU-ATI?

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  33. Has anyone heard back from Hope College since last month's Skype interviews?

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    1. No... was wondering the same thing.

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    2. Hope College started sending rejection letters today.

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    3. @10:10 did you have a Skype interview with Hope?

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    4. @10:53 Nope. But sounds like you did. Goodluck!

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    5. Received a rejection letter from Hope College today

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    6. Hope College is scheduling campus interviews.

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  34. Has anyone heard from Haverford? The deadline was almost one month ago, and it seems like other private liberal arts colleges with similar deadlines have already conducted phone/Skype interviews.

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    1. I had a Zoom interview at Haverford two weeks ago.

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    2. They have scheduled on-campus interviews.

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  35. Has anyone heard anything from UNCG?

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  36. Anybody heard anything from TUFTS and TEXAS A&M ?

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    1. Nothing that I've seen yet - both are ones that I've applied to, and ones that I'm really hoping for a shot at.

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  37. Western Washington's Chem Edu position is scheduling phone interviews.

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  38. Tufts CER position has reviewed applications and is requesting letters from references

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  39. Marshall is doing phone interviews.

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    1. Did you by any chance ask when they would schedule on-campus interviews? I failed to do so during my phone interview.

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    2. I did ask and they gave me a scripted answer that said they could not comment on the status of the search and that any questions should be emailed to the chair.

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    3. Thanks. I got the same script without asking, right at the end of the call.

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  40. Anyone getting anything from California schools?

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  41. Susquehanna is scheduling video interviews

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  42. UW La Crosse scheduling phone interviews.

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  43. Has anyone heard from Northwestern or UCSB (chemistry for both) yet?

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    1. Someone I know got a phone interview with Northwestern.

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    2. Come on, UCSB's deadline is next week...

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    3. Structural Biochemistry (same as last year) was 6th.

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    4. Yes, that's --^ what I meant. Sorry for any confusion. They never hired anyone last year, did they?

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    5. They did remote interviews at least. I don't know if they invited any.

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    6. Anon @12:45, is that for UCSB or Northwestern?

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    7. @1:43, I meant UCSB.

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  44. Those applying to PUIs, do you apply to specializations outside of your expertise or only to the ones you're qualified for? (i.e. inorganic, analytical, physical, etc.) And what is your success like with those not in your field?

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    1. I got a lot of advice saying that if they don't specify a certain type of research, they're mostly interested in you being able to teach courses in that subdiscipline. I'm an inorganic chemist and have been applying to analytical and physical and gotten skype/phone/onsite interviews from universities looking for all three - I'm sure it helps that my research proposal ideas can somewhat be applied to all three. I did not apply to, for example, organic positions because I despise organic and would never want to teach it...but I don't see how it could hurt if you were interested in teaching it?

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    2. Just two cents from someone who's worked at a PUI--you might have success in areas outside your own but departments are most often looking to hire someone with expertise in *that* area for a tenure-track role rather than someone who can just teach the courses. You're generally going to have a lot more success applying in the area you're an expert in rather than any area you can kinda sorta teach classes in.

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  45. Toronto and University of Houston have scheduled interviews

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    1. Is the position for University of Houston for experimental polymer chemistry or experimental physical chemistry?

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    2. Polymer Chemistry

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  46. So this is my first time applying, but i am curious to know: after the phone/skype interview, usually how long will the on campus invite come out for R1 schools? - thanks

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    1. Well, I think you should have asked during your interview. Actually I think you might still be able to ask them now even after your interview.

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  47. what is the difference between "accepting applications" and "editable" on interfolio?

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    1. I believe accepting applications is before you hit submit. Editable is after you submit, but you can still edit the submission/swap out documents. If it's after the deadline, it may still be editable. But if the committee already has your application from HR, they probably won't get any edits you make.

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    2. I think some schools set their due dates in Interfolio to May 1, 2020 or something else way in the future. So even though they state a priority date in the call Interfolio will always show those as "Accepting applications." For schools that have actual deadlines set in Interfolio you will see "editable" once the due date has passed, which (like above reply says) means you can edit but unknown whether or not committee will get the edits.

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  48. St. Edward's scheduling on-sites
    St. John's scheduling WebEx interviews

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  49. Has anyone heard from Dickinson? Their deadline was Sept 15th.

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    1. Dickinson has an academic mid-term break coming up starting tomorrow (10/17) ending next Wednesday (10/23). Be patient, I think news will come soon.

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    2. @10:17 AM - Thank you very much!

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  50. LSU endowed chair is perennial, see 2018 and 2019 lists.

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  51. Mills College is scheduling phone interviews

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  52. Denison is sending out additional questions for select applicants to answer

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  53. Kennesaw State is scheduling phone interviews

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  54. Anybody know what's going on with Georgia Tech and Penn State?

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  55. Are R1 schools running slow this year? I only did one remote interview so far among 30ish applications.

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    1. Same here. ~30 apps, one remote interview next Tuesday. ¯\_(惄)_/¯

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    2. Looks that way. I've had a couple of remote interviews but nothing from the R1s, whether open call or specialized.

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    3. @6.20 and 6.29, are the R1s listed here as doing phone interviews already?

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    4. @6:49. I'm 6:29. Yes, mine is at Utah.

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    5. I feel like they are. I've applied to 40 R1s and heard nothing. I applied to 10 schools in another department though (also R1s), and I've heard from 4 of those schools already.

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    6. @7:18 mind sharing what kind of depts you’re hearing from? I’ve applied to med/pharmacy/biochem departments and heard nothing yet

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    7. @ 9:29, these are all engineering departments.

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    8. @6:49, I did for the Mississippi State position.

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  56. @6:49. I'm 6:29. Yes, mine is at Utah.

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  57. San Jose State University is scheduling campus interviews. Bradley University is scheduling Skype interviews.

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    1. Which position is SJSU interviewing for?

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  58. Mississippi State has/is conducting Skype interviews.

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  59. Ithaca is sending out additional questions for select applicants to answer and requesting letters

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  60. Anything from Stanford, anyone?

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    1. If you check the calendar for the seminars last year/early this year, you will know that they usually do seminars in January or even later. You can do the math for the rest part yourself. Just be patient, this is not even the beginning of this game, it is at most pre-game period.

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    2. I agree with 5:04. Many R1 schools even schedule interviews even later for Feb/Mar.

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  61. Anyone heard back from Sonoma State? They did phone interviews last week.

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  62. St. Olaf is scheduling phone interviews

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  63. Monmouth College scheduling phone interviews

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  64. Miami University is conducting phone interviews.

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  65. Penn State scheduling Skype interviews

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    1. can you share what level/rank the invited candidates are?

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    2. @3:45 p.m. -- I (11:52 a.m.) am applying to both senior and junior positions this year, so I'm not the best thermometer on that, I'm afraid.

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    3. @3:53 p.m. -- thanks! trying to gauge what they may be particularly interested in, can I ask what area your are in, Pchem, Anal, Org, Inorg, or bio?

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    4. I am also curious what they're interested in. Had high hopes for Penn State, but no email so far...

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    5. @5:20 p.m. pchem/analytical

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    6. A Penn State faculty told me they have a real open search this year.

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  66. Ursinus College scheduling on-site interviews.

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  67. M.I.T. scheduling WebX interviews

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  68. Duquesne is scheduling interviews

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  69. Anyone heard from Pacific Lutheran? Phone interviews were two weeks ago...

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    1. I haven't, but during my phone interview I asked about when I could expect to hear back and their plan was to notify applicants of decisions by 10/25.

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  70. Georgia Tech is scheduling Skype interviews.

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    1. what area and rank?

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    2. Area: organic broadly defined, polymers/materials specialization. Rank: asst prof

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  71. UT Austin has posted seminar schedule for faculty recruitment.

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    1. That means my Skype interview failed...

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    2. Having an interview is never a failure. Sometimes the school is looking for someone a little bit different, but this doesn't mean that you weren't impressive in your own right. Use what you learned in this interview for the next one, and the one after that ��

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    3. Except... we hardly ever get any actual feedback on interviews/applications (other than months of rude silence followed by a rejection), so... what are we supposed to learn?

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  72. Buffalo is scheduling interviews

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    1. Is this for chem biology or sustainability?

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    2. Chemical biology

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    3. Also sustainability

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  73. Anyone heard from Colorado College?

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    1. Haven't heard anything. The link is no longer up on their job website, but my application still shows as under review when I login. They also posted a Gen Chem/Biochem lab lecturer, so I'm hoping they didn't just reevaluate their needs/resources and change directions. Hoping to hear something soon.

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  74. I swear, the places that send out an e-mail to do their demographics survey (that they don't bother to include in the application) more than a week after the deadline are just sadistic.

    "Hey! Look! An e-mail about that faculty position I applied for at Michigan! It's way too early to be being rejected! Gotta be good news!"

    Nope. Demographics survey. Psych!!

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    1. Has anybody heard about skype interviews from Michigan yet?

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    2. Stanford does that too. Made my blood pressure rise.

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  75. Penn State is scheduling Skype interviews now.

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  76. Carroll University is scheduling phone interviews

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  77. Anybody heard from Tufts, rode island or Texas AM?

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    1. Not yet. Nor BU...

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    2. I applied to all three places like you. Waiting...

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  78. South Dakota is scheduling zoom interview

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  79. University of San Francisco is scheduling phone interviews

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