The 2021 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 285 research/teaching positions and 47 teaching assistant professor positions.
Want to help out? Here's a Google Form to enter positions.In 2020-2021, 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." We are adding community college positions if they explicitly offer tenure.
On February 18, 2020, the 2020 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 539 research/teaching positions and 65 teaching faculty positions.
To see trending, go to Andrew Spaeth's visualization of previous years' list.
Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? Go to the fourth open thread. Here's the third open thread, which closed on January 20, 2021. Click here for the second thread, which closed on December 22. Click here for the first open thread, which closed on November 11, 2020.
Don't forget to click on "load more" below the comment box for the full thread.
This will be the fifth open thread, starting at noon Eastern, Tuesday, February 16.
Any news from Toronto Chemistry/Physics of Quantum Materials?
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard anything since the screening interview ~3 weeks ago. Did you get a screening? I imagine that the politics of having a search in two departments means this could take a lot longer than a typical search.
DeleteThe stereotype is also that physicists are snobs who would never hire someone with a chemistry degree whereas it happens that chemistry programs hire someone with a physics PhD, so if this is at all true, there may be a bias against chemists in this search.
They also had a joint search with MSE in computation/AI that disappeared into the void after an initial job ad last summer (or at least I never heard of any updates or people getting interviews).
DeleteAs for physicists being snobs, my experience has been that chemists can be just as snobby about people without an official chemistry degree, so they might be looking for the dual-PhD unicorn here.
Any news from the University of Richmond?
ReplyDeleteI submitted my application on Oct 30, but just got an automated email last week from University of Richmond HR saying my application was "currently under review" - not sure if anyone else got the same
DeleteI got the same email last week. However, I remember someone saying probably 2 months ago that Richmond had progressed to on-sites. I figured the email was triggered when they were poking around to send rejection letters, lol.
DeleteForm rejection email today.
DeleteHas anyone heard from the University of British Columbia regarding the experimental physical chemistry opening?
ReplyDeleteAlso waiting to hear something....
DeleteUBC (Experimental Physical Chemistry Position) is scheduling Zoom interviews 02/22
DeleteCaltech posted the ChemE faculty appointment to the CCE website.
ReplyDeletewhere? I don't see it.
Deletefaculty page shows new member joining 2022 -> I'm just assuming this is the new appointment...
DeleteNo, Gözde Demirer was hired during last year's search (as was Shasha Chong).
Deletehttps://twitter.com/Demirer_GozdeS/status/1244719676166299649
Ah, ok - thanks for the clarification.
DeleteForm rejection email from Yale today
ReplyDeleteHypothetical situation: First year applying, get a few onsites, one at a top R1, the rest at much lower ranked schools. Get offer from a low rank R1, rejected from top choices. What would you do: take the offer, or try again next year?
ReplyDeleteit seems that you prefer applying again, but I recommend talking to as many senior PIs as possible. Their thoughts or experience would be very valuable.
DeleteI think that there is no wrong answer here. As they say, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. On the other hand, if you do not see yourself being happy or successful somewhere, that is also an extremely important consideration.
DeleteThat having been said, I would report that the process feels much much much more unbearable the second time around. It has been very difficult to grapple with the fact that I sunk another year into this postdoc when I feel that I should not have had to do that. As such, I know that if I found myself in your situation, I would take the offer. It's worth asking how you will feel if your second search goes poorly - what if you get a comparable offer, or what if you get one that you are less excited about?
You have to start your career somewhere. Maybe this position is not exactly what you had envisioned for yourself, but I guess what could be helpful is to consider if there are certain opportunities that are available as a result of the circumstances. For example, some of the programs I'm closing in on have very small groups, and that could be an opportunity to really work with graduate students one-on-one; that is something I can look forward to.
Best of luck!
Depends on what resources the low-ranked R1 has. If it can offer all the equipment/space/student resources that you need, I would recommend you take the offer. You can still be quite successful if you have good research ideas and move up in ranking later on. There is no guarantee you will get an offer next year.
DeleteNot the above. I have a follow-up question for that hypothetical situation. If @11:17 accepted the offer at the low rank univ, can he/she still apply for the next cycle ? Is it even possible ?
DeleteCould you be happy there? I'd take it. (Without more specifics, this is what I would likely do)
DeleteWill you be unhappy there? Roll the dice again.
Lots of good and bad advice above. I definitely support being straight up. If you blow folks off or string them along, it's going to circle back around in reviews. You can always shop around for better positions with tenure in hand.
Best wishes on your decision!
@2:40 Possible, and possibly not unheard of. But why would you risk it? Unless you were going for a targeted hire, or a direct offer from a department that offers you more resources/facilities/startup/pay/students I would not do it. If I were a hiring committee, it would raise one or more red flags. It will also create a toxic environment in your current department, they cashed money to get your started, and in your first and second year that's were most of it is all spent to set up the lab. They have not reaped anything out of you yet (no grants, no papers, no recognition, no students graduated, only a few courses taught). On the practical side, if you have time to apply to positions during your first year as a faculty, tell me how you plan to do it in-between preparing courses, setting up labs, writing grant proposals, finishing papers from your post-doc, and getting adjusted to the new position, colleagues, and place (I am assuming there is no family to worry about). All is possible. Is it worth?
ReplyDeleteA possible alternative, if applying for the next cycle is the absolute plan and extending the current postdoc is not feasible, would be to take an industry job for the short-term if there is no other viable option. While obviously not the ideal route, it is not unheard of to do this, allows for a 'next cycle application' (in contrast to starting a new postdoc), and you are likely to avoid the red flags of 'jumping ship' as a new PI that @3:16 has mentioned.
DeleteHow unethical would it be to accept an offer, delay the start by a year and continue as a postdoc, and apply again the following cycle having already accepted an offer?
Delete@3:37 -- this is a really bad idea. I cannot imagine a scenario where this would not blow up in your face. Your letter writers would presumably know what is going on, so you would be putting them in a moral dilemma. The community is small, so the university that you are stringing along is likely to find out, and when they do, they will be understandably upset.
DeleteI think the most plausible outcome in that scenario is that you just build a lot of bad will all at once. This would be substantially more damaging to your career aspirations than starting your career at a slightly less than perfect R1.
Agreed with @4:05, the world of chemistry is very small
DeleteAt what length of postdoc does it become a red flag for hiring committees? Is applying in a 3rd year of postdoc too late for chemistry?
ReplyDeleteI applied in my 4th year, and based on my experience, not bad at all. I'd not worry, and try to demonstrate your personal growth during your postdoc (broadly science, maturity, collegiality, etc).
Delete3rd year PD is definitely not a problem in general, most important is to be consistently productive at a high level. On average, successful candidates have 2-5 years of PD experience from what I have seen, but new hires occasionally have more than five years of PD. People will expect more accomplishments from someone who has been in chemistry longer. Its also better to not bounce around between too many PD groups, it starts to raise red flags, 1-2 postdocs is not a problem, three different PD (or PD-like) positions starts to look bad.
DeleteThree years in an unofficial postdoc (thanks great recession) and then 5 years shifting to 6 (didn't get an offer the first year applying) in a biochem postdoc. After the great sorting, I ended up getting and taking an offer about this time in the cycle at a mid-level R1 that I'm very happy at. I'm probably at the extreme outside, though, and having major chops in multiple areas really helped. If your package is great, I don't think being too long in the tooth is terrible, but I'm sure it becomes more and more of a red flag for some.
Delete@9:22 Thanks for your feedback! What length of postdoc do you consider "long in the tooth?"
DeleteSee, I don't want to put a hard number on it because whatever I pick will be wrong, both because some people will get a job longer than that and some people who haven't been there that long won't. I align generally with 4:46, 5ish total years for a postdoc or two in similar areas with high productivity is easily normal and acceptable. My case seems unusual, but even then not too far off (6 year postdocs in biochem are fairly normal) and my unofficial postdoc was productive and ok combined with a recession, but 9+ years is really on the outside. I did start running off the end of the early-stage investigator cliff, which sucked. Once I get on a search committee, I'll have much larger numbers to compute postdoc trends and can give a less wishy-washy answer.
DeleteOthers have said it above, but it bears repeating: sit down with advisors and mentors you trust, and get their opinion on your package and chances. Everyone knows this year was bad, and I'm hopeful there'll be extra openings next year.
I would love to hear some different perspectives on taking a teaching job (non-tenure track) as a temporary position, with the long-term goal of applying again to R1 jobs or maybe even industry. I don't see people doing this, and I am wondering how it would be perceived by the community evaluating such an applicant.
ReplyDeleteR1 Professors still teach, so teaching experience is great to have. But while they have to teach well enough to keep their job and make their salary, the primary goal of an R1 professor is to bring in research dollars to fill the department, college, and university coffers.
DeleteIf this is for a semester or maybe a year as a stop-gap because a postdoc ran out during COVID (and your research packet is already top rate), I'd say you're fine and it's perfectly understandable, maybe even a bonus. Any longer and it could be perceived as your career trajectory, desired or not. It might be better to burnish your research credentials further by finding something that would give you further training and maybe another paper or two for the next year.
I'm curious about other folks' opinions.
A visiting assistant professor position can be a good way to bridge a postdoc and a tenure track position, especially if it is at a small liberal arts college with money. The teaching commitment is a lot, but it's possible to make time to pursue your own research and you can even take on undergrad research students. They also pay well and come with benefits.
DeleteNone of that applies to adjunct teaching positions. Those seem like a total scam. But if that what you can get I suppose its better than nothing (and that's the scam).
My experience is that departments are very happy when a VAP offers to do research but they will never offer meaningful support, since VAPs transient, are after all. Anyone who enters such arrangements sets himself up for exploitation. At least with adjunct position you know it's a scam.
Delete@3:22 *themself. I've had enough with sexism from hiring committees, let's not perpetuate it here too.
Delete@7:32 you witnessed sexism in hiring committees this year? I would be interested in your experience.
DeleteI am looking for opinions on follow up emails... I had a prelim interview to a university where another member of the same group did. Now I know that the other member of the same group got an on-site interview (ahhh, the grapevine), but there is no official email from the search committee that I have not been selected. I should have heard something at the beginning of this week. Should I inquire about the status? Should I just drop it and cover myself with my self-commiseration blanket?
ReplyDeleteI would say your chances of getting the on-site at this point are slim, but not zero. Imo it takes just the tiniest amount of human decency to send a copy/paste rejection email to the few people who you've already had a face-to-face Zoom conversation with, so I always ask for an update when I'm in a similar situation. I know it's petty, but I'm going to try and force you to say no if you don't have the decency to do it on your own. On the other hand, perhaps you'll learn you haven't been eliminated just yet.
DeleteA visiting assistant professor position can be a good way to bridge a postdoc and a tenure track position, especially if it is at a small liberal arts college with money. The teaching commitment is a lot, but it's possible to make time to pursue your own research and you can even take on undergrad research students. They also pay well and come with benefits.
DeleteNone of that applies to adjunct teaching positions. Those seem like a total scam. But if that what you can get I suppose its better than nothing (and that's the scam).
IMO, follow up emails after an interview (either on site or virtual) are ok. It is totally understandable and I doubt any chair would feel annoyed by it (most of those will be answered by admin assistants anyway).
DeleteIn this particular case, though, if you already know that they went ahead with other candidates, I would advice to focus on a more productive use of your time. You have nothing to win out of it. Most likely they won't even give you any feedback. Don't overthink it and move on.
I feel you. It is a cruel system, and this year more than ever. Don't let it get into you. Good luck!
Did anyone hear anything from UHSP in St. Louis ? Thanks
ReplyDeleteThey started Zoom interviews two weeks ago. I do not know if they started virtual on-sites or not!
DeleteAfter how many years in industry become a red flag for hiring committees?
ReplyDeleteAfter receiving job offers, do you ask for in-person visit before you can accept the offer? (The entire interview process was virtual; they don’t talk about potential in-person visit).
ReplyDeleteI did. That's also a good excuse to extend the deadline.
DeleteI did, as well. I can't fathom making this kind of major life decision without seeing where my lab and home would be.
DeleteI did last year, but with COVID there might be flight restrictions so that may not be an option this year.
DeleteDoes anybody know if Berkeley has already conducted interviews and given offer to candidates?
ReplyDeleteStill nothing on this one? Quite a few weeks past when they said they would notify everyone.
DeleteForm rejection from Berkeley today
Delete@6:16 Were you an onsite candidate at Berkeley?
DeleteI would like to point out for EVERYONE's sake that they are under no obligations to answer questions from other commenters.
DeleteI would ALSO like to discourage people from asking questions that will deanonymize fellow commenters non-reciprocally.
Interviews are complete, but as for an offer ��♂️
ReplyDelete^ lol apparently emojis don't code well. Not sure about an offer!
DeleteIf they told you that you are their top candidate during the interview, do they really mean that or they just tell everyone the same thing? I only had 2 interview, so feel very uncertain if I could land on an offer.
DeleteI would think that would be a good sign, but unfortunately nice words are just nice words until you get an offer. In general I would say most faculty wouldn't say things they don't mean, but it's hard to put a ton of stock into one person's opinion in these matters. As much as it sucks, just have to wait and see how things shake out. Good luck!
DeleteI agree that any sort of compliment doesn't mean much until there is actually an offer attached. I had a search chair end my visit by telling me that they had "a good feeling" about my candidacy, only to learn ~a week later that the position had already been offered to and accepted by someone else.
DeleteI have come to learn that even glowing responses from faculty in response to your thank-you emails (or even sayings like "if it were up to me, you'd have the job") mean nothing when it comes to getting an offer, sadly.
DeleteI once had an on-site interview, I wrote thank-you notes to everyone I met. Everyone single one of them replied with words such as, "great", "...future colleague", "look forward to working with you", etc. In the end, I didn't get the offer. So yea...good words are not reliable.
DeleteLafayette is scheduling Zoom interviews.
ReplyDeleteDoes any one hear any updates from Kennesaw State?
ReplyDeleteKennesaw State has scheduled virtual on-site interviews
DeleteAny updates from Lawrence Technological University?
ReplyDeleteAny words from Utah Materials Chemistry ?
ReplyDeleteVillanova is scheduling Zoom interviews for the Teaching Assistant Professor position.
ReplyDeleteKansas State is scheduling (new?) screening interviews. They have virtual on-site candidates on their website from back in January, so I'm not sure if they struck out on those candidates or if it was something else.
ReplyDeleteAre they scheduling screening interviews today?
DeleteAny news from University of Southern Mississippi, School of Polymer Science and Engineering after screening interviews?
ReplyDeleteThey have already finished the onsite.
DeleteIt is always fun being ghosted after an interview. A rejection would have been nice.
DeleteI agree. I have been ghosted twice after first round interviews this year. The search committees can be much more professional and respectful to our inputs in those interviews. But they just disappeared...
DeleteMe too after an onsite
DeleteRejection received from Emory after onsite.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that .. Hope you will get an offer from somewhere else
DeleteAny news from Oklahoma (inorganic materials), TAMU-Corpus Christi and UMass-Boston (inorganic)?
ReplyDeleteumass boston has on sites scheduled
DeleteI had a screening at Oklahoma for the inorganic materials position last week, but have not heard anything since.
DeleteI haven't heard anything from TAMU-Corpus Christi.
DeleteReceived email that the search at UNevada-Reno has been cancelled (experimental physical).
ReplyDeleteSame here. Weird, someone posted they were running preliminary interviews on Feb 11th.
DeleteI wonder if this has happened to other openings this year, only they did not communicate it. The number of positions without any update is abnormally high.
These are strange times... I am not even sure we will be able to go back to normal in the next 2-3 years (in terms of numbers of positions, numbers of candidates, and positions filled). There is already a backlog of candidates from 2019-2020 which is carrying over this cycle, and will spill over to the next one too...
DeleteDid anyone hear back from UBC after their initial screening?
ReplyDeleteStill waiting here as well...
DeleteHas anyone heard anything from SJSU after their screening interviews?
ReplyDeleteHas anyone had an onsite with Auburn for the pchem position? I was invited for a virtual onsite back in December, but they haven't scheduled it yet.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should follow up with the search chair on that. 2-3 months is a long time to wait for an interview to be scheduled.
DeleteI have. They have a full seminar schedule. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Delete@3:22 *themself. I've had enough with sexism from hiring committees, let's not perpetuate it here too.
DeleteHave R1 schools like Caltech, Berkeley, and MIT already made offers after the interviews? If so, in which fields?
ReplyDeleteI believe that Berkeley has already made offers. I was just rejected after the onsite today.
DeleteAlso, Caltech just sent a rejection email today.
DeleteMIT canceled their search.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteAny news from Rhodes College?
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard back from them since the initial interview in December
DeleteAny news from below universities?
ReplyDeleteNorwich University
Southwestern University
Indiana Tech University
Marian University
University of Wisconsin
St. Mary's College
I got an initial interview request from Indiana Tech last Saturday.
DeleteNorwich University started virtual on-site interviews this week.
DeleteAhhh thanks, hadn't seen or heard from them either :\
DeleteIs anyone else being told that startup budgets are lower this year due to COVID?
ReplyDeleteThat is absolutely an excuse
DeleteAgree with above. If they advertised a position (regardless of tier), they knew the startup funding expectation.
DeleteHas anyone heard from UNT (North Texas) comp chem position?
ReplyDeleteNothing on my end. They reached out for rec. letters and then went silent!
DeleteReceived rejection email from UNLV
ReplyDeleteRejection email from the University of Washington.
ReplyDeletesame.
DeleteSame here.
DeleteI received a rejection last week after second round interviews. I expect they made their offer(s).
DeleteHas anybody heard from NYU comp chem position yet?
ReplyDeleteThey've been doing onsites for a few weeks now.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of questions normally do you get during the on-sites ? and with whom normally the interviews are ?
ReplyDeletePoint of clarification: I applied to mostly PUIs and BS/MS programs.
DeleteIn terms of meetings, I met with the Dean is every case and the Provost at one school. They also commonly scheduled a one-on-one with the youngest current faculty member and group sessions of 3-5 with non-subfield faculty. I normally met one-on-one (or in groups of 2) with the faculty in my subfield.
In terms of questions, I was asked all the common questions by non-subfield faculty ("why our school?" "tell me how your research can add to our current department offerings," "tell me more about your teaching style" (with the implication of 'what have your learned and how have you changed'), "how would you engage students in your research program?" etc. The faculty in my subfield had more specific questions about my proposed research and if their current infrastructure was compatible. Obviously, I also got some questions completely out of left field from non-subfield faculty, but there's no way to anticipate that and I imagine my response to those questions was weighed less heavily.
However, I actually asked most of the questions. While the initial interview was 90% their questions, the on-site was more 50/50. However, this was just my experience.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
DeleteDid Princeton fill the position in Catalysis? Also, does anybody know if people were interviewed for the position in Materials Science (that was also compatible with chemists)?
ReplyDeletePrinceton had four faculty candidates interview for the catalysis position in early January. I have not heard anything since. As of today, no seminars have been advertised for the PRISM search.
DeleteReceived a rejection from the PRISM search today
DeleteURI has concluded the first virtual "on-site" interviews. Recordings of the first two research talks were available online until the weekend (last I checked). Recordings were taken off line before the third candidate was interviewed.
ReplyDeleteAny update from University of British Columbia after the first round of zoom interviews?
ReplyDeleteUBC is scheduling full interviews
DeleteBiological chemistry position?
DeleteI am not sure if this is feasible, but I think it may be useful for some to see the job market seekers for those who use this site. For example, a poll that collects data on those looking for PUI jobs vs. those looking for R1 jobs? That is just an example, but a more comprehensive questionnaire may help some see where they stand in the market and how many people their are looking in their subfield or at their institutional level, etc.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone heard from Carleton?
ReplyDeleteDoes anybody know what happened/is happening with the Caltech chemistry search? Never saw any seminars posted (or maybe saw 1...?). Someone reported a rejection email?
ReplyDeleteThey made offer already. I think it is a chem biol position.
DeleteHas anyone heard updates about the two-position hiring by university south Florida after on-site?
ReplyDeleteI have not heard anything after video on-site. They interviewed 10-15 people.
DeleteHavent heard anything after the virtual on-site
DeleteThey already made an offer.
DeleteAnybody here from Texas Tech University after on-sites?
ReplyDeleteNothing for pchem position
DeleteUniversities in Texas were affected by the recent snow storm and week-long power outages. Many interviews were postponed and rescheduled, so everything is delayed.
DeleteI don't think texas tech was affected by the power outages. Lubbock is on the west coast grid. What is most likely is they made offers and ghosted the other candidates in case their top candidates turn them down.
Delete^ savage haha def a possibility but they had some power outages still and lots of closed businesses so I could see things being delayed
Delete@5:05, that seems the norm this season. Got 3x prelim interviews from places and I am being ghosted by the committees - I know they are conducing or finished their on-sites - their replies are on the line of "don't ask, because I can't tell". Having a 4th screening interview this week. Hopefully they are not the ghosting type.
DeleteThis does appear to be the case, unfortunately. Texas Tech has made an offer. If they have not contacted the other candidates then they may be holding on to them in case their top choice declines. Unprofessional to not at least provide an update imo, but oh so common.
DeleteHas anyone heard from Idaho State University?
ReplyDeleteThe last I had heard (a couple weeks ago and through the grapevine), they had conducted on-sites and made an offer.
DeleteDid anybody hear from Carnegie Mellon University after the "on-site" interviews?
ReplyDeleteNot yet.
Delete+1
DeleteSomeone announced on twitter today that they're moving to CMU: https://twitter.com/IsaacGB9/status/1369332131588055040
Deletetesty mctesterson
ReplyDeleteC&EN looking to speak with faculty candidates
ReplyDeleteAnyone on the academic job market want to chat with me for an article in @cenmag? I'm looking to follow a few folks who are or were trying to land academic positions during the pandemic.
Email b_halford@acs.org
https://twitter.com/beth_halford/status/1368933091947986944
I find it difficult to balance between preparing for the interview and being productive in my current lab. I just never feel I was prepared enough before each interview (like reading the faculties papers). Any experience to share?
ReplyDeleteif you are a postdoctoral scholar then you are a trainee and securing a permanent position is part of the experience. thus i would not feel guilty about staying home and working on your virtual visitation materials
DeleteI agree with 8:59 here; however, I would add that I don't think the faculty at most institutions expect you to have read your papers. Of course, prepare in whatever way you feel like makes you able to perform you best, but in my opinion having a cursory understanding of what each faculty does from their website should be sufficient.
DeleteI would say that talk to advisors that you are working on your job talk. If you got an offer, they would be happy for you.
DeleteI haven't been working in the lab for almost half a year...
DeleteThanks for sharing. I almost haven't been working in the lab during the application/interview season. I feel better that I am not alone.
DeleteAgree with all the above. My two cents:
Delete1) I actually got quite a bit of useful feedback on my current projects during my interviews just by giving talks and chatting with people. Some new ideas came up during those chats, to the point that it might have saved more time than I had spent on interviews. So I wouldn't think "not doing labwork == not being productive". After all, this (presenting research work, chatting to people, coming up with new ideas in the middle seat behind a reclined chair) will become an important part of a PI's job, I think.
2) At the beginning of my interviews I did the same (reading a lot of the other faculties' papers). I eneded up not doing it much later. I found that what mattered more was how I have a conversation with someone outside my field. It varied from person to person, but I think a few things frequently turned out useful: a general understanding of what she/he does, some curiosity for their latest science and not being afraid to ask scientific questions or career advice.
3) Always be transparent with your current PI. Your progress, your new ideas, new thoughts about your current project etc. Your PI is (in most cases I think) your best ally and they are always happy to hear your updates.
Interested in asking one question: how do you deal with anxiety during this application period?
ReplyDeletesome of my less healthy habits: checking chemjobber multiple times an hour (not a criticism, CJ you're a saint), refreshing email every ten minutes, acting generally crazy to the people who surround and care about me.
Deletehealthier habits: taking a few moments to remember what things in my career I am proud of, working out/exercising/going for a walk to just ponder the meaning of life, spending time with the people who I care about and checking in on what's going on in their lives, working with trainees to try and help them along their paths.
hopefully everyone has some outlets to help them manage, this process is super super crazy and I feel for everyone here
Honestly, it's been super tough. I've had a couple of interviews but no offer, and this has been quite awful. It's not easy when they tell you that you're just "not what they're looking for" when just at the beginning of the interview process they said "you're exactly what we're looking for". I'm considering leaving academia (you know, because I have a 'life' to live... and a family to take care of... and I can't continue to live like this forever hoping that I would land a faculty position somewhere), but the internal debate and turmoil is quite depressing. Reading posts on chemjobber helps (especially to know that I'm not alone in all of this).
DeleteI am in a similar position to 3:32pm, a couple virtual on-sites/second round interviews followed by a rejection and ghosting.
DeleteI started taking antidepressants to help cope. I don't think the application cycle caused or started my depression because I have a lot of other stuff going on in my personal life, but it certainly doesn't make things better. I feel better when I get things done in lab (or working on my car, or woodworking, etc.), but the pandemic and applications severely limited my lab time. Hopefully the medication starts working.
Anyway, this is just to say that mental health is very important and if you're feeling down, depressed, or in trouble, please seek help.
For me, exercising every day (running, cycling, hiking etc.) has been the most important way to keep a positive mood. It is not always easy, sometimes it's cold/dark/snowing outside, sometimes it's just a bad day and I just want to lie down. But I am 100% sure that sticking with an exercise schedule is what has kept me from entering the viscous cycle of self doubt and negative thinking. In the darkest days of my grad school, it was also exercising (a lot of times with friends) that saved me from a downward spiral. To each their own, but a little physical exercise every day works magic.
DeleteAnother thing I do to keep my sanity in check is reminding myself to narrow down my field of vision. Right, normally one thinks good science requires a broad vision. But when everything is hard, setting bite-sized small goals calms me down and helps me get things done. Things like "today I'll just spend some time to make a nice figure for this proposal and see where that takes me", "today I'll just read my mentee's proposal, write some comments on science, and tell them 'don't worry, I've been there like you and you are doing great'" or "today I'm just going to reach out to these friends that I haven't talked for a few months and see how they are doing".
Really, the stress level of this process is like no other. I've been on the brink countless times. I can only think it must have been more or less the same for everyone here. Good luck to all, and please remember that there are many great things in life other than this job app and many great friends who care about you.
I find that the serenity prayer applies to this situation "grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference" - Not everybody succeeds in making the transition into an independent career in academia, we all know this... there are TOO MANY unknown variables standing in the way! Yes, it is stressful, we have all been working many many years for this opportunity. And it is soul crushing to fail, or to be ghosted (especially this, side note: if anybody here lands a position, please try to stop this. software makes it easy to just send out an email, we can do better). Anyway, just do your best, with no regrets and enjoy the ride. This is not the end, life is short and you only have one. You can try again next year, maybe, but for those of use at the end, I think it is healthy to begin to think about other opportunities either within science or not... good luck. +1 for exercise. Do this regularly.
DeleteI had one preliminary zoom interview (ghosting), one virtual on-site (rejection), and another virtual on-site coming this month, out of 20+ applications to R1 institutions in my first year applying.
ReplyDeleteMy experimental work has taken a significant toll. Although, as @7:06 mentioned, is the only job-related gratification I get lately (and not because the project is working, but at least there are small tasks I can accomplish by the end of the day), cutting back on the lab was the only way I can pull this off and survive.
I cannot stress enough the importance of taking care of your own mental health. In my case, I go to therapy, practice meditation, and spend some quality time with my family. That said, I still feel extremely worn out. The pandemic, family burden, social isolation, shitty job market... it is too much.
@ChemJobber, within the notes for the newly added Crown College teaching position, you should add "homosexuals not allowed to work". I assume many other categories too.
ReplyDeleteIs this an appropriate space to ask if any postdocs are being abused by their PIs? Broken promises on the milestones? "I'll let you publish if you do A, B, & C" turning into "I'll let you publish if you now do A through Z", and it's been almost 6 years going on like this. My PI also has no problem giving away my project ideas to other postdocs if and when I refuse to abide by all demands. Any advice on how I can negotiate with my PI better? Six years into my postdoc, and having more than enough to publish, I'm kinda stuck here unable to publish my work.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what the right answer is, but in my opinion, you must set a 1-2 year timeline to leave either with a job or without one. Developing alternate letter writers, etc would be very important. Will your resume look better with 8 years as a postdoc for this person?
DeleteSadly, it is indeed abusive. It is important to develop a plan.
DeleteI would advise to write up your paper in the desired journal/template, ready to go, and start pushing for it ASAP. Are there other PIs in the department you consider allies that would also be willing to support you? This could definitely help boost your morale during this process. I am wrapping up a toxic postdoc situation where, remarkably, the PI had no interest in publishing, only with submitting dubious/shallow NIH grant applications without real substance or follow through. I also made the mistake of doing hardcore chemistry in a soft-moneyed institute, having no idea about hard-money vs. soft-money science at the time. In this environment, many (but not all) PIs just live for grants and don't care about papers (in biomedical/life sciences, getting R01s are much easier than getting high quality, high impact papers). I ended up adding a co-mentor and submitting my work as a co-corresponding author with PI and co-mentor PI. It also definitely helped that I had my own fellowship and that I am a US citizen. But at the end of the day, what my PhD/postdoc has taught me is: if you don't stand up for yourself, nobody will.
DeleteI would also suggest to try to find a collaborator faculty within the department (or outside the department if your work can have interdisciplinary scope). Get them to collaborate on the project with experiments and techniques not available to you directly. Most papers improve in scope and impact when they become highly collaborative. This may have the following effects: a) the improved impact/more prestigious journal (whatever that means) might force the hand of your PI to publish it, b) the collaborator PI, especially if they have more leverage/power, may force your PI to "save face" and publish asap, c) you collect one more potential reference writer, in case your PI lets you down.
DeleteThank you all for your advice! Don't want this to sound like an excuse - I did have a plan. But sadly, life never turns out the way you had planned. I'll make sure I take all of your advice to heart. Thanks again!
DeleteJust received rejection for "assistant professor position in the Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology in Baylor College of Medicine".
ReplyDeleteIf you don't mind sharing, did you receive any updates about your applications before today? screening interviews or something like that?
DeleteI applied for that position early December by email as they requested, but I never heard back. I didn't even receive a rejection today.
same here. I emailed them last month but didn't get reply
DeleteI do know from contacts there that they are only considering experimental biology candidates and do not have available chemistry hood lab space for more chemistry-oriented candidates.
DeleteI am @5.28 pm. I straight received a rejection on 12th March. Nothing before that.
DeleteI received today a rejection after an "on-site" virtual interview. I have been told by the search committee chair that they selected other candidate because they have "more mature" research plan. It is my first year applying for faculty positions and I wanted to get feedback from more experienced folks on how would they think of such comment?
ReplyDeleteI am confused because my detailed research plan was part of my application package. Why would they invite me for an on-site if they think my plan isn't mature enough.
People who made the on-site are the best fit that faculties think. Unfortunately, there is only one or two person got the final offer. Sometimes, even no offer is made. Committee offered the explanation and you can interpolate any way you want but does not matter any more.
DeleteIf you have not yet gotten other offers, is it good or useful to contact the places where you have interviewed?
ReplyDeleteI know if you have other offers, you definitely should.
Rochester Institute of Technology has concluded initial interviews.
ReplyDeleteWill applicants who do not make it past the initial interview be notified?
DeleteNortheastern University is scheduling remote interviews without having initial screening interviews. Is this common for R1 universities? They are scheduling one-day interview with research seminar, future research and half an hour meetings with each faculty and the dean. Does this means they have short-listed up to 3-4 candidates and I'm one of them? I got screening interviews from another two R1 universities and those were half an hour interviews. Therefore, this is new to me. If someone has gone through the same situation, please share.
ReplyDeleteIs that for their analytical chemistry search or the other search for carbon neutral and carbon negative technologies?
DeleteI've had both types. You are likely on the shortlist, but the total number of candidates can be uncertain (of course it must be a reasonable number).
DeleteSome schools prefer not to do pre-interviews. One of the reasons I have been told is that those 25-min chats can be a bit too short to get to know a candidate well. As far as I know, often times these pre-interviews are required to follow a certain format, and the questions are required to be identical for all candidates. I assume that this means they'd spend more time reading the application materials.
Anyone heard from Texas A & M Corpus Christi, U of Arlington, U of New Haven?
ReplyDeleteUniversity of Arkansas (Fayetteville, analytical position) is scheduling full interviews.
ReplyDeleteclosing this thread, opening new thread here: http://chemjobber.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-2021-faculty-jobs-list-309.html
ReplyDelete