tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post2887250476070433934..comments2024-03-27T21:23:40.339-04:00Comments on Chemjobber: Good rantletChemjobberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15932113680515602275noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-18021116810552811672016-12-09T09:50:12.623-05:002016-12-09T09:50:12.623-05:00Original rant poster here: It's also hard to s...Original rant poster here: It's also hard to strike a balance between pushing for grant $$ and encouraging people to pursue research directions that they truly want to pursue. We want F&A returns at the department level, but people get tired of daily reminders that they aren't bringing in enough grant money or publishing papers. Eventually, folks just "go to sleep" because they are burned out on administrators' ambitions. When I was in industry, management took "demoralization" very seriously. My VP used to come around and ask us if we were having fun every other week. Of course he didn't actually care, but he recognized that there are diminishing returns to leading from behind. Academia just hasn't caught on to this yet, and we end up stifling ambition rather than encouraging it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-56140869704681685322016-12-09T09:13:15.996-05:002016-12-09T09:13:15.996-05:00Yes, a lot of people just want to get tenure and g...Yes, a lot of people just want to get tenure and go to sleep. It seems that search committees aren't very good at finding people who really love chemistry. It seems passion for the field has taken a back seat. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-67206311085889903972016-12-08T20:02:52.958-05:002016-12-08T20:02:52.958-05:0020 TT + tenured
7 VAP + lecturers (all PhDs)
We ...20 TT + tenured<br />7 VAP + lecturers (all PhDs) <br />We don't have any active teaching postdocs at present, but we're doing a search for another VAP. Our VAP's typically have often gone off to teach at PUIs.<br /> <br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-32981475985971911502016-12-08T18:21:12.337-05:002016-12-08T18:21:12.337-05:00A question for the faculty member who posted the r...A question for the faculty member who posted the rantlet: can you state the numbers of TT + tenured faculty + VAP + work at will lectuers + teaching post-docs, or at least the ratio of (TT + tenured faculty):(VAP + work at will lectuers + teaching post-docs) in your department? -thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-79404431482006385402016-12-08T12:18:04.352-05:002016-12-08T12:18:04.352-05:00I have never heard of a PUI tenure track faculty j...I have never heard of a PUI tenure track faculty job where you were not expected to gain at least a small amount of external funding to get tenure. No you are not going to be applying for an R01, but you might apply for an NIH R15, NSF RUI, or any number of other smaller grants geared towards the mission of PUIs. I recently had a Skype interview at a fairly low ranked PUI, and this was a major component that was discussed, right down the agencies I would apply to! For lecturer positions, this is clearly not important, but even PUI faculty have small active research programs that need to be funded somehow.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-82038022585456734182016-12-08T11:00:00.441-05:002016-12-08T11:00:00.441-05:00First quote: I mean just getting a job where you c...First quote: I mean just getting a job where you can apply for grants. PUI faculty may not value it, but they do have opportunities to apply for research grants, assuming they have a lab space. If PUI faculty do not take this seriously then perhaps we should re-think how public funds are given.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-61342121264608715712016-12-08T09:30:55.346-05:002016-12-08T09:30:55.346-05:00"Only a very select few have access to having..."Only a very select few have access to having a chance at this money": Is this referring to the individual's competence in grantwriting, or the general ability to do research at a PUI? If chemical education is the emphasis at a university, I don't think hiring a rookie with R1 research aspirations is going to be a wise decision for a department. On the other hand, a PhD-granting department looking to grow a program through F&A returns probably wouldn't want to gamble with someone who is not interested in research.<br /><br />"Search committee members have a responsibility to find someone who is worthy of the grant money": IMO, search committees have the responsibility to find someone who fits well with the department's mission and values. If that mission is focused on grant $$, then your statement is true. However, if all faculty in the department are teaching 2:2 or 3:3 loads, grantwriting could become a secondary priority. "Making a difference" means different things at different institutions. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-53465353402109496562016-12-08T09:02:35.068-05:002016-12-08T09:02:35.068-05:00As a follow-up to previous comment I will say if y...As a follow-up to previous comment I will say if you get a faculty position you are eligible for grants, which come from precious government resources. Search committee members have a responsibility to find someone who is worthy of the grant money. Only a very select few have access to having a chance at this money. Basing the hiring choice on whether or not they have taught lecture for a year risks people the wrong people in a position where they can compete for grant money, and potentially tosses someone who could make a difference out the window (there are not enough positions at Ph.D. granting institutes).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-20475087738484257062016-12-08T08:59:59.770-05:002016-12-08T08:59:59.770-05:00I personally think search committees are making a ...I personally think search committees are making a mistake when they reject people for not having "teaching experience" (other than TA work). I don't think one year of teaching changes much in the long run. Here's why: if you are given the position, which is basically a 5 year position pre-tenure, after the first year you now have 1 year of teaching experience. Very diminishing returns when you extrapolate out to the future. Also, having 1 year of teaching experience prior to applying does not mean you are a good teacher. There are many people who have been teaching for a long time who are not in anyway above the average (I'm being nice). So my advice is to look for the most high quality candidate rather than just fill in check boxes. And as a bonus, give people credit for their TA work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-40832639995542368722016-12-07T20:48:13.097-05:002016-12-07T20:48:13.097-05:00From my own experience on the PUI job market last ...From my own experience on the PUI job market last year, the research postdoc was more important than a VAP position. If you had no teaching experience in your PhD, then maybe try to get experience as an adjunct for one semester, but don't stop doing research. Pretty much all BA/BS granting institutions are going to expect that you're going to do some kind of research with students these days. They want to see that you can direct that research and VAP position won't do that. A teaching postdoc might show you can direct research, but you lose a lot of research productivity once you're teaching.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-32826894480816087422016-12-07T18:20:44.137-05:002016-12-07T18:20:44.137-05:00Only VAP if:
1) there's a chance it can conve...Only VAP if:<br /><br />1) there's a chance it can convert to TT (they're usually very up-front about this)<br />2) you'd be happy in a TT position the next tier down.<br /><br />A cooperative PI will let you adjunct once or twice if you're shooting for a PUI job.<br /><br />Re: potential funding, be realistic. Many PUIs will tell you NSF career is not feasible, others may expect it. I went through "R03? I think you mean R15." Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-57470103683467644482016-12-07T15:25:09.704-05:002016-12-07T15:25:09.704-05:00"Getting an academic job is the biggest crap ..."Getting an academic job is the biggest crap shoot out there"<br /><br />An unfortunate truth.....I assume the corollary is that finding a really good faculty member is also a big crap shoot....biotechtoreadornoreply@blogger.com