tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post4953509397648251259..comments2024-03-27T21:23:40.339-04:00Comments on Chemjobber: CD: "My advice is to find the right advisor..."Chemjobberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15932113680515602275noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-13756509871411346742015-05-29T23:03:06.485-04:002015-05-29T23:03:06.485-04:00It is definitely possible to get an assistant prof...It is definitely possible to get an assistant professor job at a PUI without a postdoc. It’s really about finding a good fit with research expectations. My colleagues at more prestigious liberal arts colleges all say they require a postdoc, mostly due to their expectation of research (external funding, several publications for tenure). Lots of other colleges have more modest research expectations and so they don’t require a postdoc. You will need to show research potential. It was especially important for me to have mentored undergrads while in grad school and also make sure my research proposal is structured for working with undergrads. Looking back, if you don’t want to do a postdoc, make sure to get involved in writing articles and grants for your research while in grad school. That will be helpful when applying for the startup research grants (PRF & ResearchCorp). My advisor was amazingly helpful in helping setting me up with the undergrad students to mentor and working with me through that process and letting me get some neat teaching experiences (PFF and lecturing in one of his courses). He is experienced in successfully working with undergrads and gave fantastic advice about how to structure my research proposal. <br /><br />From my own experience, I applied to 11 places, all in the midwest although my definition of the midwest expanded quite a bit during the process. I got one phone interview, three site interviews, and two offers. For the two places I got offers, I feel like I got offers because I was a really good fit. One was looking for a computational chemist and the other wanted a physical chemist that could teach organic too. I always get the feeling I might have gotten a little lucky for fitting right into what they wanted. <br /><br />Every year, the Midwestern Undergraduate Computational Chemistry Consortium (MU3C), which I am part of, has a summer meeting at an midwest R1 university. At the end of our meeting, we always have a Q & A session with the grad students and postdocs of the university. One of the most common misconceptions is that all PUI want a ton of teaching experience for their applicants. You definitely need some teaching experience and have shown interest and potential in teaching, but there is an expectation that your teaching will greatly improve after the first year or two. <br /><br />Hope this is helpful.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16457444176908110032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-80284285669402204522015-05-29T13:24:15.702-04:002015-05-29T13:24:15.702-04:00This fall, I will be starting as an assistant prof...This fall, I will be starting as an assistant professor at a PUI straight out of my PhD program. I am coming from a university where several of my friends have managed to do the same thing, so it is definitely possible to skip the post-doc. However, the reality is that for a lot of the positions you apply to, you will be competing with people who have completed post-docs and/or have been adjunct and visiting professors before. Generally, unless you have some extraordinary teaching experience from grad school (which I did not), you need to be willing to apply all over the country, interview at places that are not ideal for you but could act as a starting point for your career, and your application materials need to be pretty polished. My stats are as follows: 26 applications (although I had another 20 schools on my list that I never ended up needing to send out), 4 phone/Skype interviews, 1 on-campus visit, 1 offer (which I accepted). The position I got looks perfect for me and I was lucky that my particular experiences (outreach efforts, specific classes I had taught, etc) matched exactly what the search committee was looking for (although it wasn't all listed in their job posting). If you are serious about wanting to teach, I recommend looking into adjuncting some evening classes locally while still in grad school (some of my friends did this and had an easier time getting job offers) and getting involved in any pedagogical development programs your university might have. My university also allows grad students to teach their own course over the summer (as opposed to just TAing) and while it is a lot of work, it is a huge asset to have when applying for jobs at many PUIs. The disclaimer for all of this advice is that some PUIs will still care more about publication record than teaching experience, but if you want to be a teacher, those are not necessarily the types of places you want to go anyways. Finally, try not to get discouraged...all of the positions that I was really excited about when I started applying went to someone else but I'm very happy with where I am going. Good luck!VTJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-30780722566772979452015-05-29T11:39:26.796-04:002015-05-29T11:39:26.796-04:00Wow nice and inspiring story. Is it possible to ge...Wow nice and inspiring story. Is it possible to get an assistant professor job without doing post-doc? I really do not want to do a post-doc, I would like to get a real job in industry or academia once I graduate. If anyone can give some advice to avoid that step I would really appreciate it. Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com