Congratulations to all those who have accepted job offers for summer/fall!
This is for everyone starting a new job because many of the joys, challenges, and just need to share with someone in a similar boat are true regardless of your official title and often regardless of job sector.
Commiserate here with the process of starting new, possibly moving, and possibly being both enthusiastic beyond measure and frustrated as life intervenes.
Hi all! I start a TT faculty position August 1st and am in crunch time trying to finish stuff up for my postdoc. I have to make duplicates of my research items to move, I'm waiting on permits to move some of my research and I've already started doing stuff for my new position (some light committee stuff that I'm really glad I'm being included on since it directly impacts my position, prepping my classes, spending start up, etc.). On top of that, my wife and I are trying to plan a cross country move for our family with the youngest being 2 and the oldest 7 (three kids total). There are things I'd like to be doing, but many of those things I'm letting slide since I have to prioritize my remaining time. But considering everything I'm still very excited. My wife and I will be living close to family for the first time in 10 years and the kids are excited to have cousins that they can play with rather than just talk to on the phone. Plus the position is exactly the job that I've wanted since going to grad school and I'll have quite a bit of research freedom.
Oh, I didn't see that my post was deleted. This is me, too! Except that I'm already halfway through teaching the first of two summer semesters.
I'm really regretting not having the time to finish up my postdoc projects, especially when this particularly job is much more challenging (/gruelling) than I anticipated. But, hey. Whatcha gonna do? At least I don't have to move.
I am in the process of selling my house, finding a place to live in new city, and working with 4 undergraduate research students at my current institution for the next 2 months. I am surprisingly calm. Having done this before really has made things significantly less stressful.
Job-wise I am excited for the new position and all the challenges/opportunities that come with it. I am going back on the tenure-track, so that part is a bummer, but everything else about the change is great. Plus I will probably use my re-found tt status to go after some early career funding opportunities that were no longer available to me as a tenured associate. My fall teaching schedule is nearly identical to my teaching schedule last fall (with 1 less course!), so while I have a few tweaks to make, I am pretty much ready to roll. I already have a couple students interested in joining my research group, so I anticipate a relatively smooth transition there as well.
My first classes start in just under 3 months...!
-gw
Quote from: gw_hayduke on May 29, 2019, 08:48:23 AM
Plus I will probably use my re-found tt status to go after some early career funding opportunities that were no longer available to me as a tenured associate.
Will that work? I've found that I missed all the windows by being in the wrong job status every time (e.g., must be 5 years out from PhD and I was well past that when I took my first TT job or must have N years left at assistant professor to cover the whole grant time and I was hired on a shortened tenure clock as assistant professor so I missed that one, too.)
Quote from: polly_mer on May 29, 2019, 05:18:37 PM
Quote from: gw_hayduke on May 29, 2019, 08:48:23 AM
Plus I will probably use my re-found tt status to go after some early career funding opportunities that were no longer available to me as a tenured associate.
Will that work? I've found that I missed all the windows by being in the wrong job status every time (e.g., must be 5 years out from PhD and I was well past that when I took my first TT job or must have N years left at assistant professor to cover the whole grant time and I was hired on a shortened tenure clock as assistant professor so I missed that one, too.)
It varies wildly between agencies and awards. For example, the Cottrell Scholar is a no go because this will be my 2nd TT position, but I will be eligible to submit an NSF CAREER (dream big!).
-gw
Have a verbal offer for a full-time NTT position (STEM) in the Fall, just waiting on the official paperwork to come through. I've been adjuncting at the same place, so no moving involved, thankfully. My Fall courses are ones I've taught before, but I'll use the summer to update them, as well as work on research collaborations.
I'm glad to see this forum continuing - thanks to those who made it happen!
Congrats on the new job, Saffie!
Quote from: gw_hayduke on May 29, 2019, 08:03:30 PM
Quote from: polly_mer on May 29, 2019, 05:18:37 PM
Quote from: gw_hayduke on May 29, 2019, 08:48:23 AM
Plus I will probably use my re-found tt status to go after some early career funding opportunities that were no longer available to me as a tenured associate.
Will that work? I've found that I missed all the windows by being in the wrong job status every time (e.g., must be 5 years out from PhD and I was well past that when I took my first TT job or must have N years left at assistant professor to cover the whole grant time and I was hired on a shortened tenure clock as assistant professor so I missed that one, too.)
It varies wildly between agencies and awards. For example, the Cottrell Scholar is a no go because this will be my 2nd TT position, but I will be eligible to submit an NSF CAREER (dream big!).
-gw
Good on you with NSF CAREER!
I just put a note on the parallel thread in the CHE site to let them know this thread is up and running also.
M.
I shared the link on the thread.
I will be starting a TT position this fall, after a good amount of time working in my field. We are in the process of selling our current home and searching for a new one--hoping all the stars align! I'm excited to start this new career chapter.
Congrats, half_cadence!
Congratulations half_cadence!
Quote from: half_cadence on June 09, 2019, 10:27:48 AM
I will be starting a TT position this fall, after a good amount of time working in my field. We are in the process of selling our current home and searching for a new one--hoping all the stars align! I'm excited to start this new career chapter.
There are a couple of threads on selling and buying houses, be sure to check them out!
Or maybe you already did and we're cross-posting.
Orange-orange!
M.
I will be starting a new teaching job in August at a Big R1. It's an NTT line, but one with hard funding, clearly-defined teaching and service responsibilities, and opportunity for promotion through the NTT ranks. I'm hoping to stay long-term, because I'm getting tired of moving every few years. My workload is distributed in such a way that I may have time to do some research (something that wasn't practical at my old job), although it isn't required under the terms of my appointment.
I should find out for sure next week, but it sounds like my "full time" job might look (and pay) a lot more like quarter-time, at least this fall. Sigh.
I mean, I wouldn't necessarily mind the break. It would allow me to complete a bunch of research projects that have been left hanging because I'm teaching all summer. But if I can't count on work, then I need to find something else to help me pay the rent until I can count on work. Luckily, I have a good chance at an online-based admin role for the regional division of our big association, and it would probably pay enough that I could cover rent and food for my mostly fallow semester, but... this non-sessional position sure is starting to look a lot like a sessional position. It'll be a different story if I have a full load in the winter and summer, but if I'm down to quarter-time in the fall, then I worry about the feasibility of obtaining those full loads later.
Gulp.
M.
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on July 05, 2019, 11:08:33 AM
this non-sessional position sure is starting to look a lot like a sessional position. It'll be a different story if I have a full load in the winter and summer, but if I'm down to quarter-time in the fall, then I worry about the feasibility of obtaining those full loads later.
I would go to my mentors and ask point blank whether this is normal or a one-time blip.
I would then seek out people in similar positions to ask whether this is normal or a one-time blip to help triangulate information.
I would also be polishing up my CV and be back on the market because this doesn't bode well even if it's possibly just a one-time blip for the first time. I remember being told that a non-TT position tended to be a place where people start and the last three people were converted to TT. However, a new chair and new priorities meant my one-time blip because the new norm for that position.
Quote from: pepsi_alum on July 03, 2019, 11:58:50 AM
I will be starting a new teaching job in August at a Big R1. It's an NTT line, but one with hard funding, clearly-defined teaching and service responsibilities, and opportunity for promotion through the NTT ranks. I'm hoping to stay long-term, because I'm getting tired of moving every few years. My workload is distributed in such a way that I may have time to do some research (something that wasn't practical at my old job), although it isn't required under the terms of my appointment.
Ah, I'm in a very similar boat, starting this fall! Applying for a stable NTT position (multi-year contracts) wasn't even on my radar, but it looks like in my discipline, some programs are recognizing the benefits of converting Lecturer positions to NTT lines with a promotional track.
I will say that I am bit wary of how the culture of hierarchy will work out in this program––mostly I'm going to keep my radar up about signals that I should "stay in my lane." For example, I have a decent track-record with both internal and external grant applications (in the humanities), but I'm not sure if that will be something I am "supposed" to be doing in the new position. I guess I'll follow the fora's wisdom about starting a new position and spend most of my first year listening a lot and keeping my mouth shut.
I'm poking my head out from under all the moving boxes and cats to say hi. Leaving tomorrow for new institution, classes start in two weeks. Everything has been going as wrong as possible - move in date for new house shifted, reimbursements stuck in the system, documents held up in the ether. So far, I've been too exhausted and stressed out to get excited about my new tt-position, but I hope it kicks in once I'm there. After my PhD at an Ivy and teaching at super-fancy SLAC, I am really excited about working with the students at the new institution, who haven't had the same kinds of opportunities as most of my previous students.
Popping in to say that I'm settling in. I still need to bring all of my textbooks and assorted stuff to my office, but my plan is to do that this weekend.
Good to hear peoples' moving-ahead stories!
Best good wishes as the next stages of life unfold.
M.
If the paperwork ever comes through, I'll be a VAP this academic year. I'm excited about working with students again.
Quote from: bibliothecula on August 06, 2019, 11:22:33 AM
If the paperwork ever comes through, I'll be a VAP this academic year. I'm excited about working with students again.
That's so good to hear!
Congratulations!
I had a funny thing happen to me last weekend. I was moving boxes into my office with my family and the elevator broke down between floors. It took the Campus police and FD almost an hour to get the elevator lowered near a floor and to get the door open so that they could get all of us out. Thankfully I have all my textbooks and other stuff in my office now and it just needs the things I want to add to personalize it. Hope everyone else is transitioning better than me!
Quote from: bibliothecula on August 06, 2019, 11:22:33 AM
If the paperwork ever comes through, I'll be a VAP this academic year. I'm excited about working with students again.
Congrats! That's great news : )
Quote from: KafkasCat on August 01, 2019, 05:00:27 AM
I'm poking my head out from under all the moving boxes and cats to say hi. Leaving tomorrow for new institution, classes start in two weeks. Everything has been going as wrong as possible - move in date for new house shifted, reimbursements stuck in the system, documents held up in the ether. So far, I've been too exhausted and stressed out to get excited about my new tt-position, but I hope it kicks in once I'm there. After my PhD at an Ivy and teaching at super-fancy SLAC, I am really excited about working with the students at the new institution, who haven't had the same kinds of opportunities as most of my previous students.
Good luck, KafkasCat! I hope you find the teaching experiences at your new job gratifying. And my benchmark for a "successful" move is if nobody dies or is grievously injured. That's only partly a joke: there was one move I did which involved driving a 14-foot UHaul and towing my little Honda Civic. I really did think I and the cats might die in some horrible accident on the highway. That move was complete hell for other reasons -- ohhh, I'm now remembering that I did kill Bambi on that trip. I think that's when I set the new benchmark for moves in this way.
Quote from: bhiennsona on August 08, 2019, 08:57:14 AM
Congratulations!
I had a funny thing happen to me last weekend. I was moving boxes into my office with my family and the elevator broke down between floors. It took the Campus police and FD almost an hour to get the elevator lowered near a floor and to get the door open so that they could get all of us out. Thankfully I have all my textbooks and other stuff in my office now and it just needs the things I want to add to personalize it. Hope everyone else is transitioning better than me!
Yikes! Being stuck in an elevator is one of my irrational fears. I'm glad the police and FD were able to get you out safely.
I'm now in NewCity and preparing to start going into campus next week. So far, so good. There was a paperwork mix-up with my first paycheck (direct deposit didn't go through and I have to go to some office on Monday to get the paper version of the check), but I'm confident it will get solved on Monday without much additional drama.
Quoteohhh, I'm now remembering that I did kill Bambi on that trip
Wow, tuxedo_cat, that is truly terrifying. Another victim of academia...
I'm glad to say that everyone here made it ok to New Town. Although we did have a scary moment when we thought that the geckos hadn't... a little water brought them back, though. All cats are out and about, exploring the new environment (safely indoors, they were not made for life in the wild/with cars), and so far, I really like the new institution and love the new colleagues.
Just checking in to see how everyone is doing. I'm settling into my groove with classes and getting my research program started. Everything is a bit different than I imagined with the time commitments for committees, classes and mentoring students in research. But I'm managing to keep ahead with everything.
Hi! New to the board (but have been lurking for about a year as I went through my first job search- old board and all) and getting acclimated in my TT position. Trying to focus on one thing at a time. I wasn't necessarily "trained" or supported on the idea of entering academia in my graduate program, and going through a search was a HUGE learning curve (it's how I found this forum). Thank goodness for online resources! Even so, there were definitely mistakes made. But I managed to get this job, and I love it so far!
I hope everyone else is settling in well. I'm keeping afloat so far. Sounds like you are doing really well, bhiennsona. Staying ahead is a great thing!
Hi all, this is my first TT position and I`ve teaching, research, and service responsibilities. Time flies so fast and the first semester is almost over. I`ve managed to land a role in a national task force committee that is very important in my field which covers the service responsibilities at least for a year. Now that teaching and service are in place, I plan to focus more on my research. my goal is to produce at least 3 publications this year.
Oh hai!
Look at that: I haven't posted since. . . the first week of classes! We just wrapped up this week, submitted grades, somehow managed to look at course evals the day they were posted and. . . I did not suck. I honestly have sometimes had a rough first semester when I've moved to a new school. And I had nearly full enrollment in my sections so. . . lots of grading! I did not manage that well, but I think I'll have a better handle on things next semester.
And my new colleagues are, for the most part, pretty darn nice. One dust-up with dept politics, but that seems to have blown over. I feel a little like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.
How about the rest of you all?
Now that we have had the departmental holiday party, I can honestly say I LOVE my department and am so happy to be in this job. Everyone is so incredibly nice and generous. I was bummed about the (fancier) jobs I didn't get after being on the market for nearly an entire horrible year, but now I'm sincerely grateful and motivated to do even better work where I am. One of the reasons I took this job at a modest salary was because of the lovely people. At the fancy job I narrowly missed out on, they all hated each other in the department...and now I can clearly see how awful that might have been. Who knew that a holiday party would be so therapeutic!
Good for you and for your ability to see the positives.
M.
Quote from: revert79 on December 22, 2019, 08:11:08 AM
Now that we have had the departmental holiday party, I can honestly say I LOVE my department and am so happy to be in this job. Everyone is so incredibly nice and generous. I was bummed about the (fancier) jobs I didn't get after being on the market for nearly an entire horrible year, but now I'm sincerely grateful and motivated to do even better work where I am. One of the reasons I took this job at a modest salary was because of the lovely people. At the fancy job I narrowly missed out on, they all hated each other in the department...and now I can clearly see how awful that might have been. Who knew that a holiday party would be so therapeutic!
Congratulations, that's great to hear. "Fit" is so important, isn't it? I was two different departments where a significant fraction of the faculty hated each other. It's tiresome and drags you down for many different reasons. Sounds like you dodged a bullet there.
I am also really loving not only my colleagues, but also my students. There are so many things I love about my position! Although, I have to admit I was ready to quit before this past term started because I was so stressed trying to get ready for all these new preps :o
I'm still finding my balance, but I'm glad to be here!
How is everyone doing ? Wow what a first year, surely no one's had a year like this before in the history of this forum.
What is it looking like for you ? For me, I made 2 Ph.D. and one postdoc offers in early spring....all to international students who can probably not join in fall (or even Spring 21!!). So this year looks like a another year of postdoc, working alone, and teaching.
QuoteWow what a first year, surely no one's had a year like this before in the history of this forum.
Well, not TT, but I joined the old Fora in the 2008/9-ish era, and there were a few hairy stories then, as well.
But you're right, this has been one of those "interesting times" we're supposed to watch out for!
All good thoughts to all.
M.