research productivity in first year of TT?

[rabbitandfox23]

I just completed my first year as TT (humanities) and wonder if it's par for the course for research productivity to be lower than expected during one's first year on the job. I moved to a new part of the country, settled in a new home, spent a lot of time developing new seminars, met students and faculty both in and outside of my department, attended workshops and lectures, and generally tried to my sea legs in my department. All that is to say, I didn't get much time to write more than a couple of book reviews and present conference papers; much less by way of article publications. Is this unsurprising? Did you hit the ground running, or did you also find that it took some months to adjust to the new settings?

[Parasaurolophus]

Yes, it's normal. Adjusting to new surroundings is hard, and takes a toll. So do all those new preps.

Now that the summer is almost upon you, though, it's time to start thinking about how you're going to move forward, which projects you want to push out when and which you want to start, etc. And it's time to get back in the habit of writing a little every day.

[nonsensical]

Yes, totally normal! I talked with a lot of people before I started my position and they all said that they had much more to do during the first year than they expected, that it was hard to get research done, that they were stressed out because of the amount of work, and other similar things. I think pretty much everyone who starts a new faculty position is in the same boat as you.

I also agree with Parasaurolophus that it might be a good idea to use the summer to prep more for the upcoming year. Depending on your department, some parts of your job may feel even MORE busy in the second year. For instance, some departments protect first-year faculty from service and then give them stuff to do the second year. If that's what happened in your position, it might be helpful to get ready for having new things to do by prepping the old things as much as possible. This could involve finishing some writing projects, or doing course prep, or finalizing a grant submission even if it won't be due until halfway through your first semester, or whatever else you can make headway on.

I'd also say that it might be important to take some time in the summer to just relax. It can be very helpful to prep, but not so helpful to get burned out. This might be tricky to do given quarantine, but maybe take a long weekend or a week or a few days spread out across the summer to just chill? Read, watch Netflix, cook, garden, take naps, play games with friends online, whatever you like to do that doesn't involve anything work-related.

[Sun_Worshiper]

I agree with the others that this is totally normal and understandable.  Make the most of the summer and set yourself up for a productive second year.

[eigen]

I'm just wrapping up my second year, and this seems totally normal.

One thing that I've noticed that was giving me a ton of anxiety is that a lot of "early TT" productivity in the sciences depends largely on where you were before. I have colleagues that have gotten a lot of things out, but they're all finishing up projects from previous positions (post-docs, grad school). For people who wrapped up projects before they moved on, there's a lot larger "gap", especially in the lab sciences, as you establish your own completely independent work.

[bio-nonymous]

I am with you. Year 1 is/was brutal for many, myself included. Some people are promised things for start-up that are either never delivered or are many months late. New course prep time is a sink-hole that is underestimated. Teaching takes time, administrating your lab takes time, you might have clinical duties, there are service commitments, human resources issues, endless piles of emails...There are many examples of why productivity suffers, not the least of which is that the job itself requires so many more fragmented skills and competing priorities to navigate than we had as a post doc or in grad school. I say give yourself a break and rev it up for year 2!

[research_prof]

My 2 cents: I believe I have maintained, if not increased my research productivity, after moving on from being a PhD student to a 1st year assistant professor. I was also promised startup funding which I was never given as others mentioned, so this will most probably be the reason why I will be on the job market in October again. In other words, one day I was told that no $$$ will come and that I have to go find $$$ on my own. I was lucky since I have gotten a few projects funded so that I have enough funds for next year (still not enough for my own summer salary, but enough to fund my students).

All that came at the cost of working 15-16 hours every single day (including weekends) and having been close to breakdowns several times.

[mamselle]

I recall seeing a friend at an early spring conference after she'd moved away for her first TT position.

Her eyes were luminous, she was glowing...and she'd lost 15 pounds on an already-spare frame and told me she was exhausted..but...

She'd just finished her preps for the rest of the year for all three new courses, she'd been approved for continuation, and she was giving a paper at the conference.

That summer she was going to spend the whole time at her small cabin by one of the Great Lakes revising her diss. for publication.

She survived, she's done decently, but that day when I saw her, I  thought she looked like a transmogrified ghost.

Get some time in a cabin (or someplace else that's safe) this summer to rejuvenate, and make a plan for how to pace yourself better going forward.

Good luck.

M.

[research_prof]

I recall seeing a friend at an early spring conference after she'd moved away for her first TT position.

Her eyes were luminous, she was glowing...and she'd lost 15 pounds on an already-spare frame and told me she was exhausted..but...

She'd just finished her preps for the rest of the year for all three new courses, she'd been approved for continuation, and she was giving a paper at the conference.

That summer she was going to spend the whole time at her small cabin by one of the Great Lakes revising her diss. for publication.

She survived, she's done decently, but that day when I saw her, I  thought she looked like a transmogrified ghost.

Get some time in a cabin (or someplace else that's safe) this summer to rejuvenate, and make a plan for how to pace yourself better going forward.

Good luck.

M.

That sounds pretty much like me. I was supposed to be on a beach right now, but due to COVID, I had to cancel my vacation. So, I guess I will be working for the entire summer :-P

[mamselle]

Take walks. Breathe.

Take mini-vacations....stop and look at the stars.

Take minutes of time away if you can't take hours.

Keep a broader, wider perspective on life however you can.

M.