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Getting a Job In Academia

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Little or no administrative and teaching load. April 13, 2002. 6. Cons of Post Docs (In CS) ... Apply to a little lower caliber institution. April 13, 2002. 50 ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Getting a Job In Academia


1
Getting a JobIn Academia
  • Jennifer Schopf
  • Argonne National Lab
  • April 13, 2002
  • jms_at_mcs.anl.gov

2
My Story
  • 1998 was finishing PhD in CS at UCSD in hotarea
  • Sent out 80 applications
  • teaching, research, postdoc (labs)
  • Accepted 15 interviews- 8 weeks of travel
  • 12 offers, went to Northwestern Univ.
  • 3 years later, went to Argonne National Lab

3
Outline
  • What to apply for (alternatives in academia)
  • Where to apply
  • Job Application Packet
  • Interviewing
  • Making Decisions
  • Two-Body Problem

4
Picking the Right Job for You
  • Academia- University, Lab, Research
  • Post Doc vs Faculty
  • Teaching vs Research
  • Large vs Small

5
Benefits of Post Doc
  • Lots of time for research
  • Added publications
  • Time to establish post-graduate career track
  • Grant writing experience
  • Build reputation
  • Possibility of moving up in market
  • More people to write letters for you
  • Little or no administrative and teaching load

6
Cons of Post Docs (In CS)
  • Some post docs are tied to specific projects
  • Not truly independent
  • Some bias in the field - Couldnt you get a REAL
    job?
  • Lower pay
  • Relocating again in 2 years

7
Applying for Post docs
  • Talk to someone senior in your area
  • Research institutions and national labs
  • NSF
  • NATA, NSERC Canada, Foreign embassies
  • Applications generally by fall

8
Limited Term Teaching Positions(Lecture or
Visiting Positions)
  • Get lots of teaching experience
  • May provide an opportunity to be at a better
    department than otherwise possible
  • Flexibility with no commitment

9
Teaching vs Research
  • Teaching Schools
  • Teach 5-6 classes per year (3-5 preps)
  • Generally no PhD students, maybe MS
  • Still expected to do some research
  • 1 paper a year
  • 1 grant (total) before tenure
  • More committee work
  • Less money (salary, startup, etc), less travel

10
Research vs Teaching
  • Research Schools
  • 3-4 classes per year (after first)
  • PhD and MS students
  • Expected to spend MOST of your time on research
  • Several papers a year, esp. journals before
    tenure
  • Several grants before tenure- solo PI and joint
  • Better chance to know your community
  • Better money than teaching, more travel

11
Large vs Small
  • Large (25 faculty or more)
  • Small fish in a bigger pond
  • Instant collaborators - but beware of being
    overshadowed
  • Well established procedures and support
  • Small (15 faculty or less)
  • Easier to establish independence
  • Lots of dept extras
  • Chance to build and influence

12
Outline
  • What to apply for (alternatives in academia)
  • Where to apply
  • Job Application Packet
  • Interviewing
  • Making Decisions
  • Two-Body Problem

13
Where to Find Open Positions
  • http//www.cra.org/main/cra.jobs.html
  • http//www.acm.org/cacm/careeropps/
  • http//www.computer.org/careers/
  • Word of mouth
  • Send in an application anyway!

14
How to Decide Where to Apply
  • Professional
  • Who/what else is nearby?
  • What have other people said about the dept?
  • Personal
  • Geographically compatible - can you live there?
    (weather, urban/suburban, hobbies)
  • Family issues
  • Other opportunities

15
Which Department to Apply to?
  • CS/CE/ECE has no clear division
  • . All 3 will advertise for operating systems!
  • Applied Math/CS Theory
  • Cognitive Science/AI Computer Science
  • When in doubt, send to both

16
How Many to Apply to?
  • How many interviews do you want to go to?
  • How competitive are you?
  • How competitive are the schools?
  • How focused is your search?
  • Personally, I think more is better than less-
    its just the cost of a stamp

17
Timelines
  • Now
  • Get to know the people in your field
  • go to meetings, go to talks, interact!
  • Publish
  • Dec/Jan - Applications for openings due
  • Feb/April - Interviews
  • (Mid-Jan/Feb - send out additional aps?)
  • March/June - Offers

18
Outline
  • What to apply for (alternatives in academia)
  • Where to apply
  • Job Application Packet
  • Interviewing
  • Making Decisions
  • Two-Body Problem

19
Application Packet
  • Cover Letter
  • CV
  • Research Statement
  • Teaching Statement
  • Papers
  • Letters of Reference
  • Similar for tenure-track, lecturer, postdoc, or
    lab research position

20
Cover Letter
  • Departmental letterhead
  • Dear Search Committee (Chair)
  • NOT Dear Sir
  • Your name (printed, not just signed)
  • University, Advisor
  • Area of research and when youre finishing
  • Generally, not something to sweat - have one that
    you alter slightly for each school

21
CV
  • Basic contact info- email, phone with dependable
    messaging, web page (think about whats on it)
  • Education info- where, when, what
  • Thesis title, advisor, completion date, summary
  • Small research summary (3-4 sentences)
  • Papers, posters, talks, presentations
  • have links to them online
  • Fellowships, awards, grants
  • Service, other education, special programs
  • List of letter writers and contact info for them
    - email, snail mail and phone

22
Research Statement
  • What are you doing now, why is it important, what
    is the main result they should associate with you
  • How does your work sit in your field
  • What other projects have you been part of, what
    was your role
  • What do you want to do next?
  • Concrete, feasible, independent

23
Teaching Statement
  • Teaching philosophy
  • Experience or prior teaching
  • Mentoring experience
  • have you worked with undergrads or summer
    students?
  • Thoughts on classes you might like to teach or
    develop

24
Papers
  • Can include copies of 1-3, but not more
  • Make sure citations are on first page
  • Should be recent, first author work
  • In direct area of work you talk about as your
    main result in your research statement

25
Letters of Reference - Who?
  • At least 3, probably 4, not more than 5
  • One MUST be your advisor
  • As senior as possible (at least one with tenure)
  • As familiar with your work as possible
  • Not all at your university, although academic is
    considered better than industry (for academic
    positions)
  • If youre applying to a teaching school, have one
    that can address your teaching

26
Letters of Reference - How?
  • Ask early (November?)
  • Give each writer a package with your job packet
    PLUS extra papers, thesis chaps
  • Make SURE they get sent on time
  • When they are requested, bug them to send!
  • Give them a list of schools
  • ask for sealed letters for each
  • request that they be sent everywhere
    automatically
  • Double check that they were sent (and triple
    check and then ask again)

27
Miscellaneous stuff
  • Single-sided printing
  • Reasonable spacing/fonts/copying
  • Staple each thing separately
  • Put your name on every packet (every page of your
    CV)
  • Dont fold things up
  • Have your entire packet online (sans letters) -
    including your talk!

28
Outline
  • What to apply for (alternatives in academia)
  • Where to apply
  • Job Application Packet
  • Interviewing
  • Making Decisions
  • Two-Body Problem

29
Being Invited to Interview
  • Be honest - would you go there if they made you
    an offer?
  • Ask to speak with certain people (grad students,
    a research group, someone in another dept)
  • Think about your travel
  • east coast vs west coast
  • several schools in one city at the same time
  • Plan a day off in-between!

30
During the Interview
  • Breakfast, lunch and dinner (often w. host)
  • Half hour meetings with each prof in the dept.
  • Meeting with Chair, Dean
  • Possible meeting with grad students
  • Talk
  • Your schedule WILL get messed up - be flexible!

31
The Talk
  • Often thought of as most important part of
    interview
  • Judged for your research and area
  • Judged for you ability to explain it to wide
    range of researchers
  • Judged for teaching expectations
  • Judges for interactions with audience

32
Preparing the Talk
  • Rule of thumb-
  • 1/3 for everyone
  • 1/3 for your area
  • 1/3 to show youre good!
  • Do 3 practice talks first- seriously!
  • Tune your talk for different audiences
  • Consider having different talks for research and
    teaching schools

33
Talk, cont.
  • Have slides to throw out (not just at end)
  • Have slides to add for common questions
  • Speak clearly and loudly
  • Be dynamic!
  • Repeat the question back
  • Think - is this a talk You would want to sit
    through?

34
Questions during the Interview
  • Brief descriptions of your research- 1 sentence,
    3 min, 10 min
  • practice these!
  • What is the (single) most important contribution
    of your research?
  • What is the most important new (recent) result in
    your field?
  • Where do you publish/get grants from?

35
Questions 2
  • What are you currently working on?
  • What will you work on next?
  • Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10?
  • What kind of projects do you want to have
    students work on with you? (think grad, ms, and
    undergrad)

36
Questions 3
  • Whats going on in group X (not your group) at
    your current school?
  • What are your strengths/weaknesses as a
    researcher/teacher?
  • Who would you expect to interact most with in
    this department?

37
Questions 4
  • What courses would you like to teach?
  • What do you like about teaching?
  • What are you looking for in a department?
  • What are you looking for in a startup package?
  • Where else are you/have you applied?
  • What kind of offers do you have?

38
Questions 5
  • Be honest
  • Be direct
  • Be discrete
  • Dont say anything bad about anyone

39
Illegal Questions and What to Do
  • So, when are you going to get married?
  • Oh you sound just like my mother
  • So, when are you going to have a baby?
  • Oh, you sound just like my father
  • Arent you a little young to be starting in a
    position like this?
  • My familys blessed with good genes, we all look
    younger than we are
  • Generally, people asking these things will mean
    well.

40
Be Sure To Stay Reachable
  • Have a cell phone with voice mail that you give
    out as a contact number so people can find you on
    the road
  • Take a portable with you- but check to make sure
    everyone can handle portable slides
  • Get local dial-ups to check mail from the hotel

41
Things to Make Your Life Better While
Interviewing
  • Keep a notebook of thoughts
  • Get enough sleep
  • Watch your health
  • Try to exercise, eat ok
  • Take time for yourself/family

42
Outline
  • What to apply for (alternatives in academia)
  • Where to apply
  • Job Application Packet
  • Interviewing
  • Making Decisions
  • Two-Body Problem

43
The Offer
  • Teaching load - often reduced for 1 year
  • Committee load - often reduced for 1 year
  • Salary - Taulbee survey
  • http//www.cra.org/statistics/
  • Startup funds (equipment, travel, summer)
  • Student support
  • Tenure clock
  • Moving expenses (including your flight)
  • Resources - space, admin, supplies, etc

44
Negotiating Your Offer
  • Decide what is absolutely non-negotiable to
    accept the job
  • Some things are easier than others to argue
  • Ask for the advice of your host
  • You ARE expected to argue with what they give
    you- do this!!
  • Dont be afraid to ask for a delayed start date
    or adjusted tenure clock

45
How to Choose Among Offers
  • How hard do you want to work?
  • Cohesiveness/environment of dept?
  • Colleagues
  • Big/little fish in a little/big sea
  • Importance of getting big grants
  • Likelihood of tenure
  • Big science vs small science

46
Things to Consider
  • Quality of students
  • Availability of students in your area
  • Growth plan for department
  • Department vision/leadership/standing within
    university

47
Choosing 2
  • Relative importance of teaching/research/service
  • Your vision vs department vision
  • Quality of life!
  • Environment/climate
  • Cost of living
  • Schools

48
Outline
  • What to apply for (alternatives in academia)
  • Where to apply
  • Job Application Packet
  • Interviewing
  • Making Decisions
  • Two-Body Problem

49
2-Body ProblemApplication Tips
  • Consider cities/regions with more than one univ.
    or an active industry (SF, Boston, NY, Chicago,
    Toronto, Vancouver, Paris, etc.)
  • Consider commuting distance
  • Berkeley - Stanford - IBM Almaden
  • Consider applying for a post-doc or temporary
    teaching position
  • Apply to a little lower caliber institution

50
2-Body ProblemWhen to tell people
  • Pros and cons of
  • On the application
  • At the interview
  • At the offer
  • Some schools have special funds for this

51
The best pieces of advice I got.
  • Dont say anything bad about anyone
  • Keep a notebook of your experiences
  • Stay as connected as you can
  • Take some time for yourself
  • Have fun with it - youll never be in a situation
    where so many people want you and you dont have
    to do anything ever again!

52
References
  • Me
  • jms_at_mcs.anl.gov
  • This talk
  • www.mcs.anl.gov/jms/Talks/academicJob.ppt
  • Getting a Job- CRA-W
  • www.cra.org/Activities/craw/pubs.html
  • Sample Job Packet
  • www.cs.nwu.edu/jms/JobPacket/applic.html
  • Ellen Spertuss info
  • www.mills.edu/ACAD_INFO/MCS/SPERTUS/ job-search
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