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How can we help you? (May 2018)

Because I will be traveling abroad for a conference, comments and posts this week may be a bit slow to appear. Still, I hope to get a few new posts up and will approve comments at the earliest opportunity. In the meantime, I thought it might be good to run another 'how can we help you?' post, as we haven't run one in a while!

For those of you unfamiliar with this series, this is a chance for you to post openly or anonymously in the comments section on anything you could use help with related to the profession. After you post your query in the comments section, I will then post new threads for readers to discuss (and hopefully help you with!) your query.

Possible topics include (but are by no means limited to):

  • The academic job-market
  • Non-academic jobs
  • Graduate school (e.g. writing a dissertation, etc.)
  • Research & publishing
  • Teaching
  • Etc.

Fire away: we're here to help! (Also, a quick side-note to other commenters: please don't weigh in preemptively on people's queries in the thread below. Just wait for the new thread I post on the person's query so that everyone can join the discussion!).

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11 responses to “How can we help you? (May 2018)”

  1. Amanda

    It might be a good idea to have a post about moving jobs. Suppose one is a junior professor and wants to move jobs (the situation I know of is someone who wants to move for a spouse.) Does it make sense to do this before tenure or after? And what difference does it make in each of the following situations:
    1. at a teaching school trying to move to another teaching school.
    2. at a research school trying to move to another research school.
    3.at a teaching school trying to move to a research school.
    4..at a research school trying to move to a teaching school.
    The situation I know of is actually 4. This person is not sure they can move “up”, and thinks chances of getting the right location at a teaching school is better.

    Reply
  2. Scott Hill

    Sometimes I see, in addition to AOS and AOC, a section about additional areas of teaching competence or interest on CVs.
    I like the idea of having a section like this because there are classes I’ve taught and had a lot of fun teaching on topics that I feel would be a stretch to put in the AOS, or even an AOC, category.
    For example, I’ve taught eastern philosophy and existentialism. But I don’t think I can realistically call such topics AOCs because they don’t really connect with my own research at all.
    I have a couple of questions:
    1: Does adding a section like that look weird merely in virtue of the fact that CVs hardly ever have such sections?
    2: Would a section like that turn off research schools?
    Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Chris

    I think it can be good to have this third, “Areas of teaching competence” category. Sometimes you’ve taught a course, such as, intro to logic or whatever, but you don’t feel comfortable putting logic down as an AOC, because this might imply the ability to more comfortably teach advanced logic, say. (And a AOS would signal research in the area). Of course, a close look at your c.v. would reveal that you’ve taught intro to logic or intro to business ethics, etc., even if you don’t have them on your AOC and don’t have a third category with teaching competence. But it can be useful to highlight and organize some of your teaching experience this way. If done reasonably, there is no reason it should turn off schools, whether research or teaching oriented.

    Reply
  4. Amanda

    I was thinking one of the hardest things about being an early career philosopher is moving. It takes up a lot of time, energy, and money – and sadly many persons are not compensated. My first post Phd job I moved across the entire US and had no moving budget. Anyway, I was thinking we might have a thread for advice about moving – how to save money, how to make it easier, etc.

    Reply
  5. Scott Hill

    Thanks Chris!

    Reply
  6. Recent grad

    Amanda,
    One tip: if you use a Uhaul between two cities, even adjacent cities, you can use Uhaul storage for up to a month for free. This gives you some flexibility balancing moving, finding a place to live, and then moving in.

    Reply
  7. Amanda

    Thanks Recent Grad I didn’t know that. It does sound helpful in a number of circumstances.

    Reply
  8. S

    Can we have a specific thread about the international job market in philosophy in predominantly non-English speaking countries, but for faculty positions at predominantly English-speaking universities? Is PhilJobs the best place to learn about job opportunities abroad for US PhD candidates? Are there any guides or resources that give information about international searches that can’t already be extrapolated from guides or resources about national searches? What are some impressions or misimpressions that people have about international searches and working abroad, but in a place where the culture and language are unfamiliar to them?

    Reply
  9. Time for a break?

    After another brutal year on the job market, I’ve managed to secure a decent two-year postdoc at a pretty nice institution. Although I’ve been advised to go back on the market again in the fall, I’m strongly considering sitting the next round out. Mainly, this is for mental health reasons: I get really depressed and anxious when I’m on the market, to the point that it starts to interfere with my work and personal life. I also figured that time not spent worried about the job market could be better spent making the best of my postdoc for when I do go on the market again the next time. And, of course, there’s the fact that the odds of getting a job are so slim that the effort of going out on the market again could be for naught (it’s happened before). But, there are very few jobs in my AOS, and passing on any of them seems like a very expensive luxury. I was hoping to hear from other people who have been faced with this kind of calculus, and how they ultimately made their decisions. In short, is it worth it to go out on the job market when you don’t absolutely have to?

    Reply
  10. Been there

    Time for a break,
    Take a break. The only reason to apply for a job is if you work in a micro-sub-field, like aesthetics. Then it seems you must apply. But you only need to apply to those few jobs. But think of your health and well being.

    Reply
  11. Marcus Arvan

    Time for a break: I agree with ‘Been there.’
    I took a break from the market for a year or two to focus on publishing, teaching, etc. People told me at the time that it was a mistake. But it worked! I was able to focus on my work rather than the market, and it enabled me to much improve my CV – as well as get a much-needed psychological respite from the market.

    Reply

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