In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, Eddie writes:
I would be grateful to read a post on how one coming out of grad school or a post doc should prepare for starting their new tenure-track assistant professorship in the states, with an eye toward getting off on the right foot for securing tenure painlessly.
'Excited new prof' then added:
My request relates to Eddie's. I was wondering if anyone would have advice about what (not) to do during your first year as an Assistant professor on a tenure-track. I'm starting this fall at a regional comprehensive in the U.S.
Great questions – and there has already been some good advice given, particularly Old Prof's:
What NOT to do in your first year: do not agree to do all sorts of committee work, and then not deliver on what you said you would do (be realistic); do not hide problems with your teaching until they are so big the dean hears about it (get help early); do not assume that your new institution works like the ones you have been at in the past (ask questions); do not stop researching (show that you can balance research with full time teaching … it is also the only way to get out of a bad place if you need to leave); do not go out drinking with your students or say inappropriate things to them; do not trash your colleagues to other people on campus (wait at least a year for that ;).
But let me add a few more things before opening things up for discussion…
The first thing I would say is, do not to expect a TT job to be easy or "more of the same" of what you have done before. Unless you have a small teaching load at an R1, chances are your first TT job is going to be far more work that you are accustomed to. Be prepared to struggle a bit. I suppose there are exceptions (people who just "kill it" from day 1), but feeling overwhelmed is pretty normal. In addition to teaching a full load of courses, you will probably be required to do certain types of service and publish consistently. It really is a lot. My first VAP/"postdoc" at an R1 simply did not prepare me for all that a TT job at an institution like mine involves–and I have seen many first-year TT faculty seem overwhelmed by all of their new responsibilities.
The second thing I would say is to set the right priorities. If you are at an R1, your job is to publish in the best places and become a name in your field–so your priority has to be research. However, if you are at a "teaching school", setting priorities may be more difficult. Although publishing in the best journals or becoming a "name" in your field may not be expected, typically you still are expected to publish and (at least in my experience) those who run into trouble in pre-tenure review–and later, when coming up for tenure–are often those who haven't met some minimum standard in publishing. This is important to realize, as in my experience it can also be very easy at a teaching school for new hires to focus so much on being a good teacher that that they do not leave enough time to publish effectively. At most schools, you need to publish to get tenure. So my own personal advice for people at "teaching jobs" is to teach well enough one's first few years to be considered a "good teacher", but to not overdo it. Make sure you publish, even if that requires compromising a little bit on teaching prep. Then, after one has published a bit, really try to focus on becoming an amazing teacher and do more service for your department, college, and university. Although I could be wrong, my sense is that this is probably "the template" to follow for getting tenure at most (if not all) "teaching schools).
The third thing I would say is to find out which service commitments are a real burden (i.e. which committees take a ton of time and meetings) and do everything you can to initially avoid them. Later on, after you've found your way (publishing and teaching well), by all means get involved in heavier service opportunities. But don't let yourself be drawn into such heavy service that you have no time to publish or teach effectively. This is another common issue I've heard come up in tenure decisions: candidates who are clearly exemplary in terms of service, but whose other areas (teaching and research) are weak as a result. This is, I think, a very important trap to avoid.
A fourth thing I would say is learn how to say 'no.' You are going to get asked to do a lot of things. Although you may be afraid of "disappointing" the people who ask you to do things, see my last paragraph: when it comes to tenure decisions, people aren't going to award you tenure because you said yes to everything. They are going to care about whether you have published and taught effectively.
Finally, I would advise new TT hires to think of creative ways to save time and encourage them to ask colleagues for mentorship. Oftentimes, your colleagues can help you do the former–if only you ask! For example, at my university our class meetings are really long…so if you just lecture, class prep can take forever, leaving you little to no time to do research. There are easy ways to reduce how much course prep one has to do, such as coming up with interesting in-class assignments for students to discuss, etc. If you're feeling overwhelmed or otherwise adrift, seek out a mentor–someone who seems like they would be willing to help you learn the ropes. They might just be the help you need!
Anyway, these are just some of my thoughts. What are yours? What tips would those of you with experience give to people just beginning their first TT job?
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