In our newest “how can we help you?” thread, a reader asks:
I am currently tenured at an R2 university in the US. I recognize I am fortunate relative to many peers, though I also understand that I will probably be stuck here forever if my program won’t be eliminated (fingers crossed). Nevertheless, I still wonder what some potential career possibilities remain open for me within philosophy and how I might pursue them, knowing that most of them will be very unlikely to happen?
For example, is publishing a ton at top journals the only way to make it possible to move to an R1? Given that my current position is teaching-intensive at the undergraduate level, what are practical strategies for carving out more research time? (Even more practically, would it be reasonable for me to not care too much about my teaching evaluations or pedagogical innovations but to spend more time doing my own research, if I would like to keep this possibility open?)
I saw some people did parallel moves from an R2 to another R2 (or lower end R1). How does this sort of career path happen? Would some administrative experience help?
I think I also saw some people moved from R2s to SLACs. In such cases, does research still matter most? Or does a strong undergraduate teaching record carry more weight?
I have already accepted the fact that I will be at my current job for a couple more decades. But knowing some potential ways to be out would still help me understand my situation better. Thank you for your input!
These are all good questions, and I’m not sure about the answers. I have worked at a SLAC for past 16+ years, but did receive an offer from an R1 last year (which I turned down). I’m not sure, but I suspect that publishing in some good places probably helped. At least anecdotally, my sense is that some tenured jobs are looking for people with various administrative & leadership experience, such as experience as department chair or leading public-facing university programming. But obviously, these are just some anecdotes.
Do readers have any helpful tips in response to the OP’s questions?
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