Closing remarks

Hey Articulate- Was browsing around this morning and came across this. Thought you might find it interesting. Hope all is well. [Link to some software relevant to my new focus.]

-P

Hi Paul,

Thanks. Yeah, I think my next task is to invest a bit in some new computers and software. I think I'm going to take Drew up on his offer to make me a Linux box and provide me a copy of their new software, basically at cost. I priced a Sun Microsystems workstation with the minimum requirements at about $2500 or so, so I think Drew's offer is generous. And I'll probably take a couple of my contacts at Apple up on their offer to get me a discount on a new Mac.

I think I'm settled with the projects I've got started: three at present. I've got to learn what I can about what's out there in terms of the technology applications, and see if I can piece bits and pieces together to create a makeshift means for doing what I'd like. Hopefully, I'll have something to talk about and show around at Industry Conference in New York in August. I've also taken on the role of "acting president" of the California chapter of Applied Research Field Society, and will be working hard to get our first chapter meeting by the end of the summer.

Trip to Big West Private in a couple weeks [for a workshop whose keynote will be given by my friend Jon Levitz. Trip to the UK end of June. Trip to Chicago area (to visit Rocket's family, and look up some of my Applied Research Field contacts) in July. Then Industry Conference in August. Last week of August I start teaching part-time at Lemon University as well. Busy is good. Let's hope I can keep my focus.

By the way, thanks again. You know, Paul, what I've realized I needed was not you... it was me. You've helped me get me back. That's quite an accomplishment. And for that, I thank you.

/Articulate

Hey Articulate,

Keep me posted as you explore. Who knows? Maybe I'll show up somewhere you're at. And, as far as getting you back...you hit the nail right on the head with one small exception. You were never gone...some times the world just beats us up to the point that we forget we are there. The real accomplishment is yours...admitting that it had nothing to do with me. That it was in your hands the whole time...and always will be. Maybe some day, over a glass of wine or two, I'll tell you what it was like when the clouds gathered over my head. Three years in hell. The similarities to your story will blow you away.

Go get 'em, Tiger. Stay in touch...and keep gardening.

P

Thus ends one chapter, as another one begins.

Trickling rejection

The academic rejection letters trickle in, day by day. I mentioned a couple days ago that I had received the official letter from Joe Krowicki at [Lake View U.]. A few others have been crossing my transom.

Today brought three more:

The expected disappointment:

Dear Dr. Dad,

On behalf of [Research Center] at [Big West Private], I would like to thank you for your interest in our junior faculty position. It was a pleasure to review your supplementary materials with the members of the search committee. However, I regret to inform you...

Please accept our wishes for much success in your career, and thank you for your interest in [Big West Private].

Sincerely,
Larry Strope

The impersonal send-off:

Dear Dr. Dad:

I am writing with regard to your application for X at Y. The Search Committee has completed its review of the submitted credentials, and I am sorry to report that your application is no longer under consideration for this position. The Committee was very impressed with the quality of the applications submitted. The selection of candidates from the overall field was not an easy task...

Sincerely,
[Name], Dean

And, the heart-warming heartbreak (to be noted alongside the recent letter Trillwing presented):

Dear Articulate [Middle Name] Dad:

Thank you for your application for the Assistant Professor of [Subfield 1] at [University].

In most faculty searches, the university receives from one hundred to four hundred applications. Nearly all applicants are qualified by academic training and degree program, so the task of each search committee is a daunting one. Our hiring process calls for the committee to present ten to twenty files to the dean for review and ultimately to recommend a small number of candidates, normally three, for campus interviews.

We are painfully aware that many excellent candidates exist in what are sometimes very crowded fields. I can assure you that your application was read with attention and evaluated carefully. In this case, however, you were not among those finalists for the position who were invited to campus. One of those finalists has now been offered and has accepted the position.

The search committee and I thank you for your interest in [University]. We wish you the best in your effort to find an appropriate and attractive faculty appointment.

Sincerely,
[Name], Academic Vice President

The pain does not diminish.This last letter hit me the hardest. Such a fine pool of qualified and talented candidates. What a stupid waste for society to not use those talents. And why am I here? Why do I still torture myself, with almostness?

A bit of the past?

This from last Tuesday, before the [Industry Conference] began:

Hi Jon,

It's been a while. Tasse Plein tells me you had a nice visit to [Big East Private] a little while back. I just wanted to touch base with you, let you know what I'm up to, and solicit any advice you might have to offer. It's been a long couple years since finishing up my dissertation. Quite a frustrating time to be honest, looking for a faculty post. With the retraction of the recent [true subfield] posting at [Lakeview U.] (it's been reposted as an old-line [subfield 2] post), I hear the death knoll for academic [true subfield] in the States. So, I'm branching out as I can.

I'm looking beyond academia as well, thinking that two years is long enough to put all my eggs in that basket. Recently, I've taken a strong interest in applied research applications, in particular [details], which engages my [Field 1/Field 2] focus. I'm heading to [Industry Conference] in a few hours. I've got some meetings set up with different folks, including the CTO & Strategist for [Applied Research Field] at [Corporate Giant]. I'm also going to meet with Larry Strope at [Research Center] at [Big Western Private] which last I heard was still considering my candidacy for their open post. Hopefully something will come of it all.

The biggest frustration for me lately is simply that I spend more time and energy applying for jobs than I do engaging in the research that motivates me. In any case, I know you followed a non-traditional path to where you are, and thought I'd see if you had any words of wisdom to share with me. You seem to have landed on your feet.

I hope you are well, and thriving at [Top Notch Canadian]. Let me know how things are going. And... congratulations on the success of your book.

Two little notes: Jon Levitz was a visiting scholar at [Big West Private] in the [Research Center] during the four years after finishing his PhD. His recent book, last I checked, was somehwere below 300 in Amazon sales rankings, quite a success by any standard, which will become more significant as you read on.

Hi, Articulate.

It is a tough job market and I sympathize, but I would suggest you not give up too soon. I spent four years looking for a job after I got my Ph.D. I applied to 150 jobs, and was only offered two interviews. One of those was [current job]. For the last two years of the four that I was job-hunting, I didn't even have a job. I earned only $8,000 a year those two years doing odd jobs. Something ought to turn up sooner or later.

Jon

Jon,

Thanks for this. Sometimes it is so isolating being here "on the market" with little to hang on to, and much despair. It's good to know others, whom I admire, have found themselves in similar straits, and survived another day to tell about it.

Perhaps I'll see you at [upcoming SII conference], if not sooner. It'd be great to sit down over a beer or coffee and catch up.

Best,

Articulate

It is difficult to fathom why someone so capable as Jon could be left to wallow jobless four years after completing the PhD. I mentioned Jon to Larry Strope in the afternoon on Thursday. Larry's eyes widened at the thought of applying for 150 academic jobs before landing a faculty post. I have applied for over 100. Makes you wonder...

Shifting Gears

Last week, I signed up for email alerts from [Corporate Giant] regarding job postings in [Applied Research Field]. Friday, I got a posting for a Research Staff position in Appleton Hills. I wondered whether this posting had anything to do with my flurry of emails to them this past week. Probably not, but it's nice to think of myself having some impact on the field. I say probably not, because they're looking for someone with requisite programming skills, which I think was clear I don't have. But the fact that there is a newly advertised position, doing seemingly what I wish to be doing, which specifies particular skills, gives me some focus. Okay, so now I've begun a want list of skills to acquire. This is exactly what I want!

One of the biggest frustrations in the academic job search is the sense that there is no checklist to follow, no specifics. Everyone who has looked at my CV says it's impressive, that there's really nothing missing (except substantial recent teaching experience). And yet, two+ years of applying, over 100 applications sent, a handful of interviews, and nothing; not only no job, but virtually no feedback. What's missing? What do I need? Okay, teaching fine... I keep looking for adjunct work. But what?

So now... as I begin to openly focus more on the research, possibly moving away from academia toward applied research, it's good to have a sense of specifics. I need to learn more about statistics, good. I need to acquire more recent knowledge of programming and coding, good. I can do that. Learning? Come on now! This is what I'm made for. I've got the questions, the problems. I've got the mind to attack them, to turn them over, to look at them in unusual ways, to break them down, to combine them. That's what you can't teach. Now... now, I can begin to see the particular tools others may expect me to use in the process. Okay.

I begin to get excited about the prospects. I wish to focus my efforts not on getting a job at the moment, but on understanding the field, what it's done, what it's doing, what remains. I've got my sense that de Waal is right, and also that I represent a different set of glasses, a different configuration of lenses through which to filter these problems. Some in [applied research field] may think that all they need are electrical engineers and computer scientists, but they're wrong. If they were right, the problems would have all been solved by now. I am confident that I can contribute to this field of research. No doubt. The trick is then to find the place, and the means to convince them it's worth taking a chance on me. It's the work that I need to think about, not the job.

I wrote to Larry Strope at [Big West Private University]:

Hi Larry,
I'm going to be flying to your area to attend [Industry conference] in a couple weeks. If you're around and could spare time for lunch or coffee, I'd be pleased for the opportunity. I don't know where things stand with [Research Center] search, but I'll do whatever I can to avoid any conflicts of interest for you.
Best,
Articulate

Hi,
Sure thing. The 22nd at noon for some coffee? We remain frustratingly obscure about searches at the present stage, sorry.
Yours,
Larry

On Friday, I also wrote a follow up to the head honcho in [Applied Research Area] at [Corporate Giant], whom I had emailed last Monday as my first contact to the field, but who had not yet responded.

Dear Danesh,
Your name came up again, as someone to contact, this time in conversation with Frank Mayer. I'm planning to be at [Industry conference] in a couple weeks. If you will be in attendance, I'd be pleased for the chance to meet you and talk a little bit.
Articulate

Articulate,
I will be attending [Industry Conference].

Kim,
Would you please make sure that Articulate and I have a 30 min meeting.

Thanks,
Danesh

Danesh Nikahang
[Applied research field] CTO & Strategist
[Corporate Giant] Research

Listen, and talk. I've got some meetings now. I think February will prove to be a good month.

Put that in your hat

Today's mail brought:

Dear Articulate:

Today I had Tim Ginsburg [prominent cross-over researcher] in to speak about his new book. I mentioned your name and that you had applied to [center at Big West Private]. He said, "I wish I'd known, I'd be glad to write him a letter." So put that in your hat until you need it. His book has done quite well, and a letter from him could be useful at some point.

Hope all's well!

Cheers,

Tasse

That brought a smile to my face. Ginsburg happens also to be on the faculty in a different discipline (but with a joint appointment in Field 1) at another university (in Canada) where I've applied, and from whence a couple days ago, someone did a Google search for my real name.

Meantime, I've done a lot of cleaning up in my office today, trying to find my notes on which essays by [protagonist of my dissertation] I need to translate. I did some of the translations last year, when I was writing up my dissertation distillation article, which material was incorporated into the text. I still haven't found those notes, but it's a good exercise to clean and purge.

Still in the running

Dear Dr. Dad,

Thank you for submitting additional materials for the faculty opening at the [Center] in the [Field 1] Department at Big West Private. Please allow this e-mail to serve as confirmation that we have received your packet of materials and at least three reference letters.

I will be in touch once the committee has had time to review all material received.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Yours sincerely,

Staci Trotter
[Center] Administrator
Big West Private University

I really really really can't let this get to me too much. I'm excited, even though they haven't so much as given me an interview. And recall that this Staci had told me over the phone that they had asked for supplementals from a lot of people. Who knows what that means.

I guess in some ways, my years of rejection for academic posts has prepared me for not really expecting this to come through. But, I'm quite encouraged that they are at least interested in me, that I am in the running. If not now... Who knows what the future will bring?

Early commute

I'm in my office, but heading out in a little while. I've got to meet with the professor for this language class around 12:30. Still need to register, and since it's concurrent enrollment through their extension program, I need to gather several signatures and pay my fees before class.

I also meet this evening with a native speaker of said language, to help me go over some dialectic materials that I will be discussing at this [Field 2] conference in Germany in about a month.

Got cc'd on an email from Tasse Plein to [Center] at Big West Private, which included a rather glowing reference for me. We shall see. I would really like this job. But, I'm not holding my breath, or leaving my life on hold while I wait.

For anyone interested in my childish ideas, take a peek at the comments to the earlier post of that name. That should gain you access to a few of my children's book sketches. I'll be putting up the two with songs as soon as I get around to transferring the music to an electronic document.

Updates on several fronts

Put an ad on Craig's list for volunteers for my longitudinal study. Every previous attempt has so far failed to garner me subjects. Got my first email today, and just spoke with the woman on the phone. I'm quite pleased and excited. I know I can do this. I know that the data will be a rich mine for future studies. I know that what I have to contribute is unique in these studies. But I've got to prove it. My current plan is for a 3-6 month pilot study, paying volunteers (modestly) out of my own pocket, to reward their participation, in the hopes that I will have enough from that pilot study to win some grant funding for the long-term (3 years) project. But, this is only one subject, and only preliminary. I'm aiming for five for the pilot study.

This afternoon, I've been doing homework. Really. I just can't stay away from school. I'm going to take this language class, despite the horrors of commuting. Maybe I can start a language club, and connive others to join me for a non-English dinner after class on Fridays. (<--Btw, I'm quite aware that connive is an intransitive verb... but then I'm also aware that language change occurs through subtle means.)

I emailed the center administrator at Big West Private to inquire as to the status of their search. I got an email a day or two ago from the search committee for the other [Field 1-traditional] post at Big West Private to inform me that I was no longer being considered. So, it looked like the timing was right. She wrote me back to say that they had only received two of three letters of recommendation. Tasse Plein's was missing. Aaarrgh!

Can you contact at least one other reference and have them e-mail me a copy to complete your file?

The committee is reviewing all the files and we will be in touch within a few weeks.

So, I wrote Tasse:

Can you please send a letter on my behalf to [center] at Big West Private? They seem not to have received one from you.

To which, he replied:

Not only did I send a letter to them, but I received confirmation of it from them. I'll of course send another one out tomorrow morning, but this is really crazy.
Hope it works out!

The upshot that matters is that I'm still in the running, at least for now.

Also saw a new listing for a post at a small four-year school in the Midwest. There are potential opportunities for the Rocket Scientist. The cost of living is substantially lower than here. I did a search in the area for 4 bedroom/2 bath houses under $400k, and came up with nearly 750, of which more than half are below $250k! There are two largish cities within about an hour's drive. Anyway, it sounds interesting.

Work work work! It's a rollercoaster I ride, but I might as well take advantage of the ups, while I can.

A down day

It's not a happy day. Yesterday, I called Western Flagship to check on their search status. It'd been a month since their deadline for supplementals. I'm impatient. I hate being left in the dark about things. It's a bad personality trait, I know. Got a call back today to say they had invited three candidates for campus interviews, but the search remains open until filled. Oh, gee, that makes me feel so much better, to know that I just might be fourth or eighth pick. [I didn't say that].

Around and round we go. Deadline for supplementals to Big West Private were January 1. I suppose they could still be looking at them. But I'd guess if I don't hear anything in the next week or two (and frankly, my pessimism meter is off the charts), I can say goodbye to that prospect as well.

Some of my friends out there have jumped ship, or are ready to.

Me? I'm not steering the vessel. It tosses of its own. The winds of direction and the swell shift violently port to starboard, fore to aft. Stern to bow is covered in salty mist. It is impossible to see.

How odd these feelings. A publisher is interested enough in my dissertation-to-book proposal to send it along for external reviews. I have a conference presentation in [field 2] coming up in a couple months. I've recently made contacts at a large local public university in hopes of moving my research ahead.

Excerpts from emails I've received in the past week or so:
From a random visitor to my PRW:

I happened on your website, which gave access to your fascinating dissertation.

From an instructor (PhD, herself) in one of the languages crucial to my present work, whom I contacted about continuing to improve my language-specific knowledge and skills:

It sounds like you have a very interesting research topic. I'd like to hear more about it.

It is interesting work. It is my work. But I sit here in my office, white walls staring blankly at me, road noise, emptiness. It's been good of late, really. Yet today I sink into depths. It's a gray cold day here. My knee hurts, still, despite my increase of activity, my more frequent stretching, my bicycle riding and walking.

I want this writing to purge me of these feelings, to swallow my pain, like a fish ingesting tashlik.

My new year's resolution? Ah, to be whole again. I'm working on it.

Just what that will mean, I still don't know. It's not that I haven't sought other prospects, beyond the tenure-track. I was disappointed last year when I applied for a staff post in the graduate division of my doctoral institution. I had had good relations with many folks there. I had been active and engaged as an officer of the graduate student government. But I didn't get an interview. I didn't look like someone who wanted to be staff, I heard. I looked like someone who wanted to be a researcher or professor. I'm not sure much has changed there. I wear my heart on my sleeve.

A few days ago, I got a response from the assistant to the literary agent I had submitted an inquiry to regarding two of the earliest children's books I wrote:

Dear Mr. Dad,

Thanks so much for your thoughtful query letter.

Your projects sound interesting, but [Agent] is taking on very few clients at the moment, so he's going to have to decline the invitation to read your work. As you know, these decisions are highly subjective, and another agent may have an entirely different opinion.

Thanks again for thinking of us, and best wishes for finding a good home for your writing.

No big deal really. It was a hasty move to send the inquiry. I've written two other children's books since then which are in fact much better. I may still resubmit to another agent, but I'll probably lead with these more recent works, possibly revising or discarding the early attempts.

The future hides her offerings in a cloak of mystery.

Welcome to tomorrow

A happy, healthy, and prosperous 2007 to all my friends in the blogosphere!

Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.

Last week, I commented on growing weary of the chase for a faculty post. I've thought a good deal about the matter during the past couple weeks. (Couple weeks?, you say, you've been obsessed by the matter as long as I've known you. Conceded.)

My first year on the search, '04-'05, the year I finished my dissertation and became PhD, I was far less picky. Ironic, isn't it? I would have been content to take just about any post that afforded me the title of assistant professor somewhere, anywhere. I would have been eager to teach any service course, to cover every committee assignment, sit through all department meetings without a huff or complaint. But then... a season passed with only close calls.

Last year, many of you met me, as this blog came into being, granting me an outlet for my frustrations and hopes, my fears and opportunities. The season came and went. The only interview I had last year was for a one-term sabbatical replacement in Beautiful Nowhere. In the end, another close call (2 against 3, as I was told). And now.

The season has come to its ebb. It's not over, for sure. But the new year (reflecting a break between terms) seems to mark a separation between early and late postings. Most of the latter will be one-year interim fills, which other than local possibilities, I don't anticipate applying for (for pragmatic and logistical reasons). In any case, the majority of my applications are already out. Most of what remains is waiting. I wait to hear if the two which have requested supplemental materials will be inviting me for an interview. I wait to see if any of the other schools will contact me, either for supplemental materials, or to set up a telephone interview.

I am still quite excited about the post at Big West Private. There's a history there with that position, as I've been in touch with the center's director for a couple years now. The more I think about the position, the more I realize it is in many ways the type of position I've been hoping for. At the moment, just about everything else pales in comparison, which leads me to the sentiment at the end of "I grow weary of the chase" (linked above).

And it leads me perhaps closer to striking out on my own (in earnest this time, not in consolation while I continue to wait). I have been self-employed for just about all of my adult life (other than waiting tables, which is rather close to freelancing, in any case). In part it's due to my drive and spirit; in part, it's also due to my stubbornness and thirst for freedom (both of which are somewhat anathema to surviving in a university department). As a graduate student, the former qualities made up for the latter. So far, I haven't been afforded the chance to see if that continues to facultyhood.

What I have resolved is that now ends the time in which my self-identity is defined by my lack of a university title. From here on, I'm Articulate Dad, PhD: researcher, writer, entrepreneur, husband, father, brother, son. If yet a faculty post comes along, whether an offer from Big West Private, Western Flagship, or somewhere else, I will consider it, in consultation with my wife and family. But I resolve to be whole without it.

Supplements

Over the past few days, every time I worked on preparing the supplemental materials for the job at Big West Private, I felt tired, or distracted, or... I really want this job. That adds to the nerves. But, I'm being realistic. I may not even get a campus interview. But it's that excitement, and fear, that kept me from simply sending everything off.

I wanted to rework some of my earlier work, maybe submit it to a journal, so I could mark it as "under consideration." But, in the end, I decided that what I am today is what I have to offer. As Jim Lodz put it, this is the chance I have to represent myself as I wish to be represented. I just need to be me. Frankly, I'm most interested in landing a post, where I don't have to pretend. So, I sent a bunch of stuff, mostly brief (except for my dissertation distillation article, which numbers 35 single-spaced pages of 10 pt font).

There's:

1. The dissertation distillation article.
   
2. An invited commentary on a target article.
3. Two abstracts for upcoming conferences: the first already accepted; the second I'm hoping will be.
4. A description of my [Logitudinal Project].
5. Student evaluations [oops, just got an email from the administrative assistant saying please disregard their earlier request for student evals. So I sent a reply asking her to disregard their inclusion in the email I already sent].
6. [Oops oops. Sent another email to attach yet one more item] A conference paper I gave in 2003, which seems particularly relevant to this position.

I like that this group prefers electronic submissions over hard copies for these materials. It says something about them being in the 21st century. Of course, their retraction of the request for student evaluations seems to put them even further in the research category. I'm okay with that. As I've heard over and over, I look like a researcher. I do want to teach also, and it would seem that this position would give me that opportunity, but likely not overburden me with lecture hall service courses.

The good thing is, it's done. I sent everything off, cc'ing my recommenders, following up with personal emails to each of them. Now, I can try to forget it. My excitement for this post has all but swallowed up my worrying about Western-Flagship. That's good. Best to not think about them. I'll either get the calls or not. I'll either be invited to campus or not. I'll either be offered a job, or not. Those I have no control over, certainly not at this point.

So, I keep plugging away at my work. Fortunately, I'll have a break as well. The au pair is going with a friend to South America for Christmas, leaving tomorrow night. She'll be gone nearly two weeks. As I wrote yesterday, my brother and nephew arrive on Monday. They'll be staying until Sunday. My wife's parents arrive on Tuesday, and they'll be staying until Monday. It'll be a full house here at the Articulates. Good thing I like to cook, eh?

And now that I'm done with my emailing and blogging, I'm off to my (temporarily I hope) internetless office to do some work that requires silence and concentration. Hopefully I can sneak away a few hours each day while the inlaws are here, to continue. It's work that I haven't been doing for months now, but which feels really good to get back into. It's also work that needs to be done for my February/March conference talks.

***On another note: I finally made contact with someone at a local field site, who can help me get started on data collection for my [Longitudinal Project]. I'm quite excited, though nothing is settled yet. Have you ever tried to get a longitudinal human subjects project off the ground with absolutely no institutional help? Cultivated naivety, that's the only way. Don't tell me it's impossible. I'm not listening. Na na na.

Take care of your family

My mother reminds me that I'm the "most stable in our family." I've always been counted on to do the right thing. When my father was depressed after my step-mom had died of cancer in her fifties, I took it upon myself (with full support from my wife) to invite my dad to move in with us. We bought a house together. When the Rocket Scientist and I moved out west for my doctoral studies, we rented the main floor of the house, permitting my dad to live virtually for free. When he got sick, with cancer, we moved back into the house, to keep him better company, and help take care of him. Then we went overseas. I had been granted an extension to my Fulbright, but chose to forego it, since my dad's health had in the interim taken a decided turn for the worse. We moved him up from the garden-level basement to live on the main floor with us. I am convinced that my interventions kept him alive several months longer than he would have mustered without us.

It's not that I'm entirely altruistic. It's not that I didn't complain, and add my share of grief to the mix. It's simply that I did the right thing. Years ago, I learned a simple lesson. One father's day, just after my grandmother had died, I decided to call up my grandfather, to let him know I was thinking of him. I spent perhaps three minutes on the phone with him, but to him it meant the world. I learned that often we make a small effort that has a great impact on others' lives. I established a rule to live by: if it's easier for me to do someone a favor, than it is for them to do without, then it's done.

It's normally an easy motto to put into practice. Only rarely is it difficult to decide.

Today, in the middle of writing my last post about a nibble at Big West Private, I got a call from Oldest Brother. He was laid off from his job. He's broke. He can't afford his rent, and it's going up $200/month at the top of the year, when his lease comes up for renewal. He wants to come down this weekend with Nephew to spend part of Hannukah with us, and... he wanted to know if he might be able to move in with us for a while, until he gets back on his feet. He thinks he can help out with the rent. He should be able to get back on disability, or certainly unemployment. Give him a chance to reduce his expenses, save some money, get out of bankruptcy.

I've talked it over with the Rocket Scientist. There really is no saying no. He's family. I love him. The question is one of logistics. How, where, when, how long. Maybe something else will come through. Maybe he'll come up with another solution. But... he wouldn't have asked, if he didn't feel at the end of his rope. That I know. Wish us all luck in getting through this trial.

Another nibble, and yaiiee, this one tastes good

Got an email this morning from the administrator for Larry Strope's Center at Big West Private University.

Dear Dr. Dad,

Thank you for applying to the position opening at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in [Field 1] and [related science field] in the Department of [Field 1] at Big West Private University. As our committee proceeds with the search process, we would greatly appreciate additional materials for consideration.

The letter goes on for three more paragraphs.

Excruciating. Not pain... nerves. Ooh this would be good. Here's from the job posting:

Teaching responsibilities at the undergraduate and graduate levels will include courses in the candidate’s areas of expertise.

Um... like, I'd be teaching what I'm really interested in? This would be, from what I can tell, a well balanced research/teaching post.

I think I want this job. Relax, relax.

But can I just say that, after a year of virtually nothing (other than the interview for the one-term gig at Beautiful Nowhere), to get two requests for supplemental materials in the one week is quite exhilarating.

Some movements afoot

Sometimes when so much is happening in my life, it is difficult to sort it out enough to write about. And just now, I have little time. I'm heading to the rail station in about a half hour to head to a conference (SOD for those keeping track; yes, I did renew my membership, at least for another year).

I'm not presenting, but thought it would be beneficial to schmooze, rub shoulders, catch up with friends/colleagues.

Yesterday, I watched the boys full-time. The au pair was out of town for the day. It works out fine, since Friday, my usual day with the boys, I'll be at the conference.

Talked with Larry Strope on Tuesday. He had nixed the idea of my coming to visit, thinking it would be simpler to just talk on the phone. He was exceedingly enthusiastic, though he confessed he had no idea how the search would go. It was very encouraging however.

[I sit here listening to the LOUD laughter and giggles and playing of the boys and the au pair in the very next room (her bedroom) as I sit in the family room/office. Very distracting... we'll get to that below]

So, I'll be applying to Larry's center for the faculty post. That's one application sent (deadline was about a month ago, so the silence is not encouraging), and three more to send off in the next month. Two of them I've written about here recently: [Big West Coast Private University] and [Lake View University]. I need to follow up a little more on the other one, read up on their website, research faculty interests and such, call and talk with the chair perhaps, to ascertain just how promising that one really is.

Also, noticed that a school where I was shortlisted for a one-year post two years ago, has the post open now as a tenure-track gig. I haven't seen it posted on any job lists yet, but it appeared on the SOD conference website for interviews. We'll see.

And... I finally decided that I really want an office outside the house. I need to get more productive. I need to get away from the distractions, and I wish to separate my work time from my family time. I think my work will benefit and my relationships with my family will benefit from the separation. The boys will know when I'm around, I'm fair game to play with them. When I'm working, I'll be elsewhere. Also, knowing that I'm spending family money for an office will give me added incentive to make my time there as productive as possible.

I've looked at three offices. All a bit more than I wanted to spend, but all within what we can afford. In fact, because our housing costs are lower here, we'd still be spending less than we did in Paradise even if I took the more expensive of them. Hopefully, I'll have that all worked out by next week.

Meantime, I need to pack up my things and head to the train.

Oh so many things

Hi Larry,

It's been nearly a year since we last wrote. I see now there is an open position in [subfield 1] in the [Field 1] department at Big West Private (in addition to the post at [your center]). I am, as you might have guessed, quite interested, especially if it might permit collaborations with your group.

Do you know anything about the post? Is it a replacement for someone who has retired, or is it entirely new? Are they targeting particular curricular needs, specific courses? Let me know what you can.

Best,
Articulate

Larry Strope is a professor in [Field 1], and director of a research center, at a big west coast private school. He also happens to be the son of Harry Strope, the member of my dissertation committee whom I've mentioned before. We had been in touch before when I had applied for a post-doc at his school last year.

Hi Articulate,

It's great to hear about your interest. We have the one opening in [subfield 1] and are short at least 3 or so faculty after retirements, etc.

I don't have the answers. Usually, we search pretty widely. I'm cc'ing Jasmine Lear so you can be in touch with the committee directly for better information.

Best of luck to you -- it would be great to see work like yours become part of the fabric here. And if you think the [Research Center] post fits better, let me know how that angle suits you.

Yours,
Larry

And, I spoke today for about 20 minutes or so, with a professor at [Lake View U.], the one who served on a panel I organized a conference a couple years back, and who has been quite open and supportive in the past. Let's call him Joe Krowicki. He was the other departmental contact whom I wrote to about the post. He had written back with him home number for me to call and talk.

It was a good conversation, open, honest. This is someone I could trust, a good colleague. In the end, it sounds like there may in fact be two positions open or opening. Joe happens to be chairing the search committee, and weakened the blow a bit from the email I had received from his colleague, saying that yes, they are looking for someone who could teach courses in [subfield 2], but he indicated the specific courses would likely depend on the individual. He spoke as if not to discourage me from applying. He also indicated that, should the second post open up, they'd certainly have more flexibility.

He volunteered quite a bit of information, and was willing to discuss what might be sensitive areas (like for instance why a colleague of ours had failed to get tenure, and had taken a post elsewhere). We also discussed the two-body problem a bit. It's refreshing to talk and listen without minced words.

It's a tough call. LVU is near the Rocket Scientist's family, but the area offers her little in the way of her specialization. LVU would be a great place for me to work. I guess I apply, and we make the decisions when we have them to make. I told Joe that it sounded like I should send them my stuff, that I won't hold my breath, but if there's a job for me to fill at LVU, I'd be delighted to fill it.

As for BWP... that's another one I'll be applying for. There's one more definite after that, and two or three maybes that I still need to research. That makes one down, three to go, then we'll see from there.