Most academics are paid to do research. Research is part of your job description. Research figures prominently in the criteria for hiring, tenure/confirmation, and promotion. This can feel out of sync with the reality of your daily life in the university. You teach. You attend meetings. You do the work necessary to do those 2 [...]
What you can change
Posted on September 29, 2011 by
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. (The Serenity Prayer, Reinhold Niebuhr) Whether you believe in that god or not, the sentiment of this prayer is just good advice. I was recently reminded of the importance of [...]
Writing bios, etc
Posted on August 15, 2011 by
Aimée Morrison, writing at Hook & Eye, raises an interesting point about writing academic bios: One thing that’s increasingly becoming clear to me is that the bios that accompany Serious Scholarly Writing, like a peer-reviewed article, don’t mention teaching. Better more words devoted to where you’ve published and who funded your work, than to describe [...]
What’s your ideal academic job?
Posted on January 31, 2011 by
When you are looking for an academic job it is hard to imagine that you could get one and be unhappy, even miserable. And yet, I’ve met unhappy academics.
An academic career incorporates a wide range of activities and uses a lot of different skills. Even those who love it, and are successful, love different things about it, or excel at different aspects.
It is important to determine what is important to you. Your actual job may never match your ideal exactly, but knowing what your ideal looks like enables you to choose better compromises.
