The Scholar's Survival Manual: A Road Map for Students, Faculty, and Administrators

4. Getting the First Job (#113–150)

104 A. Fundamentals 113 Now That You Have Your Doctorate 1. Our doctoral students are our most important exports. 2. What is crucial is that our doctoral students gain positions that they merit. Moreover, I am told by experts that for most academics “you end up where you started,” so that first job is crucial. Aim high for your first post-PhD position. If it is a postdoc, it is your gateway to a teaching/research university position if you choose that direction. If it is an assistant professorship, you want to be at an institution that is most receptive to your research contribution. And, frankly, you want to go to a higher-prestige university, if that is possible. In any case, you want to make tenure a doable goal. You may choose to go to a teaching-oriented college, and for very good reasons. Then make sure you make contributions to teaching that are widely recognized (maybe textbooks, awards, articles about innovative teaching methods). What is crucial is what you do with whatever position you find. Ideally , you will exceed the expectations of your new colleagues, they will be delighted to have you on their faculty or staff, and you will grow in your new position. 3. Geographical constraints may force you to seek a position close to home. Those constraints are honorable, and you will just do your best Getting the First Job (#113–150) four Getting the First Job (#113–150) 105 within them. In the end, family counts more than prestige. (But not to the National Research Council.) 114 What Do I Do with My Degree? Universities wish their doctoral students to become leading researchers and teachers in the field, take up positions at more prestigious universities , and join the academic profession. (Some doctoral degrees are professional certifications, and so function differently. But the prestige of your future appointments still matters.) Do they get jobs at peer or better institutions? Ten years down the line, do they retain such jobs, make significant contributions, and grow their own students? Lots of students have other agendas. Some work in industry and consulting, others choose jobs that suit personal needs, and others decide they do not like doing research and would prefer to return to being a jazz musician. Or, rather than continuing to pursue a career as a research chemist, you go into politics and eventually become Chancellor of Germany, or you go back to school and become a rural physician. You have not failed as a chemist or whatever; rather, you have a new way of employing your talents and education. You want to make a contribution to scholarship, society, or government. Research training is powerful training. (I still live off my undergraduate and graduate training.) You learn about balanced analysis, critical views of others’ work, an ethic of reliable knowledge. If you learn to produce reliable arguments and knowledge, you will have a very great advantage–if only to be able to see the flaws in the usual arguments. As for our expectations, we do want you to follow in our footsteps, preferablyinclimber’sbootsabletoscalehigherheights.Buttheworldis morevaried thanourimaginations.Letme make onestrongrecommendation : Whatever you do, put aside the time to write an article or book about your dissertation research, and get it published in a good venue, one where it is seen. You will be ahead of half of all doctoral recipients. 106 The Scholar’s Survival Manual 115 Visibility in Graduate School You will want people to know of you and your work. Do attend the major meeting in your field. Organize a session and present your research at the meeting. Give a well-rehearsed presentation. People actually do remember, and are on the lookout. You will want to build in some part-time teaching at a local college or university. In any case, focus on getting out of graduate school, finishing your degree. Your progress may well be determined by other factors (family obligations, for example), but within those factors get out. Seekmodelteachers,researchers,andpresentersandperformersand artists. Aim for the strongest achievements, rather than saying something to the effect of “if they can get away with it, so can I.” You probably cannot, and in fact neither can they. (Perhaps no one says this, and they are just deaf to the calls for compelling excellence.) Get to know the important people in your field, which work is admirable , which work you would like to be...