I have decided to take a new job, mid tenure case. I am having trouble finding information about how to job hunt in academia at my mid-rank. Specifically:
- How to communicate my status
- Whether to apply for Associate or Assistant level positions
- How to socialize my search with my department mid-tenure, and with my students, and with my sponsors
- What considerations I might have not thought of
My state university's COVID policies are unsafe, and I have sat with my family and decided to leave for the sake of our health. I am mid-tenure case (submitted in August, finished by June 2022), with success all but assured. I have read that this time is an 'opportune' time to go on the job market, and indeed within my network a number of colleagues have done it. However, they all seem to have had an 'in', and applied through a friend, etc. I am actively networking for the same. At the same time, I am (back) on the usual job sites, and wondering if sending out a round of applications might not make sense.
One advantage I have: my chair and department is aware I am potentially looking for a job to get out of the state. Many of us are. That said, once I start this, word will get out. I foresee hard questions from my tenure committees, and also my students, and also sponsors...
I am in the US South, at an R1. I previously worked at a top 10 university. I have a strong network, and I am well-funded. My work is multi-disciplinary, and so I could be portable across a number of department types.
Questions above, but broadly: How do people ally for jobs mid-tenure case, traditionally? How does the recipe for success in this change in these non-traditional extended-pandemic times?
Resolution: I have accepted an industry position which begins soon. I will conclude my classes, find new homes for my graduate students, wind down my grants, shutter my laboratory, help my postdocs and research scientists to find a next step, and begin my own new chapter. In doing so I will be leaving the university mid tenure process, forgoing millions in grant funding, and otherwise burning my bridge. That said, and although this is heartbreaking for me, and is also the least bad outcome. After an initial time away from my family I know this is not something I could do happily for any real length of time. I am deeply thankful to have options. Indeed, while I am sad to leave, my new job pays almost 4x my university job's salary, and it appears will afford me more support in my work than does the present position. This helps.
I thank all of you for your thoughtful responses. In different circumstances, many might have found me a way to remain a professor.