65
votes
Accepted
What title should I use to greet both a professor and an associate professor in an email?
You will be on the safe side if you write "Dear Professors Smith and Miller". They are both professors, and the fact that they have different rank is unimportant in the address. If one is ...
- 105k
57
votes
Accepted
Assistant professor: is it bad if I attend a class in a discipline close to mine but not exactly mine?
There's nothing bad about this; it's pretty common, especially for advanced graduate courses. You don't have to be secretive about it. But here are a few things to consider.
First, time. As a new ...
- 135k
44
votes
As a new faculty, should I attend students' thesis defense in my department but not in my field?
It's normal to advertise PhD defenses broadly in some systems; in many cases defenses are open to the public (at least in part; detailed questioning by the committee is often separate), but as in just ...
- 135k
35
votes
The assistant professor doesn't answer e-mails
15 days ago was the weekend before Christmas, 5 days ago was new years day. I am not surprised the assistant hasn't answered: my university is closed till Monday. Since I have children and the school ...
- 46.7k
34
votes
Academic progression in Germany, what happens after a postdoc? What is the next step?
I was told that there isn't really a step up from postdoc (like an assistant professor) until you get a professorship (for which you have to do habilitation among other things).
In Germany, there is ...
- 26.1k
34
votes
Accepted
When and how to leave a faculty position for a new department/university or industry
I think Steve Jobs got it right in his Stanford commencement address when he advised that to do great work, you must do what you love and that if you haven't found it, you must keep looking. To his ...
- 31.3k
32
votes
How to survive in the academic world: focus entirely on top-tier results, or spend effort on lower-tier results to boost h-index?
There are two separate points here.
First:
However, based on their criteria, it seems that I have already been eliminated from consideration before the committee has even reviewed my resume.
It may ...
- 28.5k
30
votes
Accepted
Can I call myself an assistant professor without a PhD?
the position is called "Assistant Professor"
If you hold an appointment as an assistant professor, then you are an assistant professor. Still, I understand your concern....
kinda makes no sense ...
- 73.4k
27
votes
Accepted
Is it possible to get a professor position without having had any fellowships in grad school?
There's no way that you are going to be disqualified from faculty positions by not having a graduate student fellowship. There's no "has a fellowship" checkbox on rubric that search committees use.
...
- 12.9k
23
votes
Co-authors not willing to publish after rejection. May I drop them?
It depends what the co-authors did. If they were involved in the work they should normally be authors of the paper. I think the important questions you need to answer are:
What exactly do you mean by ...
- 10.4k
23
votes
Accepted
Instructor to assistant professor transition
As a general principle, ceteris paribus, if you have the choice between offers of an instructor position at an elite institution versus a tenure-track position at a non-elite institution, I would ...
- 73k
22
votes
Accepted
Emailing HOD to enhance faculty application
To stand out from the rest of the applicants and to bring to attention the application to the head of the department (HOD), would emailing the HOD enhance my application or would it affect it ...
- 138k
21
votes
How can I quickly prepare an application for a tenure-track assistant-professor position?
For context, let me first answer a question raised by RoboKaren in one of the comments:
Once you have three or four applications filed at different types of schools (research university vs. small ...
- 138k
21
votes
Accepted
For a new assistant professor in CS, how to build/manage a publication pipeline
Here two pieces of advice:
As a mid/long term perspective you should build a large network with
bright people. In the beginning talk to as many as possible. Tell
them about your ideas and ask them ...
- 9,829
20
votes
Accepted
Does it make sense to apply for assistant professorship positions before Ph.D. graduation?
Most people apply for positions while still students. That is normal. The "date of hire" could mean various things, depending on the institution. Don't worry too much about it, and apply. If ...
- 399k
20
votes
Accepted
Is it appropriate to apply for an assistant professor job in the same department where I just started my postdoc?
A reasonable and supportive supervisor would have no trouble with this. You need to have a chat with them to see how disruptive it would be, but, I assume, that any permanent position wouldn't start ...
- 399k
20
votes
Research Faculty with no salary
I think you should move on and find other jobs. Your supervisor does not seem very considerate of your visa situation. I would not trust his long-term plans if he is unable to solve the short-term ...
- 420
18
votes
Applying for both assistant and associate professor position at the same university
First of all, are you sure you have a clear idea on the distinction between an assistant professor and an associate professor at a US institution, and in particular at this US institution?
The ...
- 132k
18
votes
How to survive in the academic world: focus entirely on top-tier results, or spend effort on lower-tier results to boost h-index?
First of, realize that you are currently drawing a lot of conclusions from a single data point. In this one specific job search the committee valued the number of publications and h-index higher than ...
- 138k
18
votes
Accepted
Would several years of appointment as a lecturer hurt you when you decide to go for a tenure-track position later on?
Also, how manageable is it actually to do a lecturer while doing your own research, e.g. collaborating with your former postdoc labs or getting a research grant?
This is the question that is ...
- 135k
17
votes
Is it a bad sign? Search committee did not ever reach out to references, even before and after campus visit
Hiring practices can vary widely by departments. In my experience hiring in industry, generally no news is good news. Though a bit of a tautology, the idea that "you are not rejected until they ...
- 1,629
17
votes
US Assistant Prof salary negotiation with counter offer before going up for tenure
In a negotiation, never use a threat if you can't make hard. Certainly if you have much to lose.
- 2,479
17
votes
Accepted
Do US universities invite faculty applicants from outside the US for an interview?
My university and other R1 universities will regularly fly in job candidates from overseas for an interview. I’ve never heard of this being a problem. There are maybe occasional unique situations ...
- 202k
17
votes
Should research statements be renamed to match each university's specific terminology?
Ideally, you should not just be renaming the documents but customising the statements for each application. The easier you make it for each selection committee to see that you are a good fit for the ...
- 11.9k
16
votes
Accepted
Making sense of U.S. assist. prof. salaries: gross vs. net, 9 vs. 12 months
In the United States, the "academic year" consists of the 9 months that comprise the fall and spring semesters. This is the period during which you are formally employed by the university and receive ...
- 105k
16
votes
Can I call myself an assistant professor without a PhD?
Academic titles are not something you award yourself. In the US, Assistant Professor has a specific meaning and is assigned by a university. Other places it may have no meaning at all.
But, I think ...
- 399k
16
votes
At what point is someone considered too old (in terms of experience) for an Assistant Professor position?
No sane committee is ever going to turn down a candidate solely for being 'too experienced', and it is rarely meaningful to reduce someone's CV and accumulated experience to just a few numbers. ...
- 21.7k
16
votes
Research Faculty with no salary
This is for sure an awkward position you find yourself in. I'm not sure any of us can provide any useful feedback; I see nothing inherently incorrect in your description of the situation. At many ...
- 105k
16
votes
Would several years of appointment as a lecturer hurt you when you decide to go for a tenure-track position later on?
I largely agree with Bryan's answer, but because he mentions not being sure if things would be different at a more teaching-oriented place, I wanted to chime in. I'm a professor at a liberal arts ...
- 8,116
15
votes
Is it possible to get a professor position without having had any fellowships in grad school?
The same restrictions apply to international graduate students, so this won't make you unusual at all. Certainly many international grad students get jobs, so that's proof that it won't put you at a ...
- 33.2k
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