Academic Careers
Many people choose to stay in academia following the completion of their advanced degree. The following should help you to prepare for this field, with information regarding post-doc positions, faculty positions, and non-tenure track positions in academia.
Post-doc positions
Post-doctoral positions are research positions of a fixed length of time and usually serve as a stepping-stone on the way to a tenure-track position. Factors to think about when choosing a post-doc position:
- Career goals – does a post-doc position fit with what you want to do?
- Research area – do you want to diversify or remain in a similar field?
- The principal investigator – how does the PI run the lab and what is his/her reputation?
- The Lab – what are the facilities like? do you like the people?
- Funding – is the research well funded? will you have to secure your own funding?
- Research project – does the proposed project interest you?
Career.edu – international job search board for universities & government research agencies.
PostDocJobs.com includes information about jobs, career tips and work visas.
PhDs.org – helps students prepare for the changing demands of today’s job market.
PhDFusion – created to connect PhDs & offer career info based on needs & interests.
Faculty positions
Deciding to start your search for a faculty position requires a lot of preparation (e.g., CV, teaching portfolios, letters of recommendation, time budgeted for attending interviews, paying up-front for travel, etc.) and often happens during the last year of your dissertation.
Helpful articles:
Getting an academic job by Michael Ernst
The hiring process from the other side from the UC Berkley Career Center
Non-tenure track in academia
Adjunct and part-time teaching is another avenue worth exploring which can include teaching or working at a community or two-year college and working in administration.
Adjunct and Part-Time Teaching
Adjunct and part-time teaching suits many people for different reasons; it may be to balance administrative work with teaching or gain teaching experience before going tenure track. Some people love teaching, therefore, this gives them the greatest opportunity to fulfill their passion. There are a number of issues to remember including the disparity in salary and benefits between adjunct/part-time teachers and their tenure-track counterparts.
Why I like being a contract faculty member
Finding useful adjunct jobs
Adjunctopia
Community and Two-Year Colleges
In contrast to the grant-writing, paper-publishing world of the tenure-track position, many people prefer to work in community and two year colleges. The emphasis at these institutions is more on teaching and less on publishing; the setting is generally smaller and more intimate. If you intend to follow this path, ensure that you emphasize your teaching experience in your application packet.
Not what I had in mind
Community College Week
Community College Jobs
American Association of Community Colleges
Careers in Administration
There are many jobs on a campus that you may not have considered, but that may be of interest, including fund-raising, admissions, career services, and student affairs, to mention a few.
Information about administrative jobs in academia