Professor Mamas in 2009 - Page 7

[justKate]

Hi Professor Mamas, sorry to crash your thread. We're moving this summer because of my husband's job, and I'm interested in applying for adjunct or lecturer positions at a couple of small schools or community colleges. Right now I'm a prosecutor in FL, and I have very little teaching experience--some instruction to law enforcement and 6 months as a substitute teacher in the public school system. Can you gals offer me any advice as to what should be included in my cover letter/letter of interest? TIA!

[kerc]

Just Kate - sorry I missed your post a month ago now. One of the best things you can do is directly call the dean. Include in your cover letter examples of your teaching experience and be as specific as you can. Our local cc tends to hire lots of folks with non traditional teaching experience for fields like nursing, massage therapy, fire squad, etc. There just aren't as many people who tend to go from well-paying science jobs and opt for cc teaching.

I'm conflicted. I'm on summer break, with a paper to finish this summer (but my advisor and coauthor is on maternity leave so I'm in a holding pattern. OK but still I'd like to move forward on it).

Yesterday I saw a job posting for a job I'd love, but it's not tenure track. It's renewable. For a (well-respected) state school in the state with the worst economy in the nation. It would start in August (I think). I'm supposed to go back to teaching at our local liberal arts branch of a massive state university system, where hopefully they will be searching for a geologist on a tenure track basis this year and hopefully I would be the person they hire. No guarantee on either end.

: Last day of school (err, kindergarten that is), dh left to grade AP exams today, and dh also got a call last night for references for an out of town job in academia :. Today they called and wanted him to do a phone interview. I'm totally conflicted. If this had happened about 3 years ago I would have felt better, but I'm selfish and don't want to give up my current locale in favor of Fort Levinworth, KS.

I think I've decided the thing for me to do is keep my status quo, but the other sounds so dang appealing (it's in one of my favorite spots in the world). I think I'm not going to apply for it even, just so I don't have to make a decision. And then if dh gets his job, I'll stay here with kids so that we can hope the tenure track thing works out. If not, we move to flatlandia again. Blech. (By the way my only view of the entire state of Kansas has been I-70, and I viewed it as in the way of getting to Colorado. I'm sure it could be an ok place to live but there's fewer trees and fewer skiing options).

[stefka]

Kristen, any chance California is your favorite place (I'm just guessing since I'd say we're home to the worst economy in the nation at the moment...)? If so, feel free to pm me before you decide whether or not to apply for the position. I'm tenure-track in the CSU system and still somewhat affiliated with the UC system. I'd be happy to share the good, the bad, the really bad, the insolvent, etc. from my vantage point. If I've got the state wrong, sorry (and really sorry for any state that's in worse shape than ours)!

[kerc]

No Stefka, California is not the most favorite place. I think everyone says Michigan has the worst economy.

[stefka]

Oh, yeah, Michigan might actually be in worse shape than us (although given the doom and gloom around here, that's hard to envision). Great schools there, though. At any rate, good luck with your decision.

[KalamazooMom]

Yes, higher ed here in the Great Lake state, is not in great shape. Hiring is pretty much nonexistent here and I think pretty much all the state schools are in the same shape we are. UM and MSU may be slightly better off. But I think the only faculty positions getting posted are term appointments because those people are easier to let go if you have to. It would be a risky time to move to MI. On the plus side you can get a GREAT deal on a house pretty much anywhere.

[emilysmama]

Don't lose hope. Academic hiring in Michigan is not nearly as bad as you'd think

Hi there. Now the top tier research universities might be different, but here at Regional State University in the middle part of the Lower Peninsula, the job market looks far from bleak. I just hired a full-time tenure track faculty, and a whole bunch of departments in my university also hired a bunch of tenure track faculty. Most of the universities across the countries have hiring freezes, but we are actively hiring. (Sorry, we don't have a geology department.)

Although the national news coverage about the MI economy is pretty bleak, for higher ed, it's not nearly that bad. Part of it is because the state gives very little money to the universities, so the way our administrators see it, anything that Lansing cuts is not going to have a big impact. I think a big part of it is because here at Regional State University, we have the lowest tuition in the state, so our enrollment and enrollment at community colleges is actually record-breaking because many people are going back to school for retraining in these uncertain times.

So don't lose hope!

[emilysmama]

Hi JustKate!

I hire adjuncts, although not in your discipline, but in the sciences.

In addition to calling the dean, I would email your cover letter and resume to the department chair. (I guess that would be the Criminal Justice Department?) As the chair, I'm the one who does the hiring, but my dean never tells me about the resumes or phone calls that he gets from people who would like to teach for my department. So I would suggest contacting the chair directly so that the chair can at least have your resume in his/her file.

Go ahead and put your teaching experience in your resume. Anything at all like what you have will help, even if it is not teaching in an actual college classroom. After all, everyone has to start somewhere. With all of your practical experience from work, I would think that would far outweigh your limited teaching experience.

Oh yes, and in your email to the chair, offer to set up an appointment at his/her convenience so that you can come in to meet with him/her to talk about future teaching possibilities. I like to invite such people to come to the university and meet a couple of the faculty for an informal face-to-face for about an hour. I am more likely to hire such a person because just an informal meeting like that gives me enough information to figure out if she would make a promising instructor. I don't think I would call it as formal as a job interview. Just a way to become familiar with the department.

Anyway, that's the way that I do it. Other schools might be different.

[rock_dr]

hmm, page 4... must be summer!
just checking in to see how everyone is doing. are all the geo's off doing fieldwork? summer classes going ok for those teaching right now?

news with me is that I got my final tenure letter and a bfp all in the last month. woot!

[kerc]

Originally Posted by rock_dr

news with me is that i got my final tenure letter and a bfp all in the last month. Woot!

woot!

[Geofizz]

Congrats twice over!

I don't do field work. I'm putting in a CAREER next month, so I'm chained to my desk writing BS about geophysics education.

[maddymama]

Originally Posted by rock_dr

hmm, page 4... must be summer!
just checking in to see how everyone is doing. are all the geo's off doing fieldwork? summer classes going ok for those teaching right now?

news with me is that I got my final tenure letter and a bfp all in the last month. woot!

Congratulations on both wonderful events!!!!!!!!!!!
~maddymama

[kaybee]

Originally Posted by rock_dr

hmm, page 4... must be summer!
just checking in to see how everyone is doing. are all the geo's off doing fieldwork? summer classes going ok for those teaching right now?

news with me is that I got my final tenure letter and a bfp all in the last month. woot!

Congrats!

I'm mostly in the office right now (and since nobody else in my dept is, it's a productive place to be) with local field work going on in the background. It's getting harder to work inside though since summer finally started this week and it's beautiful outside. August is my field month - 4 weeks away from the kids - ouch!

Good luck with the CAREER grant Geo!

[namaste_mom]

Congrats CJ!!!! on both accounts. I'm very happy for you. Our mutual friend in my department is expecting in September. and Tenure too! Wow!!

Geo- good luck on the CAREER. I submitted one once but did not resubmit it.

I've been out in the field. I've only be home 2 weeks since APril 11. Busy Busy Busy.

Does anyone know how to get motivated for the summer?

[rcr]

I am out of the country doing research with my LO for the summer. It has not been easy to deal with DS and do research at the same time, but I think that it is a wonderful experience for both of us. This is the most time I have spent with him since I was on Mat. leave.

As for motivation for summer - I keep reminding myself that I go up for tenure in just 2 more years, and I will be able to take it easy(easier) after that.

[Sleepymama]

Long time no...uh...post! I'm working on an article about academic moms with special needs kids & looking to hear anecdotal stories--if you or someone you know has a special needs child at any stage of the academic career, or especially anyone who has left an academic career to care for a special needs child and would like to share, please let me know by PM. I hope everyone here is having an excellent summer of rest and research!

[namaste_mom]

Who's ready for the Fall Semester to begin!!! (those of us on the semester system)

[Realrellim]

I'm ready and we began today. I have three online music appreciation classes. I was offered a fourth class--an evening world music class I used to teach, but had to turn it down. I love the class, but I'm just too sick with 1st tri stuff to have the energy to handle that class twice a week. I taught through part of 1st tri when pregnant with DD and it stunk.

OTOH, from what I heard about how they covered the class this semester, I think they might offer it to me in the spring. I did teach that class during my last trimester last time and I was tired but it was ok. They'll just need a sub come April. Anyhow, I'm really happy to have a decent class load this semester--and a manageable one while I get through the next 6 (or 12 or 16) weeks.

[kerc]

I'm *almost* ready to go back. It helps that my dh effectively lost his local teaching gig and is now down to ~25% time. So we told our dear, beloved dcp that we wouldn't be back, we're tightening the wallet again and dh is looking for work. That makes the bittersweet-ness of me returning to work better: we need the money. I've enjoyed my vacation immensely. I have two weeks yet and have a little writing, a little lab work and a lot of class prep to do. DH is OOT today so I've got just one more day....

Kaybee is out of the country on a research trip. Her kids/spouse are missing her enough, but they are surviving. We have a standing evening playdate/happy hour with them on Mondays and last night had a lovely picnic at the nature center. Her oldest and my oldest were in school together last year and get along so well, most of the time. I'm so pleased that my dd can have friends who are boys, at age 6. Let's hope it continues.

[slsurface]

Hi! I guess I belong here now. I finished my PhD this May and I have an adjunct position for this fall. I'm actually looking forward to my two classes, it's been a couple years since I last taught. I was working in the government sector, but lost my job last spring. I am hoping that the PT teaching schedule will give me the time to continue writing up some of my own research and get it published.