Considering an Academic Career In Science and Engineering Future Faculty Seminar April 17, 2007

1. Considering an Academic Career In Science and Engineering Future Faculty Seminar April 17, 2007 CS 400 Richard M. Reis Reis@stanford.edu

2. Introduction and Brief Overview • Why Tomorrow’s Professor? • The academic enterprise • The Three-Way Stretch preparation strategy • Finding, and getting, the best possible academic position • Work-life balance • Tomorrow’s Professor mailing list

3. Why Tomorrow’s Professor? • Lack of understanding of the academic enterprise. • Decisions for and against academic careers made for the wrong (as well as the right) reasons. • More to preparing for an academic career than getting a Ph.D. • More to succeeding in an academic career than teaching and research.

4. The Academic EnterpriseWhat You Don't Know Can Surprise (and Bite) You A Consequential decision Unlike any other institution Differences among institutions Comparisons across the disciplines

5. The Academic EnterpriseA Consequential Decision • Long-term commitment • Limited options within a given geographic region • Dual-career considerations

6. The Academic EnterpriseUnlike an Other Institution • Individual autonomy • Accountability • Rewards and recognition • Tenure

7. The Academic EnterpriseDifferences Across Institutions • Baccalaureate ~630 • Master’s Granting ~530 • Doctorate ~110 • Research ~125

8. The Academic EnterpriseComparisons Across the Disciplines • Funding sources • Faculty offsets • Research costs • Size of research programs • Collaboration • Teaching commitments

9. The Three-Way Stretch Preparation Strategy Why you need a strategy Elements of a successful strategy Applying the strategy

10. The Three-Way Stretch Preparation Strategy Elements of a Successful Strategy • Breadth-on-top-of depth • Next-stage • Multiple option

11. The Three-Way Stretch Preparation StrategyBreadth-on-Top-of-Depth Places your developing expertise in a broad context, allows you to see connections between your work and that of others, to develop related areas of depth, and to make a more compelling case for your own contribution.

12. The Three-Way Stretch Preparation StrategyNext -Stage Enables you to think ahead, look ahead, and act ahead of the stage you (and your future competition) currently occupy and thus not only demonstrate your willingness, but also your readiness, to assume the position you are seeking.

13. The Three-Way Stretch Preparation StrategyMultiple Options Allows you to prepare concurrently for careers in academia, government, and industry.

14. Finding and Getting the Best Possible Academic Position • Identifying the possibilities • Applying for positions • What departments look for in new faculty • Getting the results you want

15. Finding and Getting the Best Possible Academic PositionIdentifying the Possibilities • Explore Now, Search Later • Deciding What You Want • Researching What’s Out There • Preparing for the Search

16. Finding and Getting the Best Possible Academic PositionApplying for Positions • Preparing Your Application Materials • The Application Process

17. Finding and Getting the Best Possible Academic PositionWhat Departments Look for in New Faculty • Overall promise • General teaching ability,ability to teach courses in need of staffing • Ability to do research, scholarship in specific areas, a specific research orientation • Compatibility with department and institution • Potential for securing external research funding

18. Finding and Getting the Best Possible Academic PositionGetting the Results You Want • Your Negotiating Approach • Negotiating Principles • Dual-Career Couples • What if You Don’t Get the Job You Want?

19. Finding and Getting the Best Possible Academic PositionYour Negotiating Approach • The shift from seeking an offer to having received an offer • The department chair’s legacy • The department’s investment in your success

20. Finding and Getting the Best Possible Academic PositionNegotiating Principles Make sure you have an offer. Know what you want - and what you don’t want. Clearly communicate what you want - but only to the right people.

21. Finding and Getting the Best Possible Academic PositionNegotiating Principles 4. Always try to use your work quality or productivity as the rationale in your negotiations - align your goals with those of your employer. 5. Make requests in an informational manner rather than in a controlling manner.

22. Finding and Getting the Best Possible Academic PositionNegotiating Principles 6. Negotiate hard on things that are "out of bounds," negotiate more gently on things that are "in bounds.” 7. Learn about the tenure process, but don't get hung up on it. 8. Start as high as you can in institutional prestige.

23. Finding and Getting the Best Possible Academic PositionNegotiating Principles 9. Get as high a starting salary as you can, but be realistic. 10. Create options and keep as many open for as long as you can 11. In making a decision, combine logic and emotion.

24. Work-Life Balance Seven – Not so Obvious - Keys to Surviving and Thriving in Academia

25. Work-Life Balance The Academics Dilemma “As a graduate student my prevailing thought was 'If I can just find a good problem,' or 'If I can just find a way to prove this conjecture.' As an assistant professor, my prevailing thought was, 'If I can just find the time!’” Terri Lindquester, associate professor of mathematics, Rhodes College.

26. Work-Life Balance Key #1 Learn how to say YES as well as NO It’s easier to say no to unwanted tasks if you’ve already committed to something you do want to do.

27. Work-Life Balance Key #2 Establish your ABSENCE as well as your PRESENCE Set a schedule for being physically elsewhere and unavailable, and stick to it.

28. Work-Life Balance Key #3 Do a LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING as well as ALL OF ONE THING Master the art of multitasking.

29. Work-Life Balance Key #4 Determine your TASKS as well as your PRIORITIES Many activities, small and large, are the steps that lead to your goal.

30. Work-Life Balance Key #5 Work until your TIME IS UP as well as until your TASK IS DONE Approach every task with the goal of making progress during a specific amount of time, then move on to the next task to maintain forward momentum.

31. Work-Life Balance Key #6 Bring some of your HOME TO WORK well as some of your WORK TO HOME You live in both worlds; look for ways to bring them together

32. Work-Life Balance Key #7 Seek to INTEGRATE YOUR PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL ACTIVITIES as well as to SEPARATE WORK AND PLAY Doing so can maximize your effectiveness and satisfaction in both spheres.

33. Tomorrow’s Professor’s Mailing List Tomorrow’s Professor Mailing List is sent bi- weekly to over 25,000 subscribers, mostly graduate students, postdocs and beginning faculty at over 650 colleges and universities in over 100 countries around the world. Academia * New Faculty Reward Structures * Faculty Learning and Institutional Change

34. Tomorrow’s Professor’s Mailing List Preparing for Academic Careers * The Academic Job Talk. * General Principles For Responding to Academic Job Offers Managing Your Academic Career * Tenure Tips * Twelve Suggestions for Optimizing Academic Career Success

35. Tomorrow’s Professor’s Mailing List Teaching and Learning * Improving Student Learning While Saving Faculty Time * How Students Learn, How Teachers Teach, and What Goes Wrong With the Process Research * Elements Found in Most Successful Proposals * How Graduate Students and Faculty Miss Communicate

36. Tomorrow’s Professor’s Mailing List NOTE: Anyone can SUBSCRIBE to the Tomorrows-Professor Mailing List by going to: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/tomorrows-professor Or send e-mail to: Reis@stanford.edu