Transitioning from Grad Student to Assistant Prof The Biggest Career Jump of Your Life!

Transitioning from Grad Student to Assistant ProfThe Biggest Career Jump of Your Life! Jessica L. Tracy University of British Columbia

So, you got the job. Congrats! Now what?

The Biggest Career Jump of Your Life • Before you get to the new university • Information gathering • Rough planning • Teaching Prep • Once you arrive • Setting up your office & lab • What to do about Grad Students? • Becoming an Assistant Professor • Your colleagues • Independence • Other things that change (or should)

The Biggest Career Jump of Your Life • Before you get to the new university • Information gathering

Information Gathering • The job • When does it start (and when do you need to get there)? • Teaching: grad or undergrad or both? • Reduced load? If so, which term (be strategic– will return to this later) • Start up funds- how much? • Are you expected to take grad students right away? (find out what other new faculty do) • Lab space- how much? where? Does it come with equipment or furniture?

Information Gathering • Nitty Gritty Logistics • How do you get building keys? • How do you get an email account? • Where do you park your car? • Do you drive or take public transportation (or bike/swim/run)? • Etc. etc. • Who to ask? • Friendly junior faculty (someone you bonded with in the interview) • Dept. Staff! Dept. manager, IT person, other admin folks

The Biggest Career Jump of Your Life • Before you get to the new university • Information gathering • Rough planning

Rough Planning • Think about your goals for the first year • Set up your office • Set up your lab space • Finish up ongoing projects/ write up dissertation for publication • Hire a lab manager? • Recruit a grad student? • Begin a particular project? • Write a grant? • Remember that you don’t have to do everything Year 1! • Everyone knows this is a big time of transition

The Biggest Career Jump of Your Life • Before you get to the new university • Information gathering • Rough planning • Teaching Prep

Teaching Prep: Undergrad courses • Organize your course load efficiently • If you have a reduced load, strategize about when to take the reduction • First term reduction • More time for lab set up and getting settled • Second term reduction • More time for research once your lab is set up • Teaching helps you get in professorial mental space, good to do right away • Meet undergrads (to recruit to your lab) right away

Teaching Prep: Grad courses • Think about whether and when to teach a grad course • Pros & cons of teaching a grad course your first year (or term) • Get to know grads right away, start collaborations • Grads know how the dept. works, can be a great source of information • But, teaching a grad course is very different from taking a grad course- beware!

Teaching Prep • PREP YOUR COURSES! • Can you teach a course while you are still a grad student or post-doc? • Course prep is the single most time-sucking thing new asst. profs do. If you can get some of it out of the way before you start your job, your life will be abundantly easier!

The Biggest Career Jump of Your Life • Before you get to the new university • Information gathering • Rough planning • Teaching Prep • Once you arrive • Setting up your office & lab

Setting up Your Office and Lab • Plan out lab space • Buy furniture • Decide whether to go with the university store, or take a cheaper route (Ikea/Staples/etc.) • Can you hire some of this out (to a lab manager or RA?) • Think about timing (and your colleagues’ perceptions) • Office should be set up to at least being work-able by the time the term starts • Lab will take longer, but ideally operational (at least bare min.) within a month or two

Setting up your Office and Lab • Hiring a Lab Manager • If you can afford it, even part time (e.g., 5-10 hrs/week), it’s worth it! • They can set up your lab, buy equipment, help you set up a website, and run studies before you get grad students • Recruit from student and recent student pool, and ask your colleagues • Look for: good grades, strong interview • Make sure they seem excited about the job, socially competent, and conscientious

The Biggest Career Jump of Your Life • Before you get to the new university • Information gathering • Rough planning • Teaching Prep • Once you arrive • Setting up your office & lab • What to do about Grad Students?

What to do about Grad Students? • Should you take a student your first year? • Pros • You have a (junior) teammate right away • Helpful in getting research going, lab set up, etc. (especially if you can’t afford a lab manager) • Cons • Do you feel ready to be a mentor? • There will be someone who NEEDS you and is depending on you • You must worry not only about your own accomplishments/ productivity, but also someone else’s (which also reflect directly on you)

The Biggest Career Jump of Your Life • Before you get to the new university • Information gathering • Rough planning • Teaching Prep • Once you arrive • Setting up your office & lab • What to do about Grad Students? • Becoming an Assistant Professor • Your colleagues

Your Colleagues • What to ask for • Read papers/grants (selectively) • Chat about research over coffee • Issues with grad students • Advice about professional issues • Advice about teaching • Direct mentorship • In some dept.s, you will be assigned a senior colleague mentor • If you’re not, you can still find an informal mentor or 2– pick the person who asks you to coffee/lunch, who really wanted you during the interview, or who is just really nice/friendly

Your Colleagues • The colleague-colleague social relationship • Remember that you are no longer a student; you don’t have to constantly impress the profs • And, yet, you will often be in social situations that feel purely ‘social’, yet you find yourself still wanting to impress your senior colleagues • Early on, you may find yourself being the one who asks more of the relationship, but eventually this will change

Your Colleagues • Starting collaborations • Approach colleagues with an idea, based on something of theirs you’ve read • Student project, or shared student project • Offer to do more, take on more • Don’t stress about it! • If it happens, great– and eventually, it will • But no need to force it. Better to chat about shared research interests casually and be someone who’s fun to talk to than to have a specific goal in mind

Independence • How much to continue working with your grad/post-doc adviser(s)? • Opinions differ, but most accurate for YOU will be from senior colleagues at your new institute • Remember, though, you can still use your former advisor as a source of advice! • Authorship decisions • When co-authoring with students vs. colleagues vs. former mentors

Other things that change (or should) • Your role in colloquia/ brownbags • Being a good departmental citizen • Committee membership – try to join committees that genuinely interest you • Saying yes vs. no to the Dept. chair • Showing you care about the dept. • Your relationships with grad students

What else? Q & A • Should you stop starting new projects in grad school after you take the job? • How to protect your time for writing/research?

Transitioning from Grad Student to Assistant Prof The Biggest Career Jump of Your Life!