Academic Job Update

Lots to report. The dissertation is in to the committee, so I will have one more (probably grueling) round of edits after I get it back and then on to the defense. The interview in DC went well. I had another one today where they want me to teach 4 different classes each semester, which means all my time will be spent developing courses and grading papers. I interviewed well over the phone...but I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to let this one go on by if they offer it to me.

The first year after your degree is almost as important as your entire grad school experience. Here, you have to prove that you can be a productive scholar (i.e. publish articles and make headway on a book), and balance that with teaching. If all I was doing was preparing courses and grading, I would have way less time to do my own stuff and, since this job is a one-year gig, I would also have to spend a good deal of the fall applying for jobs....so I don't think this job is for me.

On the upside, they have given me one class here for the fall, with the possibility of another, and I also have an interview for a student affairs job next Wednesday. So, unless the DC interview comes through, it is looking like I am here for one more year.