Where should I apply as a teaching faculty to climb long term?
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Hey all! I'm about to graduate from the University of Arizona with a doctorate in chemical and environmental engineering (focusing on engineering education). I'd like to start applying to colleges as a teaching faculty in the near future - but only want to apply to colleges that have good climbing nearby. I've got a few of the good locations down - Tucson, AZ (UofA), Lexington, KY (UK), SLC, (UofU) and Las Vegas (UNLV). Any other suggestions out there? I'd like to split time between teaching and climbing! |
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UNR. You got plenty of good climbing close and a ton of options within a short trips distance. |
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does the location really matter that much given your desired profession? If you are purely teaching you'll be getting winter break+ spring break + summers off... My guess is that you'll be more happy at a good institution with okay climbing than a bad institution with great climbing.... especially if, as you get older, your passion for climbing wanes at all. |
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You'll have summers/holidays off, pick a good town to live in with a gym among the offers you get. |
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Come to Flagstaff and work for NAU. We have excellent outdoor climbing. |
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U of U |
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Look into university of Wyoming. |
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I hate to burst your bubble - but you are probably not going to as much time to climb as you think. Given the research and publication requirements, those summer and winter breaks get eaten up pretty quickly. Things may die down after you get tenure, but that takes a while. I'll put in a plug for Idaho State University if applicable departments are hiring. Pocatello is a perfect spot. 45 minutes from Massacre Rocks, under 2 hours to Castle Rocks and City of Rocks. The Tetons aren't far away/ However, the nearest Target is 50 miles to the north and the nearest Trader Joe's and Whole Foods are 2 1/2 hours in Salt Lake. |
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Some of the universities you are considering are not teaching colleges. Research schools will definitely have interest in you as an adjunct, lecturer/instructor, but converting these positions into something more permanent may be challenging. Look for smaller private colleges, they usually are more interested in teaching than research. |
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I definitely second looking at smaller 4-year schools if teaching will be your focus. Here in Boise, non TT adjunct get $3k per class per semester, it wasn't much more at CU in Boulder when I was there. Given lecturing, office hours, grading, and admin, that's a hell of a lot of work for $3-4k. |
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Check out Colorado of School of Mines and CU-Boulder. Both top-20 ChemE schools with climbing 15-20 minutes away. I have a colleague who is an Instructor in ChemE and he has plenty of time to do really cool trips in the summer during the time off (and sufficient pay). |
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As a general rule, "small teaching colleges" expect you to do research and publish in your field of expertise (which can be education), and since teaching loads are relatively high, you will have to use some of that "disposable" time for research if you want to keep your job. You will also be expected to contribute to department and college life, what is called "service," by giving time to various committees. And this is the way it should be; the colleges are interested in people who are dedicated to their students and the institution, not to furthering personal climbing goals. |
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I like how this guy has gotten an education in the field that he wants to pursue and people are lecturing him on what to expect. Is it too hard to assume that he knows he’ll be working a lot, but maybe he wants to be close to climbing to make it easier when he can get out? |
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rgold wrote: As a general rule, "small teaching colleges" expect you to do research and publish in your field of expertise (which can be education), and since teaching loads are relatively high, you will have to use some of that "disposable" time for research if you want to keep your job. You will also be expected to contribute to department and college life, what is called "service," by giving time to various committees. And this is the way it should be; the colleges are interested in people who are dedicated to their students and the institution, not to furthering personal climbing goals. Nice buzz kill. Unfortunately not every person who wants to teach is so enamored with teaching that they are willing live anywhere. Ya go take a position in Florida...your career will be worth it |
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No comment on location. Just a pointer to Chad Orzel, a physicist and blogger from a small school in NY. He's been pretty open about how, until you have tenure, you're pretty much not doing anything except teaching or research, and that's *at* one of these magical teaching schools where research is not as demanding as, say, Stanford. Many people have corroborated his accounts, but bon chance! |
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mediocre wrote: I like how this guy has gotten an education in the field that he wants to pursue and people are lecturing him on what to expect. Is it too hard to assume that he knows he’ll be working a lot, but maybe he wants to be close to climbing to make it easier when he can get out? There is a tremendous amount of variation in how PhD programs prepare their students for the realities of the profession, so a bit of reality-grounding can't possibly be a bad idea. If he already knows all this, no harm is done. In any case, my comments were aimed not only at the OP, but at some of the commenters who might be under faulty illusions. |
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rgold wrote: As a general rule, "small teaching colleges" expect you to do research and publish in your field of expertise (which can be education), and since teaching loads are relatively high, you will have to use some of that "disposable" time for research if you want to keep your job. You will also be expected to contribute to department and college life, what is called "service," by giving time to various committees. And this is the way it should be; the colleges are interested in people who are dedicated to their students and the institution, not to furthering personal climbing goals. rgold is 100% correct. Not to be paranoid, but I would consider deleting this post if you (Byron) are serious about trying to get a FT job in academia. You would definitely not want a hiring committee to see this. Instead of posting on MP, I would talk to advisors and FT faculty in the field about the realities of the academic job market these days. Basically you will be getting a FT job where you can, not where you want, unless you are very very lucky. Yes you can teach PT but this has no guarantee of leading to a FT position and in fact will hamper or eliminate your likelihood of getting a position beyond a 2-year institution. |
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New Mexico has great need for Phds in Chemical Engineering plus great climbing. And zero pressure to publish. |
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BTW - not sure how much you know about #academialife, but the current business model calls for curtailing tenured positions. |
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Señor Arroz wrote: New Mexico has great need for Phds in Chemical Engineering plus great climbing. And zero pressure to publish. Haha! Meanwhile, as far as I can tell from their websites, neither University of New Mexico nor New Mexico State University have any tenure-track engineering jobs available. |
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rgold wrote: You're totally right, and it's obviously your responsibility to do said reality grounding. The only harm done is that you come of sounding condescending and treating the OP like an infant. To be clear though I wasn't specifically referring to you but other comments as well. Why can't we just cut the guy a break and suggest Lower Columbia College in Longview, WA and assume he's done his homework? Funny thing is, I was first annoyed by the thinly veiled excuse for another "where should I move" thread. Unfortunately I couldn't resist the click bait. |