Nick and I are taking advantage of this long weekend because we both have a pretty busy week, although his is busier and more stressful than mine. I won't divulge too much info since I don't know who is reading this but let's just say things are moving on the job front for him. He has 2 phone interviews and a face to face interview. The academic job market works a little different than the regular job market- although both suck equally at this time. While you might expect to hear back from a non-academic employer in a couple of weeks, an academic job search takes months of committee meetings to narrow down the searches which means that you don't hear anything for months after you applied. This long wait and silence does take a toll on your self-esteem b/c you find yourself thinking, "am I ever going to get a job?"....which I guess is where most unemployed people are these days anyhow.
Further, while in a "good" market your competition would be a comparable graduate student, these days the "little" people (like from UCF) are competing with the Harvard grads of the world for the same jobs which makes things a bit more difficult. As I'm writing this, I realize- well the hiring process of an academic job is different but the current circumstances/competition are equally as grim on both ends.
The biggest difference of an academic job search is the interview process. Typically, if you make a short list, there's a phone interview and if you make that cut then you're invited for a face to face interview. The interview itself can last from 1 or 2 days depending on the school. Why so long? Well, you have to meet all of the faculty members, Deans, Provost/President of the school (if it's small), graduate students in the program, as well as do a teaching demonstration and a "job talk" which is where you present your research--- that takes either a very long day or 2 days once you factor lunch/dinner breaks.
So, that's where Nick is at right now. He made the cut from a phone interview and has a face to face interview. As his first academic interview, he is anxious but excited about the learning experience. I think he will do fantastic. He is an amazing teacher and I know his passion will come through at the demonstration---he's actually going to teach to a group students and not faculty (which is awkward).
On my end, I just have to get back into work mode. I am now teaching again (face to face) which I'm really excited about. I'm teaching a gender course- one of my favorites! Last semester I had a pretty sweet schedule and this term it's a bit more hectic. I'm on campus everyday but Fridays which I hope translates into more production but sometimes that means more distractions too. This term I'm preparing for my area exam (specialization) and my dissertation proposal in addition to my last courses. I have a lot of deadlines every week which I'm a little concerned about. I need to be super organized and I'm not there yet so I have to work on that this week.
On the Gavin front-- well this week he gets an extension at Abuela's house since Nick won't be home for a few days. He does not mind this at all. I thought for sure last week he would act different when I dropped him off at my mom's since he'd been with us for 3 weeks straight but instead he said "bye, momma". I had to ask for a hug/kiss, he did happily and waved me good-bye like nothing. It really is easy to leave him at my mom's when I know he is that happy to be there. We're lucky to have her. :)
Today, we went to Epcot again with my mom and it was a blast. We have a "field trip" to Magic Kingdom planned for Friday with my mom and Isabel. We'll see what it's like to take two toddlers to the Magic Kingdom. I think we'll be fine given the 1:1 adult/child ratio! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment