Beginning your Job Search

Photo by "laurot," on the web at http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurot/27407555/

Beginning a job search can be a daunting task. Your first job is to identify the kind of job you are looking for, and you are more likely to get a job you are happy with if you narrow your search (Bolles, 2005, p.112). For that, you need to understand what your choices are. Then you'll be able to choose which jobs to apply for.

Jump down to

Choosing what kinds of jobs to search for,
General information about the job search process,
Links to classified ads, or
Tips from Early Career Geoscience Faculty Workshop Alums

Resources

On choosing what kind(s) of job you will search for

Read about people who have chosen careers in geoscience. These include careers in education, outreach, and public affairs, and at a variety of academic institutions, as well as some completely outside of academia.
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is where terms like "Research-1 University" come from. Learn more about why this classification system was developed and what each category means.
Second Thoughts is a column from the Chronicle of Higher Education detailing a geoscientist's experiences interviewing at a research institution. He discovered that their expected emphasis on research (80 of faculty time) did not match his desired emphasis on teaching.
Matching Your Characteristics to the Institution: This article, on how to choose the type of academic job that will be a good "fit" for you, is from Rick Reis' "Tomorrow's Professor Mailing List."
"Deciding Where and When to Apply," a chapter from the Academic Job Search Handbook, includes an extensive list of questions you may wish to consider, about the type of institution, department, geographic location, and other job characteristics that would best suit your preferences.
"Selecting the Right College," a chapter from Good Start: a Guidebook for New Faculty in Liberal Arts Colleges, discusses several factors you might want to consider in choosing where to work, including geography, institutional mission, student selectivity, and working conditions.
Know Thy Students, by Rob Jenkins, is a delightful description of the diversity of students found on two-year college campuses, and of the challenges and pleasures of teaching them. On a similar note, in It's the Community-College Life for Me, Ellen Olmstead explains why she prefers her community college faculty position to any of the other teaching jobs she's had, including those at four-year colleges and universities.

General information about the job search process in academia

The Academic Job Search Handbook, by Mary Heiberger and Julia Vick, is an invaluable resource, full of advice, information about the job search process, and examples of application materials.
The Two-Year College Job Search Process. Eric Baer, Professor of Geology at Highline Community College, prepared this overview of what to expect at a community college interview (including an extensive list of interview questions on a variety of topics), for the Preparing for an Academic Career in the Geosciences Workshops.
Anderson, Matt, 2001, So You Want to be a Professor, (Acrobat (PDF) 163kB Oct11 05) Physics Today, v. 54, issue 4, p. 50. Matt describes the process of his recent job search in physics, which ended with him accepting what he describes as "exactly the position I wanted all along," a tenure-track position at San Diego State University.
Landing an Academic Job: the Process and the Pitfalls. (Acrobat (PDF) 77kB Oct19 05) Jonathan Dantzig, chair of the Faculty Recruiting Committee of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, thoroughly describes the process of applying, interviewing, and negotiating for an academic position. He includes a sample job advertisement, along with sample c.v., cover letter, interview itinerary, and offer letter.
Applying for Academic Positions, an article from Rick Reis' "Tomorrow's Professor Listserv." This article describes what search committees are looking for, how to prepare for an interview, and what you can expect during an interview.
How to Get a Tenure-Track Position at a Predominantly Undergraduate Institution, a booklet by the Council for Undergraduate Research (CUR), describes "what a job at a PUI is like, how to prepare yourself for such a position during graduate school and in your postdoctoral years, preparing the application itself, details of the interview process, and negotiating the contract."
The MentorNet E-Forum: this web-based discussion group sometimes focuses on the job search process. MentorNet is devoted to the "retention and success of those in engineering, science and mathematics, particularly but not exclusively women and other underrepresented groups."

Nationally advertised academic job listings in the geosciences

Classified ads from Geotimes, on the American Geological Institute website
Classified ads from GSA Today, on the Geological Society of America website
Login to AGU online to see the classified ads from Eos. (You have to be a member of AGU to get access; you can become a student member for 2006 for $7. Alternatively, borrow a paper copy of Eos from a friend.)
Geology and Earth Science listings on HigherEdJobs.com. These are arranged from newest to oldest.
Classified ads on the American Meteorological Society website. The AMS Career Center also allows you to post your resume on line, or to set up email notification for job listings that match your criteria.
Classified ads on the Advancing the Science of Limnology and Oceanography website. This job board includes advertisements for faculty, graduate student, post-doc, and non-academic positions.
Classified ads from Earthworks, an online listing of academic positions in geoscience, worldwide. You may find it more practical to search their main page by discipline, if you don't mind sifting through non-academic positions.
The Chronicle of Higher Education searchable online database of advertised positions

Tips from Early Career Geoscience Faculty Workshop Alums

In addition to looking in the ads, talk to many colleagues. They may know of a position that is open or that will open soon. Look early and often to see what the trend in your field is.

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