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For the grad students/trainees on the path to prof, in case you need to hear this, there is a big difference between different types of prof positions, and the different types of unis. A thread on one person& #39;s experience at a "PUI". 1/10
I& #39;m an assistant (pre-tenure) prof at a primarily undergraduate institution (PUI). We are paid on hard money 9/12 mos. Our course load is 3-4 classes/semester. Workload balance is supposed to be 40/40/20 teaching/research/service. 2/10
Often we don& #39;t have time in the sem to do all the research/service, so real talk, many of us work off contract when we have time to immerse ourselves. We don& #39;t have typical TAs, and we handle the grading ourselves. Ugrads can assist for credit, but only on limited things. 3/10
We need to apply for research funding like R1s, but usually (with exceptions) smaller awards. We can include some overload/summer pay and course releases in the budget, but on path to tenure, you don& #39;t want too many releases bc you need a record of teaching excellence. 4/10
Our labs are primarily ugrads, and some depts have masters programs. This results in faster turnover than R1s and requires different planning on how projects get done. It also allows us to fulfill our love of mentoring. 5/10
The teaching load and lab makeup makes us less/not competitive for some grants. But there are other grants specific to PUI institutions that have better paylines. 6/10
Our priority is mentoring, teaching, and inclusiveness. Therefore people who have demonstrated these purposes are those who get hired and are successful at PUIs. PUIs are not a fallback for R1s. Your app won& #39;t be successful if you treat it that way. 7/10
But, we get to have so much direct contact with some of the most amazing, eager, humble, hard working students you can meet. Your colleagues are there with the purpose to mentor and teach. You get to witness the first time students get to realize their full potential. 8/10
While we& #39;re often tired, overworked, anxious, and struggle balancing it all, I wouldn& #39;t trade this job for the world. My colleagues make me want to go to work every day. In ten years those students will still make me want to get up every morning and be there for them. 9/10
Note: this is one person& #39;s not-all-inclusive perspective. Diff institutions vary, and I can& #39;t speak on others& #39;. I welcome questions and others to chime in with their experience. There are many diff envirs in academia, and trainees will benefit to hear about all of them. 10/10
This is an important point; thank you for sharing! https://twitter.com/theoreticalfun/status/1308590159298953217">https://twitter.com/theoretic...
