Applying to jobs without advisor's consent?

Applying to jobs without advisor's consent?

gradstudent8349 (guest) 30 Aug 2012 18:16

I am in my final year of graduate school and am exploring my options for next year. Basically I am shooting for a post doc or a position at a teaching-oriented institution because my publication record is not yet strong enough for a position at research institutions or highly selective SLACs. My advisor basically thinks I should do a post doc. I am not opposed, but I would like to explore my options since I have a geographical restriction.

Additionally, I have really enjoyed my teaching experiences but my advisor does not value teaching. My advisor's views about community colleges have become abundantly clear to me through conversations we have had (they are extremely negative). I am considering applying to some community colleges and am wondering if it is wrong for me to apply without telling my advisor. I have other mentors who could speak to my teaching ability, and I could potentially ask them for recommendations. What do people think about this? Is it too awkward in case my advisor finds out? Should I just bite the bullet and tell my advisor? I am concerned about burning bridges….

LookoutForYourself (guest) 30 Aug 2012 19:12

My degree was from an R1 university and my advisor is well known in the field… though he claimed he was open to whatever path his students chose, he implicitly was hoping to birth little legacies that would go on to other R1 schools. In my last year, I wasn't sure what path I wanted to take (post doc vs. position), so I applied for both… I was also hoping to stay in the geographic area. I was in the fortunate postion to both secure a TT job, but also be offered a prestigous post-doc. For my advisor, the post-doc was the clear choice, but internally, I was very excited about the teaching position. It required sitting my advisor down and telling him about what *I* wanted and reiterate to him that I was not R1-bound. Whether your advisor likes it or not, it's ultimately your desires that should guide your decisions.

That said, if you are eventually hoping to move towards an R1 position, then yes… post-doc should be the clear next step. If there's a dream teaching job, then you need to convey that to your advisor. If there are other faculty in your area, you might consider getting them on board with your decision and they can help facilitate the discussion with your primary advisor. Ultimately, I think it's a bad idea to move forward without at least informing your primary advisor of your decision… you will always need a reference from him/her and you'd eventually have to reveal what you're doing post PhD… which could lead to the burned bridge.

Your future is YOURS, not your advisor's.

asstprof (guest) 30 Aug 2012 20:38

I agree that you need to just talk to your advisor and get other people to talk to him. Does your advisor not realize the current state of the job market? It's simply not feasible for all of his students to go onto R1s. There isn't a faculty member out there who has that kind of record with his/her students in this market. My postdoc advisor comes close and last year all of his students (including former ones on the market) landed jobs, but not every one of them was at an R1. He realized the different needs of the students/postdocs and adapted. And he realized that what did happen with all of us was quite amazing given the state of the market.

The question is also what are your own personal desires? It's probably not a great idea to go to a teaching-oriented school just because you can't get a job elsewhere. You should also care about teaching. If you want a research position you should do a postdoc. Those tend to be plentiful and flexible enough to be available in any major geographic region. If you are sure that a career of teaching is what you want then you absolutely should apply now for such a position. But I would tell your advisor, too….

plentiful... (guest) 30 Aug 2012 21:32

You consider postdocs to be plentiful? I'm curious about what field you are in…

asstprof (guest) 04 Sep 2012 14:43

@ plentiful, good point, I am in cognitive neuroscience. Most areas of psych don't have as many.

plentiful... (guest) 04 Sep 2012 17:03

Haha! I was thinking maybe I had been doing something wrong in my search for postdocs.

gradstudent8349 (guest) 06 Sep 2012 05:16

Thanks for the advice everyone. I am definitely going to have a chat with my advisor in the coming weeks to make it known that I am exploring all of my options - within and outside of academia. It will be interesting to actually hear what my advisor thinks. Somehow I think my advisor will be more understanding of a career outside of academia as opposed to a community college, for which, as mentioned above, my advisor has highly negative views.

In response to a comment above, I would not be applying to a teaching position merely because I am not qualified for an R1 as of yet. I merely mentioned my publication record because applying to R1s is not even an option right now, I would need a post doc in order to pursue that route. As I mentioned though, I love teaching, and in fact, it gives me much more satisfaction than research. I like research too, don't get me wrong, but if I had to choose one, I would go with teaching.

I will let you know how my chat goes! Thanks again!