I think that I get asked this question demonstrates the bias that academia has towards Tier-1 research institutions. I don't mean that professors in those places don't get asked why did they choose their profession, but that question is always posed in terms of being a professor versus being some other professional. Whereas for me, the question is posed in terms of why a professor of SLAC versus a professor at Research U? No one ever asks a professor at Research U, "Have you ever considered a being a professor at a SLAC instead? Why didn't you go for that type of position?"
Tenure-track positions at Tier-1 research universities are rarer than tenure-track positions at non-Tier-1 research universities. It is far more likely that if you decide to continue on in academia that you'll get a position at a non-Tier-1 institute.
But this isn't the reason why I am at a SLAC. When I was asked why I chose to apply to SLACs, I answered honestly, "It's a personality-environment fit issue." As a student I thrived in these large impersonal institutions, but it didn't appeal to me as a professor. While I love research (and truth be told, I do miss it dearly and wish I could do more of it during the school year), I didn't want the stress of managing a lab and grants. In order to be at a high caliber research institute, you have to really want it -- a fire in the belly as one of professors had put it. I may have had that fire at one point in graduate school, but it went out. I stopped wanting it a long time ago (something my adviser may have realized before I did).
I love teaching. I love the fact that I really get to develop a relationship with my students that go past a single semester. As an undergrad, I rarely had the same professor twice. Here, it's common and expected that I will see my students again and again. I love when I walk around campus, I see my students and they yell out, "Hi, Professor!" And because I know I am going to see them again, I am really driven and motivated to teach the very best that I can because if I don't fix the problem this semester, I'll see it again next semester. And there is the incredible high that I get when I see a student making progress. It's the same high I get when I see really cool results from a study that I conducted.
A why and an eavesdropping and a brief update
2 years ago
Hello TLP! I just found your blog. This post really resonates with me.
ReplyDeleteI'm in my 4th year of grad school. When I came in I was planning to take the academic path. Then I saw what my PI (hired when I started) had to go through to get tenure at a research institution. And I'm not really sure that I want that kind of lifestyle.
Plus, the only thing that keeps drawing me back to academia is teaching, not research.
Anyways, I just wanted to say thanks for writing! I look forward to reading more :)
I'm glad you're enjoying this. I like your blog as well.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful post! I'm almost jealous!!
ReplyDeleteGood to hear from you! Keep up the good posts.
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