Anyway, the less job stuff on the internet, the more I can enjoy the shit out of my Tofurkey.
-- Second Suitor
Update: it's back up.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
wikiality
Not that it really matters, but the philosophy job wiki seems to be down. I've been looking at it periodically, but trying not to waste too much time looking at it. I mean, if you get an interview you'll hear about that from the school. Until I hear from a school that they're not interested I'll keep some hope.
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112 comments:
thanks for posting this. it matters to me! i find the wiki perversely soothing, somehow. i hope whatever needs to be fixed is fixed soon!
tofurkey is faux-turkey
Does anyone know what is going on with the wiki? Will it come back? I'm not sure I can make it through the job season without the wiki! :)
Thanksgiving -- the wiki is back up! Hurrah! Now go give thanks :-)
I think the philosophy job wiki back up now.
Nice. I wonder: at which does it become acceptable, given the neurotic status of applicants, to ask if a given department has received one's application?
And...it's down again....
I've recently realized that I loathe the wiki. I've been on the job market a couple of times previously, and what I realized this year is that looking at the Wiki involves weighing against one another two things: my morbid curiosity, and the horrible gut-wrenching feeling of seeing a job I applied for go up. I've finally realized it's much better to live with the former than the latter.
If we philosophers are so smart, how about thinking up a way to earn some real money and break free from APA conferences and wikis? Anyone? Bueller?
at this stage of things, one can only learn bad, hopes-crushing things from the wiki. there is plenty of misery and no happiness to be found there. later in the hiring process, perhaps, the information that some attractive option is foreclosed might free one to pursue other options that are on hold. but learning early where you got rejected is not like that. on december 26, we will all have full information about where we struck out. that information will either be easier to deal with in light of any interviews granted, or no more dissapointing than it would have been otherwise. we all feel the temptation to look, but i can't see any good arguments that, all things considered, one *ought* to look or, indeed, that the forum ought to be maintained. of course, given sufficient powers of self-control, we are all free to look or not as we see fit. that's fair enough. but it doesn't change the point: creating and maintaining a forum that functions more or less exclusively to dash the hopes of akratic individuals just seems kind of shitty. why are we collectively doing it?
We could buy all the olive presses.
To all in philosophy land: I'm a philosopher of religion interested in creating a religion job wiki. How does one go about this? I know how to edit a page, but am not sure how to start and register a new page. Can anyone help?
Good luck to all!
I too seem to have become addicted to checking the wiki. But it only brings despair! Never will it say, "Philo, go check your messages...the Search Committee at the University of Great-Place-to-Live wants to interview you in Philly."
And yet, I keep checking it...
Here is a glimpse into our future (of a sort -- from the Sociology job blog).
Makes me kinda glad the wiki keeps getting knocked down...
My first rejection of the season: SFSU scheduled APA interviews. Could it be that there was a transmission glitch and their email never got to me? Maybe I should call to make sure that didn't happen?
holy shit. the sociology blog discussion is horrific.
does anyone have any clue as to how accurate the wiki is? are people getting apa interviews but just not posting? anyone with their ear to the ground? eh? eh?
c'mon...
Personally, I like the wiki. I'm the sort who wants to KNOW right now regardless of the news. Who knows why.
Anyhow, I have a question for anyone looking at the wiki. Who's idea was it to have all of the info in one place? I think it is much better to have sections designating app acknowledged, APA scheduled, etc. There's just too much info in one place now, and it makes it very hard to read. I'd rather move the schools around. At least you can see what's going on at a glance then. Who agrees that it should be re-organized? If enough of you say we should re-organize it, I will go ahead and do it.
Those of you who didn't follow the wiki religiously last year: it goes up, it comes down, people vandalize it, people restore it.
Mater Pandoras: you're welcome to your opinion, of course. As for me, I've got some little hope this year and I need to have it dashed. Normally I'd have hope until April, but the wiki can dash it by late January. So I'm very pro-wiki and appreciate all you golden boys who post interviews and job offers.
Wow, sociologists are bigger losers than we are. At least some of the posts here are semi-intelligent and make an attempt at actual argumentation rather than a mere "Fuck!".
holy shit the sociology job blog is even more disturbing than this one! impressive!
I believe the wiki can serve a very useful service for many people. Depending on what the wiki reports and what particular applicants' options are, the wiki can help people manage their time. If I have a multi-year postdoc or VAP, for instance, and I am only checking the wiki to see whether the schools with tenure track jobs I have applied for have already contacted people for interviews, I can use this as a reason to begin to focus back on my research/teaching. If the wiki indicates that all of the jobs I have applied for have scheduled multiple interviews, it would be better for me (in the situation described above) to return to my research/teaching rather than preparing further for the interview/campus visit process. Sure, I need to prepare for that in any case, but the wiki can help many people manage their time, given certain commitments, options, and possibilities (or lack thereof).
5.37,
I agree.
I'd be in favor of dividing the TT section on the condition that instead of putting the most recent updates below the application acknowledged section, interview, flyout, and offer made sections are put at the top of the TT section: that way the most relevant info is always at the top. That might be the best way to minimize scrolling and scanning time.
Anon 12:19--Yeah, that SFSU update is ambiguous in multiple ways. "received notice that an APA interview will be scheduled (12/1)" How was it received? (I've been away and haven't received all forms of corespondence.) And, it will be scheduled? With you, or they're just saying they're going to hold interviews at the APA? Spell it out folks! We're philosophers, so trained to be dubious about the implicatures!
Anon 5:37--I'm for reorganizing too. But I wonder if you shouldn't do it on another page, or below the present listings?
5:37,
I disagree. I like the new system. It's much easier to read, and all the information each school is in one place. So I vote for not reorganizing it.
The one thing I'd like is some way of seeing the most recent updates since the last time I visited. But since the wiki is text-based, and a more dynamic website would require a database and some serious scripting, I don't think this is a reasonable request for the current system. Anyone want to develop a new and better blog? Maybe the PPP program at Wash U St Louis? You've got to have money and a lot of computer geeks. And you blew off my application last year, so you owe me.
12:36--
well said. Those are basically the reasons I support the wiki as well. It's only early December, and I'm almost to the "refocus on research/teaching rather than interviewing" point already. Without the wiki, I suppose I'd still be under the delusion that I'm actually going to get an interview (let alone job!) this year. Oh well--back to the dissertation and bottles of scotch to drown away the frustration!
My first rejection of the season: SFSU scheduled APA interviews. Could it be that there was a transmission glitch and their email never got to me? Maybe I should call to make sure that didn't happen?
I don't want to create false hope, but it doesn't follow from the fact that you didn't get an APA interview that you won't get the job. At my dept., people have been flown out over the past few years that didn't land APA interviews.
As for contacting departments that don't contact you, I _guess_ you could do that, but you'll annoy the poor department admin. I guess I would if I had some reason to expect to have been contacted to arrange an interview, but are any of us really in this boat? If so, I'm terrified.
At my dept., people have been flown out over the past few years that didn't land APA interviews.
Could you say a little more about that? Did they interview people at APA but just didn't like any of them!? I don't think I've ever heard of such a thing.
I agree with the ambiguity of the "interview will be scheduled" language.
I don't mind the current set up of the wiki. I just do a find search with firefox using the term "interview" and I quickly move through all the departments that have scheduled an interview. However, I guess last years set up was a bit easier to read.
Read this douche bag stupidity.
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v55/i15/15b02001.htm
Don't do what this guy is trying to do. Can we get a thread about this guy.
I'm finding it rather disheartening as a job that I'm qualified for opens up but then I find an adjunct faculty working there with the exact same qual's. Such a scam! I guess I can only hope I'll be on the receiving end of such a scheme in the future...
Don't "annoy the poor department admin?" What are they there for? They don't decide if you get the job or not, so why not call and ask? "Poor department admins" have a job, don't be afraid to have them do it.
Fuckers.
40% fewer philosophy jobs this year?
Anon 6:48 a.m. --
The "antiprofessor" is, um, pulling your leg. The essay is satire.
Anon 6:48, I am positive that the article was satirical. The Popping and Locking comment was the dead give away.
If you call our department secretaries and harass them, we (the search committee) will hate you. Obviously they are there for secretarial work. But fielding neurotic calls from job applicants is above and beyond.
They will tell us about you, and it will affect our decision.
dumb ass.
Does anybody care about "application acknowledged"? Because, I don't.
Anon. 6:48--I actually would like to read the article, but don't have a Chronicle subscription. Is it possible to cut and paste at least part of it into this blog?
I'd welcome any distraction from my actual work.
Thanks, etc., if possible.
Could you say a little more about that? Did they interview people at APA but just didn't like any of them!? I don't think I've ever heard of such a thing.
It's a bunch of factors. I think this is basically what happened. Some people weren't liked. he ones that were liked were flown out but were lost to other departments. By the time that this was discovered, the ones left on the list already had jobs and so those who didn't quite make the cut were given fly outs. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often to departments that overreach or have picky faculty members. Maybe it's not the norm, but it does happen.
Anon 6:48am --
This is a satire piece. Take the stick out of your ass and laugh!
Message in a bottle:
Just because a job is advertised in an AOS and there are adjuncts who already teach in that AOS _does not_ at all signal that that department is not serious about their search. Usually it's the case that a department will fill a need with an adjunct first. If there is demand for a course in bioethics, for instance, they'll find someone nearby who is cheap and available to do that. I know of several instances where a regular instructor has been sidelined for a better-qualified candidate.
Sure. I know it's scary to find that there are adjuncts in your AOS. There's a chance that the adjunct instructor is well-liked by the rest of the faculty. But there's just as much of a chance that the instructor isn't as well-liked, or has stepped on a few toes, or will herself head out for job interviews at other schools. Just apply for these jobs and treat them like you would any other possibility.
Anon. 12:45 PM:
Don't fret just yet.
Even if there is a large percentage drop in the number of positions for which there will be APA interviews, it doesn't yet follow that there will be a large percentage drop in the number of positions to be offered this year full stop.
If the recession is causing some programs to cancel their searches altogether, then one would expect that it would also cause many other schools who don't cancel their searches to scale back on what they spend at the interviewing stage (by conducting them by phone, or going straight to an on-campus visit, or whatever).
It's just too early to tell. So for now, cross your fingers.
Has anyone been contacted initially by phone for an APA interview? I have only received e-mails. Just curious if e-mail had become the norm now.
Since the wiki has been reorganized, how about someone adding a new section, "Searches Canceled"? I think it would make sense to collect these all in one area, rather than sprinkling them around.
Dear Philosophy job wiki,
I hate you. I hate you and I hate the depressing no-I-haven't-gotten-an-interview-yet wellspring of emotion you bring me this christmas season. I should be happy and joyful! I am a fresh PhD! I have the whole world in front of me! But no. You enter into my thoughts every 2.3 seconds and crush my hopes and dreams every 2.5 seconds. I hate you but if you'll excuse me I have to go check my email, then the wiki, then make sure my phone is working, then the wiki again only to sink deeper in my despair that the wiki has brought me. Lather, rinse, repeat.
now wouldn't it be soooo much better if someone with some programming knowledge wrote a script that sends the wiki's info via RSS feed?
no anxious checking anymore...
Here's a question: if, hypothetically speaking, I applied for the metaphysics position at Georgetown and didn't get an email about an APA interview yesterday, should I conclude that I'm not getting an APA interview? Or do schools sometimes space these things out a bit?
"Asstro said...
Message in a bottle:
Just because a job is advertised in an AOS and there are adjuncts who already teach in that AOS _does not_ at all signal that that department is not serious about their search."
I have to second Asstro's point to message in a bottle. Adjuncts are usually people who happen to live within the school's geographic area who happen to have the at least the minimum acceptable qualifications for teaching certain classes. Even if you notice that one has decent qualifications, it is not likely that they are actually the department's 'preferred' candidate. It happens, but is not that common.
In contrast, if you notice that there is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor teaching in the AOS of a TT job posting, it is much more likely that he/she is the department's first choice since the VAP has already gone through a serious round of 'vetting' while adjuncts are often hired at the chair's whim out of the locals who happen to ask for adjunct teaching. Even then, don't assume that the VAP will get the job (the VAP may not even be excited about the school), but VAPs are definately a more serious threat to you ending up with the job than an adjunct.
Re Ohio University's Canceled Search
First, I got an email that the search was canceled. Then, I saw the same email on Leiter's blog, posted by Robert Briscoe, a member of the OU department, followed by this sentence:
"I believe that candidates on our short list have already been informed of the situation."
Does it follow that I was on the short list? (I know it doesn't follow from standard logic; I'm asking about implicature!)
(And, I know it doesn't matter at all, except to my already damaged ego.)
Are there people who applied who did not get the email?
Thanks, y'all!
Anon 3:06 wrote: "If you call our department secretaries and harass them, we (the search committee) will hate you. Obviously they are there for secretarial work. But fielding neurotic calls from job applicants is above and beyond.
They will tell us about you, and it will affect our decision."
I agree that if someone calls and harasses an administrative assistant, then this will obviously be negative. However, I do not understand the reason for such a harsh reprimand to the person who originally posted a question about this. In our department, the admin. asst. is very appreciative of candidates who call to make sure that everything has arrived. The department sees this as being responsible. Harassment is a different issue, as is neurosis. The most important thing to remember here is that members of staff are essential to getting a job. These are the people that you do not want to offend, be condescending towards, etc. Often they will sympathize with your plight, and many of them want their search committees to act a bit more responsibly in getting back to candidates in a timely manner. This does not mean that you should call every administrative assistant in every department to which you have applied, but if there is some reasonable doubt (I will not get into what that is, but I am sure you can figure it out - I mean, reason is supposed to be something some of you are experts in, as is doubt, right?) that your application materials did not arrive where they were supposed to, a quick, polite phone call will most likely not be disparaged. Just don't come across as if you are entitled to anything (the cardinal sin of both academics and aspiring academics). Remember, recent PhD's, you are still human, and you are no better than those people on the other end of the line. In fact, they are the employed ones with health insurance, a pension, etc.
So suppose that this market year has roughly 25 top jobs (job in a top 50 programs). I assume that places interview anywhere between 8 and 15 people. I also assume that there is a pool of around 15-20 applicants that exhaust the interview pool for these top jobs (folks from NYU, Rutgers, Princeton, MIT...). Is this correct? If so, anyone have any further ideas as to how this all gets played out? If I am wrong, anyone have any ideas as to how things actually are?
New thread, please?:
What is the standard timeline for a new tenure-track assistant professor? Five to seven years? Is it reasonable to ask for a year off for every year I had been teaching post-Ph.D. (adjunct, VAP, other positions)? What's the minimum number of years for a first-time TT position?
What are the pros and cons to consider in going up early for tenure?
As a member of a SC, I urge candidates NOT to assume that adjuncts and even VAP's (with all due respect to first year tt guy) have an inside track on the advertised position. Most often, they don't.
ivory mud hut,
anon 3:06 here. you are right, the tone of my comment was excessive. Polite inquiries to department administrators are of course entirely appropriate.
I would recommend that prospective job candidates look over ivory mud hut's 8:08 remarks seriously.
(I still however disapprove of anon 11:28's attitude on the issue.)
Anxious Mo-Fo,
I got the same email from Ohio U and saw the posting on Leiter's blog and made the same inference. It sucks to make the shortlist for a cancelled search, but it is a bit of a confidence booster I guess.
I have some questions: last year was my first on the market. I went on the market too early and didn't have much success (an interview or two, and then a couple of offers for temporary positions in the Spring). Of course, the process was depressing(I even briefly considered getting out of philosophy). But then I started working on improving my application: I defended my dissertation, I got a publication in a decent journal, I took a temporary position to get some teaching experience, put more work into my application materials etc. But here I am again, without much success (I know it's early, but according to the wiki, I'm already about 0 for 10). So, what do you do when you've already fixed the big problems with your application and still strike out? I just can't see how I can improve my chances for next time when I've already filled in the major gaps in my application. Would getting another VAP or another publication really make much difference? If anything, I would think getting another VAP would make matters worse (because now my Ph.D. is starting to get "stale"). Or is the market such a crap shoot that it is worth trying again even if everything is roughly held equal? Just curious if anyone is in a similar sitaution to me and how they are dealing with it.
P.S. I think we should all leave the admin. assistants alone. At every dept. I've ever been in, the admin. assistants are basically the ones who keep the dept. running. They have enough to do without dealing with our neurotic behavior. If you're that worried if a dept. got your materials etc., then get delivery confirmation when you mail the stuff.
Did all applicants for the Berkeley job get the email that there would be no APA interviews, only new-year flyouts? Was it sent only to those short-listed?
Noobie,
The standard is that you come up for tenure in your sixth year, and if you're successful your seventh year is your first tenured year.
It is reasonable to ask for a shorter period until review, but it is also often reasonable for the hiring officers (dean of the faculty, say) to deny your request. That is, don't be uncomfortable about asking, but don't be offended if your request isn't accommodated.
The cons of coming up early are pretty obvious: you have less time to get enough done to impress the powers-that-be. (This is a very big con.) The main pro is that if successful you've managed to reduce your purgatory sentence.
You have to find out whether the bar will be set higher the longer you take to come up for tenure. If it will, then sure, it could well be worth it to ask for a speedy review. If not, then take the extra year or two (or three), unless you are really confident.
Anon 8:27:
That doesn't seem right. Not all top-50 jobs are "Open" jobs. There will be far more than 20 people contesting those jobs. If dept A interviews 10 people in ethics and dept B interviews 10 people in ancient and dept C interviews 10 people from any area, there may be zero overlap in those three cohorts. In addition to hiring in different sub-fields, depts have idiosyncratic tastes and needs even within subfields.
Here's a question: if, hypothetically speaking, I applied for the metaphysics position at Georgetown and didn't get an email about an APA interview yesterday, should I conclude that I'm not getting an APA interview? Or do schools sometimes space these things out a bit?
Schools sometimes space these things out a bit, but rarely by more than a week. There's really no way to tell who does and who doesn't issue their invitations in multiple rounds, but some do. My rough estimate is 10-20%.
Anon 8:27 - yes, some people interview up, that is, ppl from lower ranked depatrtments get nice interviews, but in the end, some high ranking departments end up not making a hire.
Anon 8:31
Timeline to tenure: Typically 6 years, with periodic reviews/contract renewals, which vary by institution.
Typically, only years towards tenure in another TT position will be considered in negotiations for credit towards tenure in a new TT position. There is no guarantee that all of the years towards tenure elsewhere will be credited. Credit towards tenure needs to be negotiated carefully and in writing such that any important publications prior to taking a new TT position will count towards tenure at the new institution. This is important. Publications prior to being hired at a new institution do not automatically count towards tenure at the new institution unless this has been negotiated. I have seen disputes between faculty and administrators over just this issue. Years spent as an adjunct or VAP will not count as credit towards tenure. I have never seen this happen, perhaps there are some exceptions, but I haven't come across any.
Early tenure, when one has met or exceeded dept. tenure standards, has the benefit of job security, adding stability to a department, adding a faculty member who now can be elected Chair of the department, and a faculty member of the department who can serve on evaluative committees at the department level and at the college and university level (committees that evaluate TT faculty for contract renewal and for tenure). The drawbacks to early tenure may turn out to be many of the above. (For example, job security, usually a good thing, can potentially amount to being locked into a position from which it is very hard to leave. Changes in departmental make-up, administration, university "strategic plan" may not always be for the best, while changing institutions after tenure is not easy. Increased responsibilities, like being elected Chair, may keep people from their research projects. Tenure can bring one into department and university politics regarding hires and tenure in a big way.)
Oh, and there's the (usual) raise in salary that comes with promotion. (I haven't heard about any downsides to this.)
Uh, has the wiki been deleted? (Saturday, 5 pm, CST)
11:05,
Berkeley has not yet narrowed down the list of candidates to a short list.
Good luck to all, and stay sane!
"Years spent as an adjunct or VAP will not count as credit towards tenure. I have never seen this happen, perhaps there are some exceptions, but I haven't come across any."
The first sentence of that quote from 2:36 is not true. I got multiple years' credit for my VAP years. I know several others who have, as well. My impression is that, from from being exceptions, these experiences reflect the norm. People do value work done; work as a VAP is no less work than work on the TT. (Often, in fact, it is more.)
There is no norm as to how many years' credit one gets for one's VAP years (or, as far as I am aware, for one's years in other TT jobs). You might get no, one, two, three, or more years' credit for three years' VAP work (yes, more is possible...it's happened both to me and to some of my friends). Many schools, though, do have institutional limits on how much credit they'll give (often two or three years is the max).
To Zurich is Stained, I think that three, even four, years of VAP appointments can help land you that TT job, so long as you are publishing throughout. It might not get you a Leiterrific job, but many schools value that kind of service. I haven't, though, seen too many people transition from multiple VAP jobs that stretch 5+ years into TT jobs. But even then I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few out there.
Zurich,
Most likely taking another VAP wouldn't hurt so long as you continue to publish.
Having sat on a few SC's now, my impression is that most graduates of less-than-superleiterrific should expect to take postdocs or temporary jobs for at least a couple of years. In any given overcrowded field, such as M&E, there will be dozens of less-than-superleiterrific graduates looking for jobs. Almost all will have very positive letters of recommendation. Half will have a research statement that strikes the hiring committee as promising. Without some publications there's no way to tell which of these candidates is best suited for the job. There's just no way of knowing. So you just can't expect to attract much interest until you've published a few good articles.
That's how I tend to see it, anyway. I assume that very solid, verifiable, non-evasive evidence of teaching excellence would help too. Two years in a row of excellent teaching evals would help you stick out.
In short, it'll be another year or two until you really know your full potential as a marketable candidate. Hang in there and keep publishing. If you don't think you have the energy to VAP and publish at the same time, run, run to law school and make those fools who waited around for a philosophy job jealous.
You can get the wiki by clicking on "philosophy" in the upper left hand corner of the page you get directed to from googling.
To Anon Dec 6 4:48,
It does seem that schools sometimes do space things out a bit. There was one place listed on Friday as having scheduled an interview, and I just got an email today from that place saying that I have an interview.
To Anon Dec 5 10:29,
Both of the interviews I have had scheduled so far have been by phone (the second I received word of by email, though they had called my phone first, I was just out of network coverage). But then again, I have a friend who has received quite a number of interview requests, but they have all, I believe, been via email.
FYI:
For some reason, the wiki is now at a slightly different address:
http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy
(Just the old address minus the word "wiki" before "philosophy")
I have no idea why. Hope the job search is going okay for everyone so far.
3:02 - I think it moved here:
http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy
Since sometime early Saturday morning, the Wiki's been down. Does anyone know if those who've managed it in the past are planning to put it back up? (I understand it was knocked down several times last year).
The url for the job wiki seems to have changed. For those who haven't figured it out (I thought it had just been killed again):
http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy/
Job wiki has been moved: http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy/
The wiki has been down over a day. Has it been taken down for good?
Not working now. :-(
Looks like the URL for the wiki has changed to: http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy
Note the absence of '/wiki' between 'academe' and '/philosophy'.
Update: Wiki is down again as of Monday, Dec. 8, at 2PM (EST). WTF?
I don't understand. Is this the new link for the Philosophy Jobs Wiki? It seems to work (?):
http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy/
Sorry to add my voices to the broken record-like chorus, but could someone in the know give us an update on the job wiki? It still appears to be down.
D.
Is the wiki down for good? It's been down for a few days now!
Having compulsively checked the wiki every thirty seconds or so since Saturday, I can tell you that it has definitely not been down for days.
It has, as more than one person has noted, moved. You can find it now at http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy/. The old URL no longer has any content, but the new one does (including, as of Rev. 2075, an awesome ASCII art teddy bear).
Now, please stop complaining that the wiki is down. Thank you.
If anyone's curious, the University of Alberta has made a shortlist of three people for each of its positions (Open and Ethics). An email PFO was sent to those who made the long-short list but not the short-short list (guess where I ended up...)
Read the comments, ffs.
http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy
http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy
http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy
http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy
http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy
The wiki is not dead
http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy
http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy
http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy
http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy
http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy
just search "philosophy" on the wiki site and the job list comes up
Go to:
http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy/
wikihost.org had some technical trouble but is up and running again.
Take a look at http://www.wikihost.org/w/academe/philosophy
1) Everyone asking about the wiki:
Just cut and paste one of the many new links that people have posted in this thread. The new link seems to work.
2) Could someone start a new thread just for sake of convenience?
Anyone get the e-mail notifying applicants that the University of Illinois at Chicago position in Political Philosophy was canceled? Two positions were advertised there last year: Political and Modern. The Political position was not filled, but the Modern position was. This year the Political position is canceled. Last year the modern hire was their VAP, who was a freshly minted Ph.D. with no pubs except those he co-authored with one of his professors from his M.A. program. Very odd.
So fucking bored. Post something new already.
Oh, and there's the (usual) raise in salary that comes with promotion. (I haven't heard about any downsides to this.)
Well, a lot of schools have severe salary compression, and most schools have some. If you plan on staying at one institution for 30+ years, getting a higher salary now might mean you'll start getting 2-3% raises sooner, whereas getting tenured a year or two later might mean that the figure on which these percentage gains will be based on will be larger. If a school is in the process of making faculty salaries more competitive (look at the Chronicle's stats for the last five years for your institution, or the IR website) then you might end up better in the long run waiting 2-3 years to get promoted. Since the present value of future salaries needs to be discounted more the further you go into the future, and since changes in base salary are hard to project more than 2-3 years out, I wouldn't use this argument to wait 10 years to get tenured.
THEREFORE, the best way of maximizing your lifetime salary is to come in as an advanced assistant professor, ceteris paribus, and tenure in about 3 years from the time of hire. If, however, your school is too poor to be raising assistant professor salaries now, you might do better to settle for a lower base salary now (associate profs likely won't make much more anyway at those institutions) and hope that things change in 5-6 years.
I want a new drug (and a new thread).
Philosophers are known for their vices, not just rambling lectures or poor fashion sense, but also their drinking if not also drugs. A couple questions:
1. Do you think philosophers drink/take drugs more than other professional/graduate academics?
2. What is the best drug, on average, for philosophy? Drinking, of course, is a given, though too much and it's hard to focus. Marijuana is also a usual suspect; it opens up creative processes, but sometimes/many times the work you produce is crap, which you recognize only when you're sober. Too much caffeine makes one jittery and anxious, though great for productivity. How about Ritalin: has anyone tried that yet?
Sic transit gloria mundi
Srsly, this is like the most stressful time of all and PJMB publishes naught? This is the week - why no schadenfreude, at the least?
If anyone's curious, the University of Alberta has made a shortlist of three people for each of its positions (Open and Ethics). An email PFO was sent to those who made the long-short list but not the short-short list (guess where I ended up...)
I don't get this. So, they PFOed people who almost made the cut, but if you weren't even close, then nothing?
Dear Applicant,
You were so close, but please PFO.
Sincerely, etc.
Really? Or was it something like:
Dear Applicant,
If the three people we've picked for now really suck or reject us, we might come knocking. But for now, PFO.
Sincerely, etc.
7:41pm
How did you know you were on the long list? I'm just curious because I haven't heard anything from them one way or the other. I assume that probably means I am neither on the long-list nor the short-list, but I'd just like to check :)
PS: Ritalin is fucking awesome! Though, sometimes, instead of making you concentrate like a bastard, it makes you want to focus on too many things at once.
anon 3:56 -- just went to confirm your post about UIC, given that it's directed at a specific person, and it turns out that you have irresponsibly posted false (and pretty charged) information. The modern hire at UIC has four pubs in outstanding journals, with two that are single-authored and two that are co-authored. One of the articles is forthcoming, but given the backlog at journals, it is likely that the paper had already been accepted at the time of the person's hire, or at the very least was at the revise and resubmit stage, but either way it was in condition for the search committee to judge its merits. Are you SERIOUSLY suggesting that UIC Philosophy, a MAJOR research department, found more qualified candidates in their search, but decided to stick with their VAP for convenience or other reasons? Four pubs + independent determination of philosophical ability = prima facie insufficient? What? You are exercising very bad judgment, perhaps that is clouded by some personal stuff, a chip on your shoulder, or who knows what. But in any event try to navigate around this bad-judgment mechanism when you are interviewing or doing campus visits.
Like all dreamers, I mistook disenchantment for truth.
HOW DOES ONE CREATE A NEW THREAD?
Also, the other position at UIC wasn't unfilled for lack of trying. They made some offers, but those offers didn't work out. Normally I wouldn't even reply to such a stupid post as 3:56's, but I think the people at UIC are really awesome and hard-working and smart, and I wanted to defend them (no, I am not at UIC). If your VAP proves himself to be the best person for the job, and is obviously interested in living in the city your school is in, you would be a fool not to make him an offer.
You guys need to stop your conspiracy theories. Once you've been to a department hiring meeting, you'll see how laughable these suggestions of impropriety are.
Has anyone got an interview at Stonehill yet? According to the wiki, multiple people have received rejection emails. But no one has received an interview invite. I applied and didn't receive a rejection email. While I can think of a few explanations for rejection emails coming first, I am still a little confused. Oh well.
Is it too early to do dickish FO letters? How about this one:
The search committee for the contemporary ethics position at Fordham University has completed its review of applications. I regret to inform you that you were not selected for a convention interview. On behalf of the department, I thank you for your interest in Fordham University. Best wishes in your search for a suitable position.
I've added the boldface, of course, but WTF? A bit ham-fisted, IMHO. I doubt this will win the prize, but I'm not sure it's a PFO either. More like an MIFO -- mildly insulting FO. Cheers!
Ritalin is fucking awesome! Though, sometimes, instead of making you concentrate like a bastard, it makes you want to focus on too many things at once.
Can anyone else support this claim? Any other side effects from Ritalin? What are the risks? Does it make you hyper like caffeine, or does it mellow you out? (I'd guess it's the latter, given that it's supposed to be for ADHD patients?) Also, what does it cost out on the street vs. legit prescription?
Ritalin increases focus and concentration - that is why it helps ADD, and when abused beyond normally prescribed amounts, can do the same for non-ADD folks. Personally, I took the amount prescribed for my very ADD little brother (what? it was his suggestion) and was totally underwhelmed. Though the idea of a drug that makes everyone thin and hyper-productive is *awesome*. Screw Prozac in the water.
I have no idea what ritalin costs on the street, but if you can get a 'script for it, it's very cheap.
It does not mellow you out, since it's a stimulant. Stimulants help you focus, and ADD people have trouble with focus.
To wikimonger -
Same here - no rejection, no interview scheduled.
I really wish I knew what it meant to not get a rejection email (or an interview) for a place that has apparently both asked for interviews and sent rejection letters. I'm sure the reasons for this in different cases will be distinct, but does anyone know what this usually means? Is it often the case that some candidates are neither rejected nor short-listed?
---newbie
Student drugs of choice--reports from The Guardian. And here's more from the same source. And from New Scientist; also this.
Bon appetit!
anon 12:23--
"interested in living in the city your school is in..."
These must be messages from people who have not been through the gauntlet that is the job market. UIC is not in bumfuck Arkansas, and even then it would be a good job in the current market. It's CHICAGO, in the center of town, at a leading research institution with a tremendous history.
What is the background here? Otherwise these comments don't make any sense.
let's face it: no posts in the heat of the job market season spells the end of PJMB. PJMB'ers: can you please just fess up and make the call so we can all move on?
"Has anyone got an interview at Stonehill yet? According to the wiki, multiple people have received rejection emails. But no one has received an interview invite. I applied and didn't receive a rejection email."
Agreed. I was wondering the same thing--I have not received a rejection yet either. And it's the closest thing to an interview I've gotten so far.
ADD and ADHD drugs are lifesavers for those of us with ADD or ADHD (or both). For those unafflicted just looking for some sort of performance enhancing drug, don't believe the hype about ritalin/concerta and adderall. They are not cure-alls.
Most ADD meds are some variety of amphetamine salts, so basically they are the bastard 3rd cousins of cocaine. The max daily dosage for most ADD folk, at least for adderall, is around 60mg (and that's on the super high end). This stuff ain't coffee, Jesse Spano, so abuse can result in more than the jitters.
Work-wise: If you are a lazy-ass, they may help you be less of a lazy-ass, but they won't improve the quality of your work. You might get more done, but I have never heard anyone report that their work was better. I have, however, heard many claim that the quantity increased but the quality suffered. If you absolutely must get your hands on ADD meds, they are best used for grunt work rather than for work requiring high levels of creativity.
Caution: Avoid these meds at all costs during interview/talk situations unless you are working the asshole angle. Seriously.
Good to know, Dr. Killjoy. Nonetheless, let me ask: as a stimulant, does Ritalin also keep you awake? (And how does treating hyperactivity with a stimulant do anything positive?)
Ah well...it truly is the end of an era. PJMB RIP.
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