“Preparing for an Academic Career”

by Dr. Michael Nieswiadomy

UNT Dept. of Economics

Presented to UNT Graduate School Professional Development Workshops series:

“Life In Academia: Preparing to Secure Tenure” 2/28/2012

Getting Started • 1) Do not relax. Your dissertation was

hard work. Take a couple of days off to celebrate, then get to work! No time to rest!

• 2) Let’s assume that you have been hired by university XYZ.

• 3) You have only 5 years, not 6 years, to prepare your portfolio for tenure. Your file will sent to external reviewers in the summer of the end of your 5th year.

• 4) Determine tenure standards of the dept.

First Year • 1) It takes time to learn the nuances of your

department and to prepare your lectures. Use your time efficiently. Don’t get bogged down!

• 2) Don’t let your research suffer in the meantime. Submit articles from your dissertation ASAP.

• 3) Always keep the pipeline full. • 4) Premier journal pubs are great, but also publish in

some other good (not necessarily premier) journals. Not everyone can judge quality, but everyone can count! Perfection is your enemy. Can you get tenure on 3 outstanding articles? Maybe…but it is very risky!

Getting Noticed • 1) You need to begin building a reputation

nationally and even internationally to get tenure. To become a Full Professor, this reputation must be clearly evident.

• 2) How do you do this? – Develop a national network. – Work with persons in your field. – Attend conferences. Present and discuss papers.

• 3) Be on the lookout for potential reviewers for your tenure file. Who was impressed with your work at the conference? Go to dinner to talk to colleagues. Talk in the elevator.

Moving Along • 1) Agree to referee papers. You will benefit and

the editor will like you. • 2) Keep submitting your work. • 3) Talk to your department chair and P&T chair.

Stay in communication with them. They should inform you of your progress. If not, be proactive and ask. If you are not assigned a faculty mentor, ask senior colleagues for advice.

• 4) Get on a research team. Apply for grants.

Publish or Perish! • 1) Flogging will continue until morale improves! • 2) Publishing is hard work. Can you handle

rejection? Snoopy cartoon: “Dear Writer, herein are enclosed 2 rejection letters, one for this paper and one for your next submission.”

• 3) See “The Young Economist's Guide to Professional Etiquette”

Daniel S. Hammermesh The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 6, No.

1. (Winter, 1992), pp. 169-179.

How can I be at midterm already? I just got here!

• 1) It comes fast. Mid term review occurs after 2.5 years.

• 2) You need to have published one or more articles (varies by discipline.) and have a full pipeline.

• 3) Usually your file is reviewed by dept., college, and provost. No external letters.

The Home Stretch!

• 1) In years 4 and 5, keep the pipeline full! • 2) Start thinking about external reviewers. The

candidate (you) usually is allowed to select about three reviewers and the dept. P&T committee selects three.

• 3) These letters are highly influential. They can make or break a case.

Final Review • 1) What do you wish that an external reviewer

would write in your letter? – “This is highly innovative…best thing since sliced

bread (as my Grandma used to say)” – “I use this outstanding article in my class. I want all of

my students to read this.” • 2) A bad comment: “I would not wipe my a#$

with your papers!” • 3) Did you do what is necessary to get great

letters???? • 4) In the end, there should be no surprise, only

disappointment, if you did not succeed.

After Tenure • 1) Hooray! You have tenure! • 2) What do you do now? • 3) Work harder!!! Do not slow down for a minute

if you want to become Full Professor. • 4) A lacuna in your post tenure record sends a bad

signal.