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[abdspouse]

My spouse is currently in the last year of a Ph.D. in the humanities and is currently on the job market.  So far, things are going well, but I am a worrier, so I thought I'd get your opinion on our situation.

I work in development at the university where he is a student.  Ideally, I would like to be considered as a spousal hire in the development department at whatever institution chooses to hire him.  Several people have assured me that any university will have no problems finding a position for me and that this kind of thing happens all the time.  Call me a cynic, but I am skeptical that there are any colleges or universities out there with enough money lying around to "find me something" in my field.  I will have three years of experience, plus a masters degree when I leave here, which is good, but I don't think that is enough to make people stand up and take notice.

Does anyone have experience with this situtation, where one person is the academic hire, and the spouse is in administration?  What would a department search committee think of all this?  Am I right in assuming that I will most likely have to count on good luck in finding an open position for me at the same college?

Thanks!

[zharkov]

It's possible, but not every school will offer a spousal hire (of any kind). It also may be that they can find you an admin slot, but not in development, say. So prepared to address the possibility of working as a deanlet or in admissions, say.

[dale1]

I'd say Zharkov is right, and that I hope your spouse works in a desirable field.  Also, you'll want to try and re-locate, if necessary, to a place with a lot of higher ed. institutions, in order to maximize your ability to find a job in your field.  Larger cities certainly offer these opportunities.  If you're unwilling to leave higher ed, this is the safest route.

[notaprof]

Dear ABD Spouse,

An article this summer in the NYTimes and my colleagues in development at our small college indicate that there are more jobs in development than people willing to take them.  It is possibly one of the most in-demand college admin positions and there is lots of turnover compared to other campus offices.  So I imagine that if your spouse is an academic star that the college really wants, they may indeed find a job for you or one will open up for you shortly.  The fact that you would be likely to stay around because your spouse has ties to the place may increase your appeal as well.  Of course though you will be judged on your skills so make sure that your current boss can rave about your performance so far.

[abdspouse]

This is the OP here.  Thanks for the advice everyone.  It's good to know that there may be demand in development.  I have considered looking for positions outside the university as well, possibly at a nonprofit hospital or smaller organization.  The advantage of working somewhere smaller would be the opportunity to do more and take on more responsibility, but of course it's hard to beat the benefits of a university job.

Having never been on the market before, we aren't sure how much my husband will be able to command.  There are more jobs open this year in his field than normally, which may work in his favor, but he is also in a rare specialty (aren't we all when we think about it?) 

I've done my best in my time here to make as big an impact as I can, and I know that my current boss will rave about me.  But there's no way to get around the fact that I am young and have only been doing this for 3 years.

Mostly, it's just nerves, I think.  Thanks for the reassurance!