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[taormina]

..for someone coming from a teaching-oriented college/university in the United States?

I have recently accepted a tt position at a non-prestigious teaching-oriented university, about 1 hour away from a major metro area.
My ultimate dream is to get a job in Europe simply to be closer to my family.

I was told that this is just a beautiful dream because only those coming from R1-s could dream of ANYTHING in Europe.

Is this correct? I am in no way thinking of prestigious institutions in Europe. I would take any teaching job at any college. Ultimately, if this doesn't happen, I would cosnider any research/administrative/even private sector job if the opportunity came up on the Old Continent.

Is this possible for a PhD in social sciences, coming from an assistant professor, tt position, at a non-prestigious US teaching institution?

Or did I just commit the mistake of my life by giving up my office, 8-5 job (in research) for the attractions of a teaching position (summers working from wherever, flexible schedule, and the much more pleasent/engaging work per se)?

Thank you for your opinions.

[scotia]

Toarmina - where in Europe do you want to be? There are many different countries, and a wide variety of different systems.

[larryc]

I am at a small regional teaching school and I was being seriously considered for a job in the UK this year. But I didn't get an offer because I haven't published quite enough! As ever, the way to a better job is by publishing.

[taormina]

So larryc...may i ask you, at the time of the interview...how much had you published...and how much would they have liked instead?

[taormina]

Toarmina - where in Europe do you want to be? There are many different countries, and a wide variety of different systems.

Pretty much ANYWHERE in Europe, scotia. I would expect a school/program or job with the teaching/working environment in English - although I do speak Italian, French and one Eastern European language (native level). 

However, I am not sure that my current level of French and Italian would be adequate for teaching; though with a bit of effort I COULD get there.

One colleague (co-national, teaching at a similar institution to mine) is of the opinion that hoping that I could get a professor position in Europe is an aberration. Only if you come from an R1 university...maybe; and even then, supposedly the competition is phenomenal.

If this is true, maybe the job I am in currently (a research/policy office job, though it is a Master-ish rather than PhD level position) would be more conducive to a future position in Europe.

I am still wondering whether I am doing the right thing by accepting this job, given my future hopes.

[merce]

Are you an EU citizen?

France uses a different system than England. I have the impression England is a possibility but to get a poste in France at a University in the French U system is very difficult. There are "American" universities there which might be an option though I have no idea how likely that option is either.

[helpful]

I would guess from the moniker that the OP is from Romania.

[larryc]

So larryc...may i ask you, at the time of the interview...how much had you published...and how much would they have liked instead?

I didn't quite get to the interview. It was a senior level hire and I think what they did was to invite certain people to apply, reviewed the vitae, then made an offer. I have a really well-reviewed book and three peer reviewed articles, a lot of lighter articles and reviews and such, and quite a few grants. But in the last five years I have allowed the grant writing to squeeze out the scholarship, as is obvious from my vita. 

[taormina]

So larryc...may i ask you, at the time of the interview...how much had you published...and how much would they have liked instead?

I didn't quite get to the interview. It was a senior level hire and I think what they did was to invite certain people to apply, reviewed the vitae, then made an offer. I have a really well-reviewed book and three peer reviewed articles, a lot of lighter articles and reviews and such, and quite a few grants. But in the last five years I have allowed the grant writing to squeeze out the scholarship, as is obvious from my vita. 

Waow. They wanted quite a bit, frankly. But then again, you said it was a senior level hire. I am only in the begining of my academic career (with family obligations) and being "that kind" of female academic, it sounds like an awful lot to me.

[taormina]

I would guess from the moniker that the OP is from Romania.

So what's "the moniker" ? ....:)

[helpful]

I would guess from the moniker that the OP is from Romania.

So what's "the moniker" ? ....:)

Taormina!

[scotia]

As with everything, the law of supply and demand is likely to come into play. It will be much easier to get a job in the EU if you do not require a work permit. If you need a work permit then employers have to justify why they would appoint you ahead of someone with a right to work either in the EU or in that particular country. The justification is almost certainly easier for someone who has a particular research specialty that the university is seeking and which is likely to be in shorter supply than someone without a research profile but who is able to teach a subject - there are fewer people with an international research reputation/agenda in a field than there are people who are competent to teach that field. In the UK it is not usually  whether you are moving from an R1 or not so much as the quality of publications that matters - most people who move are from R1s simply because they have the necessary publication history. If you can keep publishing you might have a better chance, in the UK at least.

One thing you could do is to look at the websites of representative institutions that might interest you and see where people come from. There are university rankings for the UK published by newspapers that include The Times and The Guardian which can give you ideas of institution names and strengths.

Not sure whether it would be harder to move to an office-based position. The work permit proviso would still apply.

[normative_]

So larryc...may i ask you, at the time of the interview...how much had you published...and how much would they have liked instead?

I didn't quite get to the interview. It was a senior level hire and I think what they did was to invite certain people to apply, reviewed the vitae, then made an offer. I have a really well-reviewed book and three peer reviewed articles, a lot of lighter articles and reviews and such, and quite a few grants. But in the last five years I have allowed the grant writing to squeeze out the scholarship, as is obvious from my vita. 

This may work in your favour in the future, LarryC. The RAE, with it's focus on pubs, is being replaced. Everyone's talking now about post-RAE, in which a broader set of metrics will be used, including grant money, Ph.D. students brought through, etc. The formula hasn't been set, but that will help give you more edge. In addition to more pubs, of course. You'll have some time to work on that before the next round takes off.

[bright]

I don't think its necessarily the case that you need to be at a R1 university to teach in some parts of Europe.  Try the Central European University in Budapest.  A good graduate university with some of the best students from the region, strong research focus, but also seems to be able and willing to invest in promising young scholars with potential who haven't quite got there yet with publications.  There is also however a high turnover of academics for whatever reason.  The plus is that jobs tend to crop up.  Even if they are not advertised yet, it might be worthwhile to email a department head and ask about upcoming possibilities.

[normative_]

I can confirm Bright's point. I've been on 5 interviews in the UK in the last couple of months and met the competition every time. There was always someone from across the pond, sometimes more than one, and ranging from famous research institutions to provincial, satellite institutions. It was the mix the UK institutions were interested in.