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[bashir001]

Hello,

facing the new job season I feel a real dilemma.

I currently live on a nice 3-years fellowship which allows me to do almost only research. I'm asked to teach 90 min a week (in class). That is not even a 1-1 load if I'm correct. This fellowship was granted to give me some years of real academic freedom and the opportunity to find a permanent faculty position. I'm able to fly to a country and lab of my choice for a while (months to years), and I chose the US.
Now, consider that my sub-subfield and research is not quite the mainstream in my home country. It looks much better in the rest of the world. So, what am I waiting for?
Well, during my previous nontenure career, I build a research group and lab with 6 PhD students and some instrumentation. My first PhD student finished earlier this year. Three more will follow within 12 month, but two just started.

While I'm applying for positions around the world, I'm feeling as I would maroon my team somehow. On the other hand, many (even elder) faculty do exactly this. They move from the US to AUS, from one coast to the other, or from Europe to the US. I possibly ponder to much and should, instead, expect flexibility from my team members.

What do you think?

[offthemarket]

You have two new PhD students.  You're looking at international positions.  If I were the student, I'd want to know about this.  Can you expect flexibility to move?  No, but there might be some.

I think you should be mostly be thinking about yourself when it comes to where you will be basing your lab for much of your career.  You're entitled to move.  You should take their interests into account, but balanced out with the bigger picture.

You can't necessarily expect them to follow you.  If you want them to, then giving them some advance warning that you're shopping for international jobs might be a good idea.  For people who don't want to follow, it would be nice for you to try to set them up in another lab before you go.

[bashir001]

Sounds good. I think the best times to move could be when the grad students just started and when they are almost done. In between it would be somehow unfair.