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[frenchdoctor]

The following official site provides lists of academic jobs in France :

https://extranet.ac-versailles.fr/ensup/galaxie/emplois_publies.html

Yup, these are heavy, slow, ugly and nearly unreadable PDF files. Theorically, a server named "Galaxie" is supposed to standardize the whole thing, but it's buggy. They had to release the PDFs in a hurry. French bureaucratic efficiency, as usual.

Note 1 : "section" is the administrative lingo indicating the various academic fields. You'll find the list there :
http://www.insa-lyon.fr/images/upload/portfolio_img/img_listeCNU_230.pdf

Note 2 : to apply, you have to be qualified by the CNU (conseil national des universités). There is no citizenship restriction, though.
 

[dellaroux]

Thanks, this is very interesting!

[frenchdoctor]

I've just found this page, in French, wich explains -- as easily as it's possible to explain -- the way the "Maîtres de Conférence" are recruited. As you can see, it's a bureaucratic marathon.

http://profdefac.over-blog.com/article-30386003.html

Small reminder of French academic ranks, from the lowest to the highest.

- Moniteur = TA
- ATER = grad student, or young doctor, who works as adjunct. 
- Vacataire = adjunct with a temporary contract. In the humanities, they often are secondary ed. teachers delegated to the university.
- PRAG (professeur agrégé) = They passed the exam called "agrégation". They are tenured, but as secondary ed. teachers only. They can be delegated to the universities as well.
- Maître de conférence = tenured. See link.
- Professeur des universités = highest rank.

[secretweapon]

Wow, those are some crazy job ads.  Am I right in thinking that CM is "cours magistraux" (ie lectures) and TD is "travaux diriges" (seminars or tutorials)?

Note 2 : to apply, you have to be qualified by the CNU (conseil national des universités). There is no citizenship restriction, though.
 

How does that work?  Is it a long process?  (Of course it is - I already know the answer to that one...)

[frenchdoctor]

1) CM and TD : you're right. However, in this bureaucratic context, they are nothing but ways to compute the service teachers are required to do. Most of the times, the reality is different.

Don't forget teaching loads are often heavier in France that they are in the USA. For example, a PRAG (which isn't that bad a status) is required to teach 15 hours per week. That's classroom presence only : you must add office hours, preps, marking, administrative duties, and so on.

For this, the starting wage is 1423€ per month after-tax.  At the current exchange rate, that makes 22 635 $ per year after-tax. After ten years of seniority, it raises to 2 226 € per month after-tax (34 400$ per year after-tax). Not enough to live a decent life in most French cities if you're a single.


2) Theorically, provided you're following the right schedule, you can achieve the whole circuit (Thèse+qualification+recrutement) in one year. However, as you can imagine, one full year is a rather lucky working hypothesis. In the real life many facts, especially the lack of jobs, will impede this. The qualification itself remains active for 4 years.

The whole qualification thing is done through an internet site managed by the ministery. You register yourself, and then send the papers you're required to send to the right "section" of the CNU (the state commission that qualifies people).

Then, the recruitment process is somewhat similar. You put your name in a big server at the ministery, then send the required documents to the universities with jobs available. The SC reads your file, and may contact you for a job interview. Job interviews in France last 20-40 minutes. You give a small talk presenting your research, and then answer a few questions. Of course, it goes without saying, the whole process is at the candidate's expenses. The recruiting uni won't give a penny for travel or housing.

This being France, policical string-pulling plays its part too, though I could not say to what extend exactly. I know names of people who have been recruited as Maître de Conférence, without PhD and without any publication (not a single page of scholarly work), just because they were influent members of an important union. However, I could not say how common this phenomenon is precisely. I guess most job searches are leggit, but it's always hard to know the truth behind the scene.

[jordan230]

There is a uk based site who are a valuable recruitment consultancy specialising in the placement of French, German, Spanish, Russian & Italian speaking professionals and executives.
Their URL is http://www.french-selection.co.uk