You're welcome. Of course, as with all free advice, it's worth about what you pay for it. But I can tell you from experience that your research may indeed suffer -- and that could put you out of play for jobs in a more, ah, intellectually-oriented environment down the road. I have colleagues who have done bugger all since they've been here (others manage to maintain their liaisons with previous colleagues). Make sure you have the lab access you need, as that (in addition to time) appears to be one of the biggest hurdles for experimental types.
You may also find you need to put any sense you have of professorial liberty in your back pocket while here -- so do be sure to ask questions regarding the official syllabi, approved assessments, common exams, grading coordination, and the like.
From my perspective, universities here are still not willing to provide the appropriate incentives (financial or otherwise) to get their hands on really great people, so many unis end up getting exactly what they pay for - desperate folks who simply don't have other options. Frankly, if you've got a decent gig in the states, even if it's not at the asst. prof. level, you should seriously think about keeping it. I know far too many good scientists who have left jobs in the west to come here and are now regretting the decision -- they really expected things would be much better than they have turned out to be and are now unfortunately stuck.
By the way, I've read your posts and the replies to them on another forum. I think I would probably second the advice of the last poster.
Again, good luck, and think hard about the decision.
Thanks a lot for the great insights. I really appreciate writing to me. It is AUD (established in 1995 I think, not sure if it's a major player... )
I feel that yes my research will go downhill with that kind of teaching load. It is possible that those are 4 not different courses as you said but rather 1 or 2 courses where students are divided into separate sections.
I will bring up those concerns when I get back to them.
