next »

[hocro]

I'm currently in my first year in a non-tenure track position at a prestigious private school.  I've been miserable this year - my department isn't supportive (and is unknown in my discipline) and I'm living far away from my spouse (who can't relocate).  I'm not sure what to do about next year and have the following questions:

Would leaving a non-TT job hurt my career in the long-run if I took a non-academic position or didn't work for a year or two?

I have applications in for other non-TT jobs (mostly postdocs) that would be a better fit for me.  Should I wait to leave this position until I hear back about the other ones even though I hope to leave either way?

What is my obligation to my department in terms of notifying them of my plans (particularly regarding when)?

Thank you.

[drpud]

I'm sure most here would advise you that the smartest thing to do would be to wait and see if anything else comes down the pipeline for next year. That is solid advice. But, in my opinion, if you plan to leave the non-TT job either way, then I would start putting that plan into action sooner rather than later. You owe your current department the courtesy of some advance notice but that is about it, frankly.

I honestly don't think leaving a non-TT job after one year will hurt your prospects on the academic job market. I'm sure that the affiliation and additional teaching experience would look better on fall job applications than unemployment, but, with the market the way it is right now, I doubt it will make that much difference to your career in the long run.

As someone on a postdoc away from my partner at the moment, I can understand how you feel and my plan for next year is NOT to accept far away VAPs or other positions in a desperate attempt to get on the tenure track someday. It just isn't worth it to me, not to mention the fact that there is no guarantee any of this will ever pay off, but I've only realized this by going though the separation this year. So the miserable time apart was worth it just to get where I am today.

But why don't we see what other, perhaps wiser, CHE posters have to say about this. Good luck!

[larryc]

What is your field?

[hocro]

Thanks, drpud.  It's nice to hear someone else say that sometimes it's not worth it to be away from your partner for a non-TT.

larryc - my field is communication.  I can stay in my position a couple more years, but I'm really hoping something else comes along.

[prof_smartypants]

My husband moved from me for a job a couple of years ago. While not academic, it was a very high paying and prestigious position in his field.

After 4 months he quit and came home. He hated being away, hated the long hours, hated living alone, etc. The good news is that his leaving allowed me the freedom to do a national search rather than be confined to his city. He will probably never go back to working in his field (he's since followed his folly/passion/hobby and is trying to make a living off of that). But we're both really happy, and wouldn't have done anything different.

[humanfactor]

Thanks, drpud.  It's nice to hear someone else say that sometimes it's not worth it to be away from your partner for a non-TT.

It's even conceivable that it's not worth it to be away from your partner for a TT! That's how I feel, anyway.. prof_s's story is consistent with that... and the word "happy" came up, which seems to me as good a goal as any to pursue.

[collegechoice]

Yes, leave to be with wife.

[offthemarket]

The thing that you need to take out of this job into the tenure track market is an excellent and detailed letter of recommendation from someone in this department where you are a VAP.  If you leave because you're not happy and you can't get one senior faculty member to write you a stellar letter, this will leave a question mark in your file.

Even though you're miserable, hopefully this isn't well known.