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[bluezebracat]

My SO has a lucrative, non-academic position that for specialization reasons means work is available in one, maybe two cities in the US.  I have applied to TT positions up and down the East Coast that are commutable (preferably by car, 4 hours max preferable) or by plane.

Signs are good so far.  If I don't screw up, I think I could get lucky.  The position that is courting me most seriously is a 4 hr commute, and would require a local pied a terre.

My question is this: Previously, when I was doing research elsewhere with a 3.5 hour commute, I would go to TOWN B for 2-3 days out of the week.  This was agreeable to my SO. 

a)  When do I mention to the SC that I would be commuting?  Do I ever mention it?  How else might I get a favorable class schedule?

b) This is a top SLAC with intense research requirements, hence I plan on smiling a lot but weaseling out of as many service requirements as possible.  (I don't mind service, but the math isn't there with the research requirements) Will the dept respect my, "sorry, I'm not here on Friday and Monday so I can't go to that meeting"?  Or will my colleagues resent me?  Or given that they will, how common is this kind of TB problem?

c) what are some strategies or things I can say to mitigate this? 

Several of the faculty in my degree granting institution either did a plane commute or a train commute and weren't there on Fridays and Mondays, but still got tenure.  Is this common?

[fourhats]

I'll take this one, since I've been on the hiring and administrative end of such requests.

The short answer is 1) you don't tell them; and 2) if you "weasel" out of meetings and other obligations at a top SLAC because of commuting, they sure as heck will resent you.  Where you live is your problem, not theirs.  The work that you don't do because of where you live is everyone's.

[zharkov]

I agree about not telling them upfront.  About your ability to "weasel" out of meetings, on my experience, it depends on the culture of the place and how much other faculty commute in.  Some schools have meeting day or days, usually not on Fridays, where faculty are expected to be available.  Also, it is usually fine to tell a committee chair that you are available on Tues, Weds, Thurs, but not Friday. 

One subtle issue is that the commute may signal to some of the people at the school a lack of commitment.  I worked at one school where a middle level admin was hired and never bothered changing the out of state plates on the car.  No surprise that the admin packed up and left after a year or so.

So perhaps the key to making it work is that, when you are there, really really be there, be visible, and get involved with this or that.

[offthemarket]

Never mention it.  They should only learn about it if they read your HR paperwork with your home address.

Where you live is none of their business, provided that you do your job well.  Just be sure that you satisfy people in terms of service, which depends on the culture of a place.  Most SLACs would be bummed if you lived a few hours away.  (In my current gig, I'm on campus 2-3 days per week and carry my fair share of service load, but the culture here is to judge people on quality and output not facetime.  Students don't expect me to be in all the time.  And I answer emails very quickly.)

[janewales]

You don't need to tell your potential employer where you'll be living, but I don't think it's going to be a good long-term situation if you take the job with the intention of shirking part of it. Of course you'll want that 4-day weekend, but if you take it, then it might mean that someone else, who also has to meet the same research requirements as you, and who might also have a complicated home life, will have to pick up the slack.

[sibyl]

No need to tell them in advance, but if you don't tell anyone after you get hired (or perhaps after you spend a semester on the ground and suss out the lay of the land), you'll never get a favorable schedule.

In my experience people are willing to go along with reasonable requests, as long as you share the pain.  That is, no one will like you if you beg off from weekends AND early morning classes AND evening classes AND committee work AND...  So, if weekends are important to you, volunteer to teach those early morning sections that nobody likes, and agree to serve as the advisor to the student club which meets Wednesday night, and be willing to give up one weekend during the term -- say, homecoming weekend, when they look for faculty to offer lectures to alumni and parents, or admissions weekend, when they want faculty to interview prospective freshmen.  (These examples come from my SLAC; requirements will vary by institutional type.)

Good luck.

[lizzy]

You don't need to tell your potential employer where you'll be living, but I don't think it's going to be a good long-term situation if you take the job with the intention of shirking part of it. Of course you'll want that 4-day weekend, but if you take it, then it might mean that someone else, who also has to meet the same research requirements as you, and who might also have a complicated home life, will have to pick up the slack.

I'm not at a SLAC, but this seems to me important for the OP to really recognize. They're hiring the whole package, not just the part you're willing to play; if you weasel out on service, that puts the burden on others. And they won't like it.

[bluezebracat]

Thanks for the good advice folks. 

It's not my personality to weasel.  Let me put it this way: I am teaching a two class load as a temp where I show up at 8am and am there till 5pm meeting with students outside of class the days I teach. I know academia is a 60 hour a week job minimum, and I am happy with that.  I am committed to the developing my field and my department--I have already applied for (admittedly easy) grants where I adjuncted. 

However, I am using the word 'weasel' in the most upfront honest way.  I'm not out to screw my colleagues, but it is a myth to believe that I will be as available as someone else who lives on or near campus. I will make my utmost effort to be fully present when I am on campus, but the reality of the two-body, two city problem is that I can only be on campus 4 days a week (unless I want a divorce).  Give me all the service you want, heck, I'll do more than other junior faculty, but it has to be M-Th.  You want me to teach an extra class because someone is sick?  Fine, but it has to M-Th.

How do I broach this topic in an honest way and when?  After all the paperwork is signed?  I also don't want the SC to feel screwed. 

I believe that the school will be happy with my performance but I cannot believe that with how common the two body problem is, that this kind of problem doesn't come up quite often.

[offthemarket]

You don't mention it.  You teach your classes, you serve your committees, you do your office hours, and you go home.  You try to work with your chair to make sure that your class assignments and such fit well with your commute.

[janewales]

I believe that the school will be happy with my performance but I cannot believe that with how common the two body problem is, that this kind of problem doesn't come up quite often.

It is common, and that's the problem I was trying to get at above. That is, a department could easily have several two-body couples, some single parents who have to do the school/ daycare run and so must leave by 3:00 every day, someone who's caring for an elderly parent who can't be left alone for long stretches, someone who's on the school board or the parks board or runs the church soup kitchen, someone desperately trying to finish a book before tenure .... In other words, it can be dangerous if it appears that any one person assumes his/ her complicated life should be accommodated, without seeming to acknowledge that others may have equally complicated lives. If something has to be done on a Friday, who does it?

I don't mean to jump on you: it sounds like you'd be a great colleague, and in most places, it is possible, often with time, to get a schedule that allows flexibility. It's just really important, particularly when you're new in a place, to remember that there might be sensitivities or resentment if one appears to be asking for special treatment without recognizing that others might have similar claims.