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[literatur45]

Thanks for all the suggestions. In my case, the report will be used for (tiny) merit raises expected for the next academic year. I met with my chair and showed him a draft, and I think I'm generally on the right track in compiling this report. Now if only they would hurry up and get those eval scores from the fall to us for inclusion in the report...

[oldnavyld]

I finally got that reappointment letter in the mail that I have been waiting for...Good news is they want me back. Bad news is that the salary they offered is the same as I have this year. I'm happy to be back, but miffed at the offer. Not to toot my own horn, but I have received nothing but praise and great remarks from my chair and dean and I have exceeded their expectations for a first year faculty member. I feel like this offer is somewhat of a slap in the face. I want to discuss this with my chair, however I don't want to come off as being arrogant and/or unappreciative.

My university is in a large state system with a union, so I know that there are policies in place for annual raises. I want to look out for myself and not let the administration walk-over me because I'm young and new.

Suggestions please!

[prof_smartypants]

I"m at a state school, too, and I haven't received a raise at all. I'm still making the same salary I did when I took the job as a NON-TT lecturer in 2009. The state legislature has basically frozen salaries.

So you might want to take that into consideration, or assume that that is the case when you go to see your chair. (S)he may have no power to give you a raise, even if (s)he wanted to.

[seniorscholar]

My university is in a large state system with a union, so I know that there are policies in place for annual raises. I want to look out for myself and not let the administration walk-over me because I'm young and new.

Suggestions please!

Um . . . talk to your union; that's what they're there for.

[prof_smartypants]

My university is in a large state system with a union, so I know that there are policies in place for annual raises. I want to look out for myself and not let the administration walk-over me because I'm young and new.

Suggestions please!

Um . . . talk to your union; that's what they're there for.

Oh yes, I missed the union part. Absolutely talk to them. But don't necessarily assume anyone is out to get you - it might just be that it's a crappy year and no one's getting raises.

[i_am_moving]

I'm having my yearly evaluation talk with my Department Head. My first time doing this. I'm not expecting a raise at all. I'm happy with what I'm being paid for, as for now. I hope I did well. At least, I know I'm going to be staying.

[rugger]

Just wanted to drop in and give a quick hello...I can hardly believe it is already mid-March! The first year on the tenure track has been flat out insane, in a good way (I think?) Am seriously looking forward to the summer and some time for concentrated research and writing.

[prof_smartypants]

I just got notification that my edited book has gone to press! I should be getting proofs shortly. It is due out in October!!!

[southerntransplant]

I just got notification that my edited book has gone to press! I should be getting proofs shortly. It is due out in October!!!

Congratulations! Great news...

[seniorscholar]

I just got notification that my edited book has gone to press! I should be getting proofs shortly. It is due out in October!!!

Congratulations!

[golden_ticket]

Also checking in. Congrats to all who were able to get stuff done while still trying to adjust to the new job! I had a very good start of the spring semester until the unexpected hit: I received a diagnosis of cancer about a month ago. Not the type of challenge one would expect on the first TT year. The prognosis is very good though since it was caught before it had the chance to spread. Although I have just started in August, everybody in my own department and elsewhere has been incredibly supportive. My colleagues covered my classes while I was out for a week for surgery, and several colleagues have been helping me out by accompanying me to medical appointments, taking me grocery shopping, and giving emotional support (I do not have any family in the area). It's incredible considering that we barely had time to establish close relationships. Both the dean and the college president sent me cards (it's a SLAC with a tight-knit community). My students have been very mature about the whole issue and many sent me emails to let me know that they are thinking about me. Even though this situation sucks, I'm glad that this happened here and not while in grad school. I am in a major metro area with top-notch university-affiliated medical centers, and I have good health insurance (unlike when I was still in grad school a year ago - I don't even want to think about how this would have turned out!). This whole episode shows me that it was the right decision to take the job here. I will be starting chemo treatment next week. I hope that the side effects won't be as bad - I really want to be able to work normally as much as possible. I enjoy it and it's a good distraction. I just need to make it to the end of the semester somehow, but I am very optimistic.

[laurel_knx]

Also checking in. Congrats to all who were able to get stuff done while still trying to adjust to the new job! I had a very good start of the spring semester until the unexpected hit: I received a diagnosis of cancer about a month ago. Not the type of challenge one would expect on the first TT year. The prognosis is very good though since it was caught before it had the chance to spread. Although I have just started in August, everybody in my own department and elsewhere has been incredibly supportive. My colleagues covered my classes while I was out for a week for surgery, and several colleagues have been helping me out by accompanying me to medical appointments, taking me grocery shopping, and giving emotional support (I do not have any family in the area). It's incredible considering that we barely had time to establish close relationships. Both the dean and the college president sent me cards (it's a SLAC with a tight-knit community). My students have been very mature about the whole issue and many sent me emails to let me know that they are thinking about me. Even though this situation sucks, I'm glad that this happened here and not while in grad school. I am in a major metro area with top-notch university-affiliated medical centers, and I have good health insurance (unlike when I was still in grad school a year ago - I don't even want to think about how this would have turned out!). This whole episode shows me that it was the right decision to take the job here. I will be starting chemo treatment next week. I hope that the side effects won't be as bad - I really want to be able to work normally as much as possible. I enjoy it and it's a good distraction. I just need to make it to the end of the semester somehow, but I am very optimistic.

Wow, sorry to hear that. Best of luck with the treatment!!! Have you already read Life on the Tenure Track by Lang? Maybe his experience missing class due to his Crohn's disease flareup would offer you some food for thought during chemo. IIRC, he makes it clear that sometimes you just have to stop and take care of yourself. Again, good luck!

[literatur45]

So sorry to hear this, golden_ticket. Good thoughts going out to you.

Given golden_ticket's much more serious situation, the following thoughts seem almost trivial, but I wanted to ask other new TT faculty (especially, though not exclusively, those at teaching-focused institutions) if they've also struggled with what one might call an academic identity crisis. With that I mean the well-known disconnect between the more research-intensive days as a grad student at an R1 and the new identity we have now assumed as faculty at schools with a heavy teaching load. I've had a course release this first year, and I've managed to work on a few projects already begun during the last year of grad school, but I still get dejected when I look at how productive other young scholars (whether Ph.D. students who were part of my cohort last year or newly appointed TT faculty) have been in terms of publishing. I am very happy with the teaching part of my new identity and would not want to leave the school, but it's still hard to accept that I'm just not as competitive with my research anymore as I was last year. I guess the easiest solution is to just stop comparing myself to these other scholars, and I'm sure I'll gradually get to a point where I don't. Anybody else struggle with this?

[laurel_knx]

So sorry to hear this, golden_ticket. Good thoughts going out to you.

Given golden_ticket's much more serious situation, the following thoughts seem almost trivial, but I wanted to ask other new TT faculty (especially, though not exclusively, those at teaching-focused institutions) if they've also struggled with what one might call an academic identity crisis. With that I mean the well-known disconnect between the more research-intensive days as a grad student at an R1 and the new identity we have now assumed as faculty at schools with a heavy teaching load. I've had a course release this first year, and I've managed to work on a few projects already begun during the last year of grad school, but I still get dejected when I look at how productive other young scholars (whether Ph.D. students who were part of my cohort last year or newly appointed TT faculty) have been in terms of publishing. I am very happy with the teaching part of my new identity and would not want to leave the school, but it's still hard to accept that I'm just not as competitive with my research anymore as I was last year. I guess the easiest solution is to just stop comparing myself to these other scholars, and I'm sure I'll gradually get to a point where I don't. Anybody else struggle with this?

I'm definitely struggling with it even at an R2 where research is valued. I'm still considering the possibility of someday moving up to an R1 and whether I really WANT the R1 lifestyle or if it's just my competitive/jealous side talking. Cognitively, I know I want this less cut-throat environment and time/energy for my friends and family, but I also chafe under some of the demands on my time that are distracting from my research.

My only solution so far is to spend time affirming my choice--"People have different values on how they spend their time. Maybe I'm making different choices than others, but they are valid and good choices for me." You might also focus on goal setting, if you don't already. If you set reasonable goals for your research and meet them, you can feel good about what you're doing and rely less on social comparison to judge your success.

[profnewbie]

Hi all--I'm new here; just discovered this thread today. Reading it was wonderful, like therapy really. I started my TT job in August at a SLAC. I'm happy with my school and department; colleagues have been friendly and students are polite and mostly willing to work hard. But I've experienced a lot of the same anxiety and depression that a lot of you are talking about on here, so good to know that I'm not alone in this. Literatur45, your most recent comment sounds exactly like what I've been feeling of late. I haven't been able to get any research done this year; I've even let an R&R on a journal article slide way past its due date. My teaching load is 3/3; 2 new prep each semester this year and 2/3 in each semester were labor-heavy service courses. I attended one conference, but otherwise haven't been able to do more than keep my head above water with the teaching and the service. I'm so thankful to have this job and to be where I am, but it does get disheartening to watch my research get shoved further and further under the rug, and it has provoked a bit of an identity crisis as I was always the ambitious researcher in grad school. Just wanted to commiserate and to say what a wonderful find this forum has been! Best wishes for your speedy recovery, Golden_Ticket.