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News: Talk online about your experiences as an adjunct, visiting assistant professor, postdoc, or other contract faculty member.
 
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Author Topic: Leaving VAP for 2nd Postdoc?  (Read 3281 times)
lazarusj
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« on: December 01, 2011, 12:57:31 PM »

Hi Folks,
  I guess I'm just looking for advice.  After 3 years as a postdoc in immunology at a large research institution (I had my own research funding for most of the time and still have a small amount), I jumped into a visiting faculty position at a nearby small liberal arts college.  Originally, I thought this was a great career move because I loved teaching as an adjunct while I was in graduate school.  I'm in my second year of teaching at this liberal arts college and I'm having second thoughts about my career move and I'm contemplating going back into research full time.  Some information about the position I have, it is not tenure track but there is definitely a long-term need for me and the position could be converted to tenure track eventually.  The teaching load is high (2 or 3 lab courses per semester), I have 20 advisees and advising is taken seriously here, I have several students working with me on senior capstone research projects, and I am now a coordinator for a good chunk of the courses in the department.  I'm not complaining about the work load, I knew it would be high, but I'm finding that it is not my thing.  I still do biomedical research at a nearby research institution on school breaks and the summer.  I'm finding more and more that research and grant writing are things that I'm pretty decent at.  However, during the semester there is absolutely no time to even think about research problems let alone write grants or publish papers.  I recently realized that the salary that I get as a visiting professor is the same as I was receiving as a postdoc (because of no cost of living raises and benefits package recently cut in half).  Also, I have a 1-hour commute to the liberal arts college and only 30 minutes to the large research institution.  I'm seriously thinking of jumping ship at the end of this year and doing a second postdoc with the goal of establishing my own research funding again.  After that I don't know, perhaps I could be a research associate or a postdoc for a good chunk of time.  It also doesn't help that all the other new visiting assistant professors who were hired with me have resigned for other career moves. Am I crazy to want to leave this (fairly secure?) position?  I'm having trouble trying to make the decision to stick around the small college or go back to research.
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matand
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Posts: 340


« Reply #1 on: December 16, 2011, 01:16:23 PM »

Similar position here.  I do love teaching but am passionate about research as well.  Do what you love!  If you can't fathom many more years of lots of teaching, office hours, student advising/service, then move on.  Additionally, realize now (as you apparently do) that a 2/3 (or 3/3 for me) teaching load does not = productive research.

Multiple post-docs are common right now because of the economy.  If you forsee a research-oriented career, a second post-doc will get you farther than your teaching-oriented gig.
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