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[polly_mer]

A TT- or tenured college professor does more than teach; if you want only to teach, leave the TT.  A TT- or tenured professor cannot simply "write what he or she wants and not under pressure"; if you wish to do this, leave the TT.  

<double take>

What?!  I (or Dr_Zack) should not be a TT professor because I want to pick a research project that interests me and pursue it the way I want instead of the way someone thinks I should do it?

I thought that was one of the major benefits of being a professor: the freedom to work on any project I like as long as I make good enough progress evidenced through presentations and publications.  If I wanted to work on other people's projects on their timelines to meet their goals, then I would still be in industry.

Now, I agree that someone who doesn't want to teach should leave a TT position.  Someone who doesn't want to do any writing of any kind should leave a TT position.

However, someone who wants to spend less time writing assigned work by the department, college, and/or university is normal--just like someone who doesn't want to be on the crappy, time-suck committees that have no prayer of making the changes that would help make teaching and research more effective.

[msparticularity]

A TT- or tenured college professor does more than teach; if you want only to teach, leave the TT.  A TT- or tenured professor cannot simply "write what he or she wants and not under pressure"; if you wish to do this, leave the TT.  

<double take>

What?!  I (or Dr_Zack) should not be a TT professor because I want to pick a research project that interests me and pursue it the way I want instead of the way someone thinks I should do it?

I thought that was one of the major benefits of being a professor: the freedom to work on any project I like as long as I make good enough progress evidenced through presentations and publications.  If I wanted to work on other people's projects on their timelines to meet their goals, then I would still be in industry.

Now, I agree that someone who doesn't want to teach should leave a TT position.  Someone who doesn't want to do any writing of any kind should leave a TT position.

However, someone who wants to spend less time writing assigned work by the department, college, and/or university is normal--just like someone who doesn't want to be on the crappy, time-suck committees that have no prayer of making the changes that would help make teaching and research more effective.

Sure--but for those of us who find the academic life satisfying, the crappy assigned aspects are an annoyance that is outweighed by the joy we take in the other aspects of our work. It sounds as if, for Dr_zach, the teaching and research are agreeable, but perhaps not fulfilling enough to make up for the aforementioned crappy stuff. IOW, it's all about how the balance works for us.

That said, I disagree with those here who are condemning him as a waste of a TT slot. It really is the case for most of us that life is a process of moving forward and doing our best to assess things honestly as we go. Berating someone for undertaking this process honestly--and for seeking input from others to help thinking through it--is shortsighted, to say the least. 

[glowdart]

Sure--but for those of us who find the academic life satisfying, the crappy assigned aspects are an annoyance that is outweighed by the joy we take in the other aspects of our work. It sounds as if, for Dr_zach, the teaching and research are agreeable, but perhaps not fulfilling enough to make up for the aforementioned crappy stuff. IOW, it's all about how the balance works for us.

That said, I disagree with those here who are condemning him as a waste of a TT slot. It really is the case for most of us that life is a process of moving forward and doing our best to assess things honestly as we go. Berating someone for undertaking this process honestly--and for seeking input from others to help thinking through it--is shortsighted, to say the least. 

Indeed.  If the balance is off, and it sounds like it is, then dr_zack needs to readjust the balance -- and to hear from people who know what he's going through that needing to readjust the balance is a perfectly normal part of the job.  Sometimes, it can be done within your existing TT job; sometimes you need to move to a different TT job; sometimes, you are better off outside the profession altogether.

I hardly see how it is helpful to tell someone who is in this perfectly normal part of the TT career development process (and, from what I hear & see, the post-tenure career continuation process) that it's time to up and quit.  In what world is anyone ever perfectly happy and carefree and well-matched to all aspects of their job for 40 years?  There's a growth and development process that occurs on the tenure track and after tenure; don't rebuke the guy and tell him to chuck his career outright because he's cognizant of an imbalance and working through it.  It might be temporary, and it might be a sign of a needed career change, but we don't know that it is definitely anything other than a perfectly normal part of the process. 

[ruralguy]

OP,

I think, as maybe glowdart and others implied, the chair might just feel like he has to get the weirdness and bad stuff out of the way NOW, so that you will know how to make a very good tenure case into a rock solid one.  Or..maybe he's screwing you! Who knows. Assume the positive, keep doing good work, think of ways to work with your colleagues more, and, if you want to, apply for other jobs.

What kind of school are you at? Were you at my SLAC (and probably some that are slightly higher ranked), you'd probably get tenure, as the folks who ONLY had "fit issues" against them (even if it was a very vocal and negative chair) got tenure at my school.

At a very focused R1, I could see this being more of a problem.

[dreamsailor]

Flotsam, love to hear your story.

I certainly meant no offense, and I do in fact mean to be helpful.  In the original post, dr_zack says "for he last year or so I just feel as if I am not really doing what I 'should' be doing with my life and have untapped potential and interests," and in the follow-up dr_zack added the line I quoted before.  This clearly adds up to someone being unhappy with the life of a TT or tenured professor.  "Leaving the TT" seems to be the right thing for dr_zack to do, and I applaud his or her decision to do so.  Indeed, each of dr_zack's posts here have indicated that he or she really wants to leave the TT, and so I think dr_zack ought to be empowered to make this choice.

As a more general matter, every profession or job would have aspects one likes and others one does not like.  But I'm in a profession (that of a college professor) in which there are far fewer TT and tenured positions available to the many who are qualified and who desperately desire them.  Therefore I do not want to see such positions being held either by those, like dr_zack, who don't want to be there at all, or by those (and I did not imply dr_zack is in this group) who would simply use or misuse the TT- or tentured position as a sinecure from which to pursue largely personal interests.  A TT- or tenured college professor does more than teach; if you want only to teach, leave the TT.  A TT- or tenured professor cannot simply "write what he or she wants and not under pressure"; if you wish to do this, leave the TT.  

There's no shame whatsoever in saying that, although I have a PhD and have worked as a professor, I decided to become a teacher, a writer, or a member of whatever other "non-professor" occupation I choose.  Best wishes for your new, more satisfying, career.

[flotsam]

With repsect, I'm not sure that my story would be all that helpful.  Suffice it to say that, like the OP, I feel "lucky enough" to have a TT position, and I know (as does the OP) just how difficult and fortuitous it is to be in such a position.  I therefore understand the OP's quite understandable feeling of "stupidity," perhaps of guilt and unease, for wanting to leave while also knowing that he or she has it "so good." 

By my reading, which I concede may be incorrect, dr_zack clearly wants to leave the TT, and is asking something like permission to do so.  I heartily grant it, both for dr_zack and for the potential benefit of others.  (OP: please do correct me if I'm wrong here.)  The original post pointed stated, in part:

There has been some success there, but I feel it's rather limited in potential, and I have pretty much moved forward doing my own thing.

However, it's all made me rethink my place in academia -- not to mention that for he last year or so I just feel as if I am not really doing what I "should" be doing with my life and have untapped potential and interests. I also cannot see myself staying at this school or in this town forever.  But, I feel I could likely get tenure if I "played" it right.

Then, in response to what seems a reasonable suggestion from txgalprof, the OP wrote that:

while I love teaching and writing (what I want and not under pressure), I could care less about the other aspects of being a professor. Part of me knows I want to leave, and yet part of me feels stupid because I really have it very good. :)

Finally (as of this posting), dr_zack acknowledged, in response to what I agree are very helpful remarks from glowdart:

I guess in my head I thought that if I resigned now I would feel more free to put time into finding new opportunities, but I'm not sure how much logic or reality is really in that thinking.

All is to say, again, I think that dr_zack wants to leave the TT, and that some of the "encouragement" (though certainly well intentioned, reasonable, and useful) is in fact discouraging him or her from pursuing desirable alternatives.  Yes, I also think that an unhappy professor in a tenured or TT position is (blamelessly, perhaps) preventing someone else from occupying such a position, someone who might desperately want to be on the TT, indeed, someone who could truly say that this job is "what I 'should' be doing with my life."  But I still believe that if dr_zack wishes to leave ("I know I want to leave") to pursue "untapped potential and interests," then I will applaud the admittedly tough but ultimately correct decision to do so.

dr_zack, please weigh in if I'm out of place here, and if I have misinterpreted or misread your remarks.  I will certainly apologize.  Either way, I do wish you all the best, whatever your decision.

[marginalia]

In my opinion, leaving any stable job with benefits without having another stable job with benefits lined up in this economy is, to put it mildly, misguided - unless, of course, one is independently wealthy.

On the other hand, I agree that some soul-searching on this stage is inevitable. Last summer, after  not getting my dream job, and simultaneously getting an intriguing offer from the industry, I did a lot of that. In the end, I concluded that I wanted to stay here, in this job, in this town.

As for the persons saying that dr_zack leave his/her TT position because many other candidates are clamoring for it - well, this is a bit bizarre to me. If dr_zack is doing his/her job well, and plays well with others, there is absolutely no reason why he/she also must be ideologically pure. Thoughts are thoughts, asking for advice in an anonymous forum is just that. Tenure-track faculty grumble and will continue to grumble no matter how indignant it makes you; and after tenure, their grumbling will be protected by tenure.

As for the clamoring candidates, from experience: if an existing junior faculty member is doing his/her job reasonably well, it's really  smart to keep him/her. Replacing a junior faculty member is a pain. First, one must convince the college to approve the hire, which is not at all a given in this climate. Then there is the committee work of interviewing and selecting candidates, which may eat up a year of committee time, or in case of a failed search, two years. Then, there is the issue of mentoring the next junior colleague, who may be clamoring now, but might not be nearly this enthusiastic about the job after relocating and teaching for a while. He/she might have been great in an interview, but that will not always be a good indicator of how things will work out in reality due to personality issues, low publishing, leaving for another place after a few years, or any number of other things. And if a junior faculty member leaves after 3-4 years, the department must go again through the hiring roulette. It makes much more sense for both the junior faculty member and his/her colleagues to figure things out and live happily, if not perfectly, ever after.

A few thoughts for you, dr_zack: 1) new research topic. There's nothing like writing in a completely new subdiscipline! 2) Collaborate with one of your colleagues on a piece of research, or perhaps on teaching; this will kill a few birds at once. 3) If you're bored, get a hobby. When I have a moment, I'm doing something art-related on the side I really enjoy, and it keeps me happy and hopeful. 4) if you don't yet, find local friends who are not in academia, or in general talk to people who are not in academia; it's good for perspective!

Generally speaking, your fourth year - if you have enough for tenure - might be a good time to breathe in and start enjoying life. Nobody enjoys their job all the time. I know plenty of people in and out of academia who are in love with their jobs, but nobody so far confessed to loving every single moment. Accepting this is a part of adulthood.

Best of luck :-)