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[samuel1977]

Hi,

I am completing my doctorate in Germany in the social sciences, and am looking for post doc positions or TT positions. My university comes among the top 200 in the world, and is one of the better known universities in Germany, and my adviser is very well known in his field, including in the transatlantic community. I was wondering whether the fact that I was his student would outweigh the fact that I dont come from an Ivy League university?

[mleok]

Does it really matter what the answer to this question is? It's not something you can change at this point in your career.

[samuel1977]

Yes, it is important. My supervisor is pretty well know in that field, across the Atlantic, but I am not sure about my university, in the US and Canada. When writing to prospective post doc PIs, I want to know if it is better to introduce myself as a student of XXX or as a doctoral candidate of XXX.  The university is well known in Germany and in Europe, but I am not sure if the famous insularity of the United States extends to academe. How many European universities are known in the United States or in Canada? The last thing I want to do is to invite someone to have to google my university!

[zyzzx]

Why not just say that you are a student of XXX at YYY university. Or that you are a student at YYY university working with XXX.
If XXX is that well known in the US (and your university isn't), then people in your field probably associate the University with him anyway. There are several European Universities that I know about primarily because famous person works there. When I hear the University mentioned, my first thought is "isn't that where famous person works?"
For what it's worth, in my field I'd say that a bigshot adviser trumps a non-famous university.

[anisogamy]

Why not just say that you are a student of XXX at YYY university. Or that you are a student at YYY university working with XXX.

This makes sense to me too, given the possible unfamiliarity of your audience with your institution.  If it happens to be Max Planck, I'd probably drop the advisor's name, but otherwise it might be best in your case to give both.

[scion]

The university is well known in Germany and in Europe, but I am not sure if the famous insularity of the United States extends to academe. 

In my field (and allied fields) terminal degrees from Europe are generally considered inferior because they have less rigorous training and/or requirements for the degree (which, I guess, is a far more serious hurdle than the insularity/unfamiliarity problem you fear).  And perhaps it is not really a matter of inferiority but more like comparing apples and oranges.  If you have a famous advisor, definitely make that connection clear.

[ruralguy]

In my physical sciences field, it usually goes in order of : 1. impact of your individual work 2. adviser 3. rank of uni or dept. , with all 3 probably being somewhat correlated at various levels.

I think the insularity spreads to academia somewhat. I certainly would not assume that most have heard of your University.

Many of us, even at small schools, have had international experiences (born in another nation, extended visits abroad, collaborate internationally), but I have colleagues who have never been outside of the US and not even visited several of the uS major cities.
Very insular.

I happen to be familar with some schools in Israel. Though most US folks even in academia, would not know the names "Bar Ilan" or "Technion", certainly folks in certain specific fields would be well aware of the work of the individuals. Same in Germany with respect to say "Landesternwarte" (I hope I spelled it right) and other places.

[larryc]

The university is well known in Germany and in Europe, but I am not sure if the famous insularity of the United States extends to academe. 

In my field (and allied fields) terminal degrees from Europe are generally considered inferior because they have less rigorous training and/or requirements for the degree (which, I guess, is a far more serious hurdle than the insularity/unfamiliarity problem you fear).  And perhaps it is not really a matter of inferiority but more like comparing apples and oranges.  If you have a famous advisor, definitely make that connection clear.

I do think that most American academics are fairly ignorant of the mechanics of doctoral programs in Europe. Or maybe that is just me. And to the extent that they do know anything they tend towards skepticism, for the reasons Scion gives.

The best ways to overcome this when looking for a job in the U.S. is to 1) push the identity of your big shot advisor, 2) have publications in American-based journals, and 3) have undergraduate teaching experience. These last two will make your application package far more familiar to them.

[aprilmay]

Both are important, but the caliber of university will always matter. Having a famous advisor will not outweigh a university because there will be many who have both. larryc's advice is good. Publish, publish, publish.

[ruralguy]

Publishing is never bad (unless its a bad article!), and is part of why I said "impact of your individual work" can outweight all.

Also, it will tend to counteract the "where the hell is that?" effect people might have when they read the author affiliation line,
or get your CV. Its not like people from other nations are the only ones who will suffer through that. There are plenty of places in the US that are less familiar to those who only care about Ivies.

I agree that teaching experience also can't hurt.

[punarish]

How many publications are we talking about?

[ruralguy]

The OP never even mentioned publications.

Its just that a few responders said that perhaps "some" or "a few" publications that are good will help people know who he is.

Quoting a magic number would be silly, which is why I will do it.  Four.

[samuel1977]

I have a three chapters in edited books from prestigious British and American publishers, two articles in peer reviewed journals with a mid level impact factor, here in Germany, and an offer from Routledge. Would this be enough to impress a post doc committee?