{"id":54,"date":"2009-03-18T17:43:25","date_gmt":"2009-03-18T21:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mathgradblog.williams.edu\/?p=54"},"modified":"2009-03-18T17:43:25","modified_gmt":"2009-03-18T21:43:25","slug":"getting-a-teaching-research-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/mathgradblog\/2009\/03\/18\/getting-a-teaching-research-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting a (Teaching-Research) Job"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Brian Katz<\/a><\/p>\n

In high school, we had guidance counselors to help us make a plan; in \u00a0college, we had a mentor or dean to make sure we were on the path to our \u00a0goals. But who fills the role of career guide during graduate school? The most natural answer is the thesis advisor. The problem with this is that \u00a0most research faculty who produce students only have experience getting\u00a0research jobs. So what part of their advice should those of us interested\u00a0in jobs that balance teaching and research take? Over this past year,\u00a0while applying for jobs, I have realized that the spirit of their advice\u00a0is exactly right, though some of the details are a little different: as a\u00a0graduate student, you are a bit of an unknown quantity, and the mark of a\u00a0strong application is one that makes it clear what kind of peer, coworker,\u00a0and faculty member you will be. In the end, you will be measured by the\u00a0evidence that you can provide to support your CV and the quality of\u00a0impressions that you have made on other people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Details.\u00a0There are five main parts to most applications for teaching-research jobs:\u00a0a cover letter, a curriculum vitae, a teaching statement, a research\u00a0statement, and letters of recommendation. Each of these is a chance to\u00a0give a clear picture of yourself as a future coworker.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

CV:<\/strong> In short, your CV should resemble your career goals as closely as possible. Graduate school is a fascinating time when we are hybrids, part\u00a0student and part teacher. The kind of school that expects faculty to\u00a0balance teaching and research expects the same from the graduate career of\u00a0a potential hire. And the kind of job that places full emphasis on\u00a0research expects you to do a substantial amount of new mathematics while\u00a0juggling other graduate responsibilities, as you will as a faculty member.\u00a0This is also the best place to show engagement and involvement in the\u00a0mathematical community through talks and conference participation. Take\u00a0the opportunity to do community outreach, attend conferences, collaborate\u00a0with others inside and outside your university, or demonstrate teaching\u00a0excellence, depending on what you want from your career. Would you hire\u00a0someone on the promise that his\/her behavior will change upon graduation?<\/p>\n

Research Statement:<\/strong> The ultimate benchmark for quality research is\u00a0publishing in a peer-reviewed journal. If this is possible for you, you\u00a0should try to have a paper accepted for publication by the time you send\u00a0out your applications. But this is not the purpose of the research\u00a0statement. Instead, your goal is to demonstrate that you have done\u00a0original mathematics, that you can communicate your work outside of the\u00a0most elite circle of specialists, that you ask interesting questions, and\u00a0that you have a detailed and realistic plan for future research after you\u00a0leave the shelter of your advisor’s regular advice. A respected mentor\u00a0from a small liberal arts college also told me that he uses the research\u00a0statement to see how well the applicant can teach him about his\/her work.<\/p>\n

In addition, many teaching-research schools have a strong preference for\u00a0research that is collaborative, especially with students. You should be\u00a0able to support claims that you can work with students with specific\u00a0project ideas and a realistic description of the student who could do the\u00a0work. This last bit is very unusual for a graduate student, so it takes\u00a0some planning.<\/p>\n

Teaching Statement<\/strong>: The teaching statement should make it clear what kind\u00a0of teacher you are, particularly in situations in which you have had more\u00a0responsibility. This means that you must be specific and detailed but\u00a0connect to the reader, and be sure to support your claims with evidence\u00a0other than your own opinion. Quote from your student evaluations and email\u00a0correspondence; it’s not inappropriate to email any former students that\u00a0you think you made an impression on and ask them how they have faired\u00a0since leaving your class. I believe that schools that care about high\u00a0quality teaching are open to many perspectives on teaching, but you should\u00a0also avoid evaluating other philosophies. Simply describe the challenges\u00a0that you have met and overcome, and let that speak to the relative merit\u00a0of your perspective.<\/p>\n

I thought of constructing this document like writing a song: avoid waxing\u00a0philosophical like a poorly written love song, and make sure it’s not just\u00a0a story that your friends will understand. A wise song-writing teacher of\u00a0mine once said that good songs contain “furniture”, objects that are\u00a0universal enough that anyone can relate to them but specific enough to\u00a0call up a colorful image in the listener’s mind.<\/p>\n

Letters of Recommendation:<\/strong> The letters are probably the most important\u00a0part of the application because they are written by people who have\u00a0already been vetted by the system. But that means that the recommender\u00a0needs to convince the reader that they know you pretty well. Your thesis\u00a0advisor will know you well enough for this, but you should make sure that\u00a0he\/she is clear on the kinds of jobs you want. I would strongly recommend\u00a0that you find another mathematician in your field to write about your\u00a0research. If you have a collaborator, that is great; otherwise you will\u00a0need to cultivate some relationship through repeated conversations and\u00a0demonstrated response to suggestions. For teaching-research jobs you will\u00a0also need teaching letters. This can only be done well by someone who has\u00a0seen you teach and talked to you about teaching. If you’ve been a TA for a\u00a0good teacher, try to maintain a relationship. Consider talking to that\u00a0person about your later experiences with more responsibility and then\u00a0asking the person to observe your class. Personally, I think it take more\u00a0than one observation to write a personal letter about teaching, and it is\u00a0a rare faculty member who will sit through more than one session of a\u00a0class as a favor to a graduate student. Three letters is a fairly standard\u00a0minimum, but most schools are happy to see more. If you have been involved\u00a0in an unusual program, a letter from a faculty member involved is a perfect way to make sure it is\u00a0explained in detail. But remember, it is the quality of the letters, not\u00a0the quantity that leaves an impression. Personally, I would avoid any\u00a0letter by non-academic writers unless it’s going to be very strong or\u00a0directly applicable to the job.<\/p>\n

These kinds of relationships are hard to nurture; start early. If you are\u00a0unsure about the quality of a letter or how specific it will be, ask\u00a0directly, but be prepared to ask someone else if you don’t get the right\u00a0answer. Give each recommender the relevant application materials, give\u00a0them time to look them over, and offer to talk about any part of it.<\/p>\n

Cover Letter:<\/strong> This single page is your only chance to communicate that you\u00a0understand what the job will be like and that you are specifically\u00a0interested in their job. It should include the highlights of your\u00a0application, the things that you think will grab their attention and\u00a0separate you from the pack, and address all unusual details of the school\u00a0or job. Many places scan for proper nouns on this page; sometimes it’s not\u00a0even a mathematician who does the scanning. Edit this meticulously as a\u00a0typo here is disrespectful and hence fatal.<\/p>\n

Preparing for the Gauntlet.\u00a0This kind of preparation can take years. It can be done later, but it will become a full-time job, and you’ve already got two of those. I learned a\u00a0lot from writing my first draft of each of these documents even though the\u00a0final drafts are almost unrecognizable in comparison. In fact, I learned a\u00a0lot about myself as a teacher by writing my teaching statement. I don’t\u00a0see any reason not to try to do this well in advance.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

But let me make one point very clear. It may sound like I’m advocating\u00a0making personal relationships to strengthen your application. Although\u00a0that is a good recommendation, it misses the point. I think you should\u00a0talk to mathematicians about math and teachers about teaching and keep\u00a0records of your own performance because these are the parts of graduate\u00a0school that transform you into a better teacher-researcher. It’s a happy\u00a0side-effect that they also make you a stronger applicant.<\/p>\n

I make no claims to have done the application process perfectly, but I did\u00a0receive a very strong reaction from the teaching-research schools during\u00a0this year of economic crisis (particularly my teaching statement). If\u00a0you’re curious, my application materials can be found on my website.<\/a><\/p>\n

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by Brian Katz In high school, we had guidance counselors to help us make a plan; in \u00a0college, we had a mentor or dean to make sure we were on the path to our \u00a0goals. But who fills the role … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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