Astronomy
I've been promising a write-up of the Employment Special Session from the AAS Meeting, but honestly? I'm having trouble writing it because I'm having trouble detaching myself from the subject, since I'm on the job market myself. So, instead, I'm going to talk here about the Rumo(u)r Mill.
The rumour mill is a clearinghouse for gossip about who make shortlists, gets offers, and lands jobs in astrophysics, said jobs being almost exclusively in academia. On the one hand, it's the one weapon that wepeons job hunters have against The Man. Knowledge is power and all that. On the other hand, it can also be a vortex of pain and suffering as you realize that the plum job you applied for has already drawn up its shortlist and you're not on it.
There's currently a raging debate in the revisions section on whether or not to post about people who leave astronomy. You can even answer a poll on the subject. (Currently, the ayes have it.) My own opinion is that it would be useful information to have. One of the reasons for the Longitudinal Survey, after all, is that there is little data on what happens to the people who leave astronomy. Do women preferentially leave academic astronomy? Why? I think the data would be great to have.
It is not unheard of, after all, to turn to the Rumo(u)r Mill as a source for data. Also, to only list academic jobs reinforces the snobbery that only university professorships count as successful careers in science.
As fascinating as the debate over whether non-academic jobs should be listed on the Rumo(u)r Mill is (it's like watching a train wreck, actually), I think the acrimony of the debate is a measure for just how bad the job market is this year. Not to mention that this isn't the first time that the comments have been less than civil (i.e. the kerfuffles over the Hubble and Einstein fellowships in particular). I think people are afraid that if they don't get academic jobs this year, they will be forgotten or be called failures. I also suspect that a lot of very good people will end up begin left out the cold this year, not because they aren't any good, but simply because there aren't enough jobs to go around. Seeing a list of those people might send a wake-up call to the community in that regard, because I would not at all be surprised if it isn't necessarily the quality of your work that determines your success, but your persistence and how much bull$#!+ you're willing to put up with.
- Update On The Number Of Women Hired
Update: The numbers below have been updated thanks to the careful verification of the anonymous commenter and the updated status of the UCSB and Illinois hires (Ruth Murray-Clay and Ryan Foley, respectively). Last year I wrote a post about...
- Job Application Season -- Think Broadly & Take Advantage Of Resources!
With the job application season around the corner once again, I thought it might be helpful to share a few relatively new resources spearheaded by astronomers, for astronomers. The AAS Job Register is starting to branch out to advertise more than...
- Guest Post: Dealing With Rejection By Jessica Kirkpatrick
In last week's AASWOMEN, we invited our readers to work with the CSWA in a variety of ways, including writing guest blog entries. Your response has been both surprising and delightful! It has already inspired an upgrade to our Women In Astronomy Blog....
- How To Succeed
Imposter syndrome can manifest itself in many different ways. My particular brand is that whenever I achieve something or win something or what-have-you, I immediately think, "if they're giving this to me, they must be giving them out like candy."...
- Wia 2009: Criticisms
By and large, the Women in Astronomy and Space Sciences last week was a success. This is not to say that it was perfect. Among the criticisms I've heard: The continuing emphasis on faculty jobs as the ideal career trajectory. From Alyssa (aka Mrs....
Astronomy
Employment in Astronomy
I've been promising a write-up of the Employment Special Session from the AAS Meeting, but honestly? I'm having trouble writing it because I'm having trouble detaching myself from the subject, since I'm on the job market myself. So, instead, I'm going to talk here about the Rumo(u)r Mill.
The rumour mill is a clearinghouse for gossip about who make shortlists, gets offers, and lands jobs in astrophysics, said jobs being almost exclusively in academia. On the one hand, it's the one weapon that we
There's currently a raging debate in the revisions section on whether or not to post about people who leave astronomy. You can even answer a poll on the subject. (Currently, the ayes have it.) My own opinion is that it would be useful information to have. One of the reasons for the Longitudinal Survey, after all, is that there is little data on what happens to the people who leave astronomy. Do women preferentially leave academic astronomy? Why? I think the data would be great to have.
It is not unheard of, after all, to turn to the Rumo(u)r Mill as a source for data. Also, to only list academic jobs reinforces the snobbery that only university professorships count as successful careers in science.
As fascinating as the debate over whether non-academic jobs should be listed on the Rumo(u)r Mill is (it's like watching a train wreck, actually), I think the acrimony of the debate is a measure for just how bad the job market is this year. Not to mention that this isn't the first time that the comments have been less than civil (i.e. the kerfuffles over the Hubble and Einstein fellowships in particular). I think people are afraid that if they don't get academic jobs this year, they will be forgotten or be called failures. I also suspect that a lot of very good people will end up begin left out the cold this year, not because they aren't any good, but simply because there aren't enough jobs to go around. Seeing a list of those people might send a wake-up call to the community in that regard, because I would not at all be surprised if it isn't necessarily the quality of your work that determines your success, but your persistence and how much bull$#!+ you're willing to put up with.
- Update On The Number Of Women Hired
Update: The numbers below have been updated thanks to the careful verification of the anonymous commenter and the updated status of the UCSB and Illinois hires (Ruth Murray-Clay and Ryan Foley, respectively). Last year I wrote a post about...
- Job Application Season -- Think Broadly & Take Advantage Of Resources!
With the job application season around the corner once again, I thought it might be helpful to share a few relatively new resources spearheaded by astronomers, for astronomers. The AAS Job Register is starting to branch out to advertise more than...
- Guest Post: Dealing With Rejection By Jessica Kirkpatrick
In last week's AASWOMEN, we invited our readers to work with the CSWA in a variety of ways, including writing guest blog entries. Your response has been both surprising and delightful! It has already inspired an upgrade to our Women In Astronomy Blog....
- How To Succeed
Imposter syndrome can manifest itself in many different ways. My particular brand is that whenever I achieve something or win something or what-have-you, I immediately think, "if they're giving this to me, they must be giving them out like candy."...
- Wia 2009: Criticisms
By and large, the Women in Astronomy and Space Sciences last week was a success. This is not to say that it was perfect. Among the criticisms I've heard: The continuing emphasis on faculty jobs as the ideal career trajectory. From Alyssa (aka Mrs....