In my last post I had interviewed an amazing post-doc candidate that I felt should be in a faculty position now. And if he took on another post-doc he’d be saddling himself and unable to achieve a faculty role. I don’t know how many years out of grad school is too much before you can jump in, but it seemed like he was approaching some kind of upper limit. Following advice here and with mentors I offered him a 1 year post and told him if he could help develop a new program I would work with the University to get him into a non-TT position. So essentially he would be a pseudo-independent and I could expand my lab without really drawing myself too thin. He countered saying that he didn’t think he could get a TT job if he accepted the non-TT one. So I offered him the 2 year post-doc and he accepted. Then yesterday he told me he accepted a non-TT position at a traditionally more prestigious school. Maybe I got him thinking. I don’t know. But now I’m freaking scrambling to find someone decent fast. I should’ve handled this differently.
My toes are numb, my feet hurt, my back hurts, and I get angry a little more easily than I typically would. I’ve been trying to get a lot done before I have personal obligations about to take over my life. The summer has been mildly productive and successful regarding grants and pubs, but I’ve hit a few roadblocks regarding some of the volatility of industry funding in particular. Having to recruit now also isn’t the easiest timing-wise.
I’m glad I submitted my tenure packet early. My reviewers are already contacting me wanting some details for their recommendations. One person, who I have had small collaborations with, didn’t even realize half the stuff I work on. I guess that’s not surprising, but now I’m concerned that people might try and steal my ideas. I think it’s just my industry paranoia creeping in. We were always worried about people stealing ideas, both internally and externally.
academic infiltration 