Bad Grad school interviews

I think it's pretty clear that I am desperate to land an academic research job interview.

Today's post over at feMOMhist got me thinking about the bad interviews I've had in the past. I wish that my interviews improved as I got older and the interviews held potentially more meaning , but I know that bad interviews can happen at any time.

Maybe it's just my luck, but I've had my share of bad interviews, especially when looking at graduate schools. Some were due to institutional flaws, while others were due to outside circumstances (arriving in the middle of a blizzard that dumped 3 feet of snow and closed the airport so I couldn't return home). 

Here's a short list of the worst of my interview experiences:

   1) Being told that they wish they didn't have to go to the grad school they were in, but it was the only one that accepted them

  2) Being hit on by a noticeably inebriated Junior faculty member. Some may call it reverse discrimination, but I just call it awkward and inappropriate. 

  3) Being asked to go to a strip club after the faculty dinner (and struggling to find a tactful way to decline)

  4) Watching faculty members get angry and yell at each other over campus parking issues.

  5) Inappropriate drunk dancing by graybeards (usually with their opposite-sex students)
  6) Random blizzards shutting down the airport. I was then told that was pretty normal for the area, and that you just got used to the roads becoming impassable during time sensitive experiments (just do your time-coarse experiments in the summer, they said)

I have more, but I'm curious what other people have experienced.Anyone care to share?

Academic job search question

How long does it usually take for hiring committees to get back to candidates to schedule phone interviews?

I'm getting a little scared because I haven't heard back from anyone. I'm still sending applications out, but the surge has past and I'm worried I missed the boat....

I'd love to hear any feedback from anyone in a position to know. I'm starting to feel desperate, and I'm thinking of activating plan B. And C. 'Cause I'm gonna need a job come Fall.

Riding the storm out....

So.... One of my biggest challenges through life, and especially through my academic job search, is stability. In short, I want to be like this owl:



Why? Because the owl (or more specifically the owl's head) is stable no matter what is going on around it. And it seems to me that the best of the best never get caught up in the highs or lows of life. When the reach a peak, they remain grounded and focused on bigger things. Whether finding new research areas or asking new questions about how the work fits in with the literature, it's all just another day in the office. And when things get rough and experiments fail for a solid week, they have the perspective to know that with each day comes new knowledge and new solutions. In other words, they have confidence that they will not remain at the bottom for long.

Yes, I am knew at this. Yes, I am only beginning to be independent, and haven't a clue what I'm doing.

But keeping an even keel is a great way to keep sane through the ups and downs, and quite frankly I think it is also a great way to run a lab. I've seen my share of emotional lab leaders and most fizzle out before long (usually from a mental break down, but that's a different story).

I will be stable. I will be the owl.



 

Productivity problem

I'm not alone in this, but I need to be more productive.  More papers. More research. More time with family.

Easy? No. Necessary? Yes. If I am ever going to get taken seriously as an academic researcher, I'm gonna have to start pumping out papers, instead of letting them trickle out only after I get them "perfect."

I've been struggling to identify the source of my block and I think I've finally figured it out. I am spending too much time worrying. What if Prof. X (renowned researcher in my field) reads my paper and thinks I'm full of crap? What if I don't cite an eminent colleague and end up starting my career by making an enemy? What if people realize that I don't really feel like an expert? That I'm only a pretender on stage? What if I never get an interview this round? What if my grant doesn't get funded?

Enough is enough. There is no point wasting my time worrying. From now on I will stop watching my future pass me by and I will instead take action.

It might not turn out how I envisioned, but I need to "suck it up and tough it out and be the best I can."

 

Wow, I need to get out more....

I just caught myself explaining the inaccuracies present in the World of Dora. No, blowing into a balloon will not allow you to fly. Unless you're filled with Helium.

The funniest part is how my 2-year old was looking at me. You know - wide-eyed, but slightly confused.

I can see the inner dialogue now:

"What is that crazy daddy talking about? I know, I'll just smile and nod and maybe he'll let me go back to watching my shows..."

What worries me the most is how the scientific liberties the show took bothered me. And that I HAD to explain them to my son. As if he would be scarred for life if he didn't understand the Science behind it all.

Geesh. I'm a nerd..

I'm raising a nerd....:)

...and I like it! It seems like the transition to the new school was a success.

Not only is the wee one no longer traumatized by the thought of school, but he is also back to exploring the world around him. Although it does lead to a rather constant stream of questions, he is starting to form hypotheses (and test them!) on his own.

 Last night's tidbit:
   Son: How does juice turn into ice?
   Me: How do you think it forms?
   Son: I'm not sure. Is ice made from juice? Or does stuff floating in the air coat the juice?
   Me: What do you think?
   Son: I think it's from stuff sitting on the it. Can we do a test?
   Me: You mean do an experiment?
   Son: YYYEEEESSSSS!!!! AN EXPERIMENT! Can we do an experiment, Daddy?
   Me: <<<Silent, internal cheering>>>  Welcome to the dark side, son...
   Son: Huh?
   Me: Nevermind..... What do you think we could do to test your theory?

So, he designed a simple little overnight experiment and checked the next day. He decided that his hypothesis was wrong, and that ice actually forms from the juice...

Of course I'll be happy with whatever he decides to do, but I LOVE seeing him explore and figure things out on his own. He may never turn out to be a scientist, but I'm fine with that. Because so much of being intelligent is simply learning that curiosity is OK. And that the world is a very cool, interesting place.

It also shows me, even though its a small thing, that we made the right choice in switching schools....

New school update

Wow. What a difference a week makes. One week into my son's new school and he is back to driving us crazy, but in a good way.

 He is no longer afraid of living, of getting into trouble over stupid a$$ $hit.

Yes, we are paying for school.

But I no longer feel my son is.

And that makes all the difference in the world.

 I know this is a short post, but I'm too happy right now to go into details. But never fear - I promise they'll come....

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