Many of the later openings ought to have scheduled campus visits or offered positions by now; does anyone care to provide updates, either here or on the wiki?
political science job rumors » General Job Market Discussion » Judical Politics/Public Law Job Rumors and Discussion
Any news on the jobs front?
(18 posts) (3 voices)-
Posted 3 years ago #
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Wyoming has a long-short list, and is checking references. The committee expects to narrow it to three candidates by the end of the week.
Posted 3 years ago # -
wyoming?
for public law?
missed that one ...
Posted 3 years ago # -
How bad was the public law market this year? I haven't looked at the overall numbers (job postings etc.) but just thought I'd ask.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Lots of news I was planning to post. But now that anonymous posting is back, I'll be keeping my information to myself, thanks.
Posted 3 years ago # -
^^^ Sure. Where were you the last N months while there were essentially zero public law updates on this board or the Wiki? Now you've got all the news.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Oh, and the Wyoming post from ages ago was misplaced. It was in IR, not public law.
Posted 3 years ago # -
^^The information I have has nothing to do with public law. I didn't realize that this thread had been officially hijacked.
As for the information, it concerns interviews and offers from the past three weeks. I was waiting to post until those of us involved made our decisions.
Not now.Posted 3 years ago # -
It hasn't been hijacked. Take a look at the category.
Posted 3 years ago # -
^^
We'll survive, I am sure.
Thanks for taking the time to come on this board to taunt us, though.
Posted 3 years ago # -
bump
Posted 3 years ago # -
I have heard nothing about public law jobs for the UPCOMING year. My guess is that it will be bad. I'm not trying to depress anyone. I would advise judicial/public law folks to expand their search and show in their cover letter/CVs that they can teach other subfields. Also, expectations should be lowered. 4-4 schools might be the best shot for some people. Remember that the first tenure track job is a starting place. Heck, even VAP positions are a good place to get experience and stay in academia for a few years.
Posted 3 years ago # -
many VAP's > 4-4.
no expectation that you're staying, so supportive of your search. good luck publishing your way out of a 4-4.
Posted 3 years ago # -
One should always be prepared to credibly claim the ability to teach outside of their narrow specialty. The intro course in your subfield is a must; if you are comparative, IR, or theory, experience or ability to teach the Intro American course is always a plus since at many places sections of American are plentiful.
Not all 4-4 loads are created equal (I speak from experience since I have taught at universities with 4-4 loads for the last 11 or 12 years). Four sections of American politics is much different than a 4-4 with three (or four! yes I've done it!) course preparations. Your 4-4 will likely fall between these two extremes. If you approach your teaching wisely (and are well prepared going in) you CAN have research success doing a 4-4 load; admittedly not at the level of someone teaching a 1-2 at a doctoral I but enough to move into a tenure track position that may have a lighter load (though a 3-3 with 3 preps is still difficult so beware).
One of the benefits of that 4-4 will be that you can demonstrate the ability to teach to your next employer. You will have more teaching evaluations and likely some peer evaluations that you can include with your job applications. You can also get letters of recommendation from a faculty member at your new institution instead of the typical three or four letters from your graduate institution. As the old saying goes: "It's easier to get a job when you've got a job."
The reality of this profession is that there are comparatively few institutions where you will simply teach upper division courses that reflect your narrow interests. Anyone who is still in grad school needs to come to grips with this reality: It is highly unlikely that you will get a job at a top-20 or even a top-100 university. Seriously, think about it, do the math: The odds are low.
But it is OK. As I have said a few times on this board you can have a perfectly successful career outside of Doctoral I institutions; and you get to do something that you love, which is more than a lot of people can say about their jobs.
Posted 3 years ago # -
^ This is the best post I've read on this blog. Very sound advice and overall positive.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Get everything in writing or you'll get f***ed. If they won't put what they say in the interview in writing, run....fast.....and don't look back. You'll be better for it.
Posted 3 years ago # -
^ True. sadly, I speak from experience
Posted 3 years ago # -
Thanks a lot TenuredCongressJock. Solid advice.
Posted 3 years ago #