Eigen

Bumping this back up for two resources I found some of you may (or may in the future) be interested in. One of them is the New PI Slack (https://newpislack.wordpress.com/), which as the name suggests is a Slack group for new PIs. You have to have PI status (verified), and not yet be tenured. It's a fantastic resource that I've been getting a lot out of that has many similarities to the community here. Built along similar lines is Future PI Slack (https://twitter.com/futurepi_slack?lang=en), which is a Slack support group for PostDocs on the academic track. Since I don't qualify, I'm not sure how they're set up- but my understanding is that it's similar to the New PI Slack, and I hope some of you find it useful.

To be honest, with the Underwater Basketweaving tag... It is kinda funny, and not like it throws anyone off since it's not a real program.

Agree that the comments are what to look at. And don't look for one-offs, look for trends and patterns. Scores vsry hugely from school to school. My school, for instance, is a 0-6 scale and average is well above 5.5. If you really want to know, ask around your school- but numbers don't really matter much, they just give you a range of how students felt about your class on a particular day.

FWIW, I never got put in a room with another prospective back in the dark ages when I was visiting schools. But my spouse did come on all my visits, and all the schools were happy to accommodate. We paid the extra in travel. That said, mine were post acceptance rather than interview, which changes the dynamic entirely to recruiting My spouse also got invited out to dinner with me and my POIs. At one school I did two evening dinners with POIs, and they brought spouses along as well since mine was there- they were quite happy about it, and it was a great chance for me to see a different side of them. How you handle this/tell the school is up to you. Some depends on your personality and read of the institution. As you mention, your spouse is moving there too. I think healthy institutions and POIs will realize that and be happy to work with you, and I honestly think it tells you a lot about how the school values work-life balance.

It's more of a school by school thing. Some do pre-acceptance interviews, some post-acceptance, and some do visit weekend where everyone comes at once. Generally, I'd say chemistry interviews bias to more of a "last check" before they accept you. When I was in grad school, my department planned to accept everyone that interviewed unless something was glaringly wrong during the interview. Like the guy that spent the whole weekend dissing all of the faculty members research.

One thing I'll note is that when I was in grad school and presented without my advisor there, I got a lot more conversation and face time with the other panelists. When my advisor was there, most people spent the time talking to them. Having someone there to help you network can be nice, but it's also nice to be there on your own to be a more independent contributor.

With the caveat that that is one professors take on one schools process. It's a great window into what things look like from the other side, I just want to caution you that there's a huge school to school and PI to PI variance.

Maybe some context would help get more targeted answers? What im saying is that you'll see literally every answer in the spectrum, which may not be the most helpful.

You're asking questions that essentially come down to comparative personalities, for which you'll get every possible answer. Some PIs will take the initiative, some will disappear and you won't see them at all. Personally, when I take my students to conferences I want them to do a mix of exploring and networking on their own, and introducing them to people I know. I usually only introduce them to people that are close colleagues, not the people I'm striking up new relationships with.

Depends on what else is going on at the same time.

The due date for the applicant isn't always the one for the letter, though. I've got a bunch I'm writing now that have letters due about 2 weeks after the applications. Other are due closer in.

When are the letters due? Have you sent them a gentle reminder? When was the last time you talked to them?

Highlighting or underlining is a lot less effective than re-writing or summarizing to help with retention.

Again, you're responding to someone from almost 5 years ago who is no longer around to answer questions.

I explain it as a job, rather than school, and focus on the apprenticeship aspect. You can also make the doctor analogy with the PhD being like a combination of medical school and residency. But for most of my family I find coughing it first as a job helps a lot. It makes them more respectful of my schedule, and you are getting paid.

I'd be really careful with long johns on an interview. For instance, my school has heat that keeps some rooms around 78 in the winter... If you're wearing long johns and meeting in those rooms? Hugely uncomfortable. Even just sweating in people's offices during conversations! It makes me bias more to a heavy outer jacket that I can shed easily to be comfortable in a well heated interior.

Continuing the aside, I do some general office hours and some targeted. For lab classes, I offer special office hours for data analysis evenings after lab when I expect people come in groups. I don't turn people not in that class away, I just target my advertised availability. My current policy is that my schedule is taped on my door, and I will take walking when my door is open. I also schedule office hours based on a doodle poll about 2 weeks into the semester, and pick the most popular times (that I am willing to offer) that all my students can make. Mostly evenings. Adding to the takeaway, I feel like there's a general trend in academia towards disliking over-credentials get, to the point that you're more likely to ruffle feathers with an overly detailed signature than none at all. So I would suggest a bias to the light end, and add more if you get told (or feel) it's necessary and useful.

I don't like leather gloves personally, but s good pair of gloves is a must! In addition to (or in place of) a hat, a good scarf. That has the versatility of covering head, ears, neck, etc.

South Louisiana to a faculty position in Iowa here, and the shock was real! For interview dressing, I find the most versatile thing I own for cold weather is a nice black woolen overcoat. Over a suit, I'm pretty warm and snow resistant down to 0ish. I tend to wear jeans and wool coat with a nice shirt when I'm visiting places, or the more formal wool suit For non-interview dressing, layers are key- and a really good jacket. Layers are a curse going into warm buildings, and sometimes having one thick outer layer you can shuck is great. I'm also a fan of nice "working" leather boots (roping boots are my go-to) for interviews. They look good, and are durable enough that I don't have to worry about them in snow/rain.

Just as a reminder, this thread is from 2013. It's not that it can't be a relevant topic for discussion, but the OP is most definitely no longer around.

We had one for years that we recently had to put to sleep, and are waiting until I start my next position in the fall (and us buying a house) to get more. It's already hard enough to rent with the animals we have!

My wife and I always talked about combining raising corgis with a coffee shop. Coffee and Corgis. We'd have a big amphitheater-like pen with pillows and corgi puppies, so people could get coffee and then go play with the puppies. Ideally right off campus somewhere.

@rising_star Yeah, that's standard at my school(s) too, but I never picked up on it. It seems a lot more common with more senior faculty than junior faculty where I am, while a lots more junior faculty link to a website/calendar. I don't do office hours in my signature, partially because they aren't the same for different classes, but also because I really want to push my students to read the syllabus. My current signature doesn't have degree either, looking at yours, just: Eigen Grad Assistant Professor, Department School Office # / email

Just to note, there's a difference between being the instructor of record (teaching s course by yourself), and being an "Instructor", which at most schools is a full time or part time member of the faculty. Basically, it's the "an instructor" vs "an Instructor" difference. I've never heard of it going along with a TAship, but that doesn't mean it isn't done You may well know this and be using it correctly, but it would be a pretty big faux pas to use the title of Instructor if you were not hired as one, just like it would be to use the title of Professor. It definitely looks impressive, it can just as easily backfire if you use it wrong.

Honestly, I think shorter signatures are in general better. Why does anyone need your snail mail address in an email signature? Also, are you currently employed as a (ranked faculty) Instructor in addition to being a student?