What advice would you give to me?

[Adelaide9216]

Hello everyone,

I will be most likely graduating from my master's program this spring. I have applied to start a PhD in my field (social sciences) in September 2019 in a Canadian city (I currently live in Quebec). 

I have a question for you & I hope you'll be honest with me. I know it will come across as naive and I am sorry if others may have asked this question before. But let me explain: like many doctoral students, I hope to have a career in academia just like my current supervisor who is a great inspiration to me. I want to teach and do research at the same time at the university level. 

Given the current job market in academia - too many doctoral students for the jobs available: What would be the things that I need to do during my PhD studies in order to increase the odds of realizing this career aspiration? What are the things you wish you knew along the way or prior to grad school?

Thank you and happy holidays!

[PokePsych]

Following -

[ResilientDreams]

Following!!

[PsyDuck90]

Publish. Publish. Publish. One of the biggest things they look for is research productivity and the ability to garner grant money to fund research. Also, sometimes it comes down to what kind of domain they are looking for. For instance, one of my friends got her current tenure track position because the university was looking to add more courses in her specialization and were looking to higher faculty with her specific expertise. Also, more teaching focused universities (such as small liberal arts universities) will want a decent amount of teaching experience. 

[RequiredDisplayName]

Hello.

I too am a applying to PhD programs with the long-term goal of working in academia.

What I've been doing is trying to figure out what the profile of a successful tenure-track hire is. What are the strategic rules of the academic job market game? In my field (philosophy), there are a few things which seem to correlate with ones chances of finding a job after graduation. The things that seem to most influence a candidates competitiveness on the market seem to be;

1) the prestige of the institution from which they received their PhD

2) the candidates publication record, including quantity of publications and prestige of the venues/journals published in

3) teaching experience, including quantity and range of courses taught, but not including TA experience

A most competitive candidate then will have graduate from top ranked school with a few top ranked publications and a substantial teaching portfolio. A grad student in philosophy will have to think about publishing with the aim of getting at least 1 publication in a ranked journal prior to graduating, and develop a strong teaching portfolio to maximize their competitiveness on the market. None of this a a guarantee of a job, but it these things can maximize ones chances.  

So, my advice is to figure out what makes a candidate competitive in your field. One way to do this is to look at the CV's of recent hires in your field. Also, ask your profs what they would look for in a new hire.  If, for example, publications are important, then perhaps have publications on your radar early in your grad studies. You may not have to get something publish first year, but you can have it in your mind, and move towards it as you progress. The same for teaching opportunities , or presentations, or whatever.