So I am joining the blogosphere. I don't know how frequently I'll post, but I thought starting a blog now was a good idea for a couple of reasons, namely:
1) we do not know where we will land next year but it may be on another continent and this seems like a decent way of keeping up with people
2) being the wife of an academic in the current job market is more than a little stressful and likely to get more so with the economy as it is and this seemed like a decent place for my fellow academe spouses to commiserate/vent/speculate/sympathize
Not sure how to kick this sucker off, but laying out the current situation seems as good a start as any. Currently Scott has a tenure track offer at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa. He has a job talk at CASL (University of Maryland affiliated) in 2 weeks. He has funding for 1 more year of a post-doc here at UIUC as well. He's short-listed for a TT in Konstanz, Germany, but they won't pick until summer. A few other applications are still up in the air but it seems like these are going to be the major players in the decision making.
The South Africa job is both really intriguing and somewhat terrifying. It is very remote, which makes it much safer than someplace like Joburg or Cape Town, but also means it would take 2 full days to get to from the States. There is a very good prep school there for the girls, but it is the South African system which may make coming back to the States hard for them educationally if that was to happen. We have not gotten the package offer from HR yet but we are anticipating the salary will be very low by US standards. That wouldn't be a problem as the cost of living is quite low in South Africa, but the cost of travel back to the States would then be prohibitively expensive and we'd likely only get back once a year tops and it would be very hard for family to come to us. South Africa appears to be at a tipping point right now as far as the future goes and it is really hard to predict where the country is going long-term. If they survive the current growing pains it could be a very exciting place to be permanently. It also seems equally possible that the current instability there could get much worse and things could go the way of Zimbabwe. Hard to know. There is rampant poverty, an AIDS epidemic, residual systemic economic and educational disparities by race, and pretty rampant crime. Those things are all pretty big negatives. However, Grahamstown is fairly isolated from the violent crime and the other problems seem to present really compelling opportunities for us to really engage in humanitarian work as a family. I think making service as a family a priority would be a wonderful thing for all of us long term.
So that is where we are now. We did hear that Cora was admitted to Holy Redeemer in College Park, so at least we have that school option lined up if CASL makes an offer. For now we're in limbo, but being a compulsive planner I'm trying to wrap my head around all the options and have plans lined up for how we respond to any combination of circumstances that pan out. In no way would we have guessed that these would have been the options we were considering if you had asked a few years ago, but a bad economy makes for tough choices. Any feedback or thoughts on the whole process would be welcome. Next year looks to be exciting wherever we end up and at this point I feel lucky to have the security of a guaranteed paycheck come summer. That puts us in better shape than many and I am acutely aware of that.
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Academic spouse with which to commiserate is here!!! :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on starting the blog, I have enjoyed it so far. You do indeed have some tough choices ahead! Being an academic family has been so much harder than I originally planned, but I have learned to expect anything. And your family is no exception.
I personally would find the distance away from the U.S. very hard to deal with. For many reasons, but one being fear of living somewhere so remote. I thought living in Mississippi 3 hours from an airport was bad;) The political climate there is a little terrifying as well. But it would definitely be an adventure for you and your kids to go to S.A.
Also, the possibility of being stuck in S.A. is a real one, at least for a good chunk of years. On the other hand, the North American economy blows and you are right to have big concerns about future job possibilities.
Our situation is quite different from yours, because of our priority to stay near family. Ultimately what is good with you and Scott is what matters. I know I didn't help, but thought I would throw in my two cents. Good luck with the decision!
This is Dan. I have accepted my position as (as you called it), "the nuclear option." Since I don't know if you need or would benefit from the nuclear option, I'll refrain from detonating it here. However, if you would like it, email me or call and I'll give my advice.
ReplyDeleteI'll sum up by saying this: as an inviolable rule I do not apply for jobs over seas. Even if this rule were violable, there would be another inviolable rule that would stop me from applying outside the first world.
Just to be totally clear... there's no official offer yet on South Africa. I got a very positive email from the head, but am waiting on university officials to make the final decision. I don't know near enough about the politics of the university to feel 100% confident about how likely they are to go with the department recommendation. Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm even less sure, given that they are probably under some pressure to hire a South African...
ReplyDeleteI don't think they are under much pressure. The government has a list of skills shortages for which affirmative action rules don't apply and there are incentives for hiring foreigners. The email sounded like you'd be hearing from HR with details next, which implies they think you'll be approved. I think that email was as good as a verbal from a US school, which isn't 100% but pretty solid.
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