Tenured Advisers?
I'm working on making my final list of schools to apply to for my Ph.D., and the sad fact of the matter is that there just aren't that many people who specialize in what interests me. I have a couple of favorite schools, places that seem like they'd be an excellent fit for my research interests with several professors who work in my specific area using methodologies of interest to me. Unfortunately, most departments only have one person who works in my general area of interest and many of those people aren't good fits. In the places where it does seem like our research interests might coincide, I've run into an odd situation where many of the professors seem to be new hires.
So the question I want to put out there is whether you think it's a plausible idea to apply to work with a tenure track professor who does not yet have tenure. If I count out professors in this situation, I'll end up applying to three or four schools rather than seven or eight, and I definitely like the my chances better with a higher number. On the other hand, I don't want to end up without a professor halfway through my program. Any thoughts?
So the question I want to put out there is whether you think it's a plausible idea to apply to work with a tenure track professor who does not yet have tenure. If I count out professors in this situation, I'll end up applying to three or four schools rather than seven or eight, and I definitely like the my chances better with a higher number. On the other hand, I don't want to end up without a professor halfway through my program. Any thoughts?