THAT was unexpected...
Well. During a field-test of the expansion to the BSG boardgame, the lovely 
zcat_abroad pointed me at a position being advertised at a university in Melbourne.
I checked it out.
The entire thing is Very Interesting: I have quite strong experience in many of the things on the Key Selection Criteria, although there's stuff on there which implies their ideal candidate is someone who has already done a stint as a baby-lecturer. In other words, me or someone like me having done a lecturing job for a few years, in much the same way as
doc_spatial has UpJobbed in going to Perth. However, the ad notes that depending on response, they might be willing to go with someone less experienced than the Ideal Candidate.
At minimum, the current job ad presents me with an opportunity to work with people at the university whose avowed purpose is to help students concoct CVs/Resumes + Cover Letters for exactly this kind of application. Even if I don't wind up applying, this would be good practice in shaping a CV/Resume for a specific, advertised position.
Then I'm tempted to apply anyway, purely for the experience of having done so. It'd be interesting to see what kind of response I get. Experience in doing an interview would be good, and is a good way of spreading your name around in a hopefully-charming fashion.
However.
I am definitely not sure I actually want the job. Yet. It's too soon. I have a number of friends doing PhDs who have been so hectic in organising travel and prep for new jobs while finishing up that they are really, really not having fun.
More than that, I'm not sure I would work to the standard I want to for such a new position if transplanted in a shrieking rush when I haven't even had my thesis-defence yet.
So that raises a spectre of what I'd do if I applied for the experience of doing so, and they offered me the position. The 'introducing myself and networking' element of doing the interviews might be somewhat eroded by saying "Kidding!" at that stage.
Plus, I can't convince myself that turning down a lecturing position is anything other than folly. Stupid brain!
So anyway, I have bounced these very issues, in a hopefully more coherent fashion, at one of my PhD supervisors, so we see what advice I get there.
Bear minimum, it's practice in writing professional CVs and cover letters; we'll see if it's more.
Other related stuff which has been needling me in amusing ways:
- I was taking notes today on a really good article on ARGs, and happened to notice it was a paper presented at a conference... at the university in Melbourne offering the job. I could almost see the cartoon "TEMPT! TEMPT!" sign, which was cruel, universe. Cruel. Poor form, in fact.
- Apparently Melbourne is a lovely city, and I have anecdotes supporting this from people who have experienced it over several decades worth of data.
- I and my snake-brain both know that academics get paid peanuts, and have to fight hobos for the best dustbin-leavings and will die raving in the streets about fire-ants and communism. Hell, I have planned for this very eventuality! ...Yeah. Whoever advertised the position? Seems to have not got the memo. *Fans self.* ohhhhhh that dirty sexy money. Interestingly, a university in Sydney advertised positions about a year back that were equally seductive for one's mercenary tendencies, so it might not be a typo in either case, which was my first assumption.
There we have it. Unexpected, and entirely intriguing. It's one of those cases where it would be simultaneously sensible and reckless to either apply or not apply, which is just funny.
zcat_abroad pointed me at a position being advertised at a university in Melbourne.
I checked it out.
The entire thing is Very Interesting: I have quite strong experience in many of the things on the Key Selection Criteria, although there's stuff on there which implies their ideal candidate is someone who has already done a stint as a baby-lecturer. In other words, me or someone like me having done a lecturing job for a few years, in much the same way as
doc_spatial has UpJobbed in going to Perth. However, the ad notes that depending on response, they might be willing to go with someone less experienced than the Ideal Candidate.
At minimum, the current job ad presents me with an opportunity to work with people at the university whose avowed purpose is to help students concoct CVs/Resumes + Cover Letters for exactly this kind of application. Even if I don't wind up applying, this would be good practice in shaping a CV/Resume for a specific, advertised position.
Then I'm tempted to apply anyway, purely for the experience of having done so. It'd be interesting to see what kind of response I get. Experience in doing an interview would be good, and is a good way of spreading your name around in a hopefully-charming fashion.
However.
I am definitely not sure I actually want the job. Yet. It's too soon. I have a number of friends doing PhDs who have been so hectic in organising travel and prep for new jobs while finishing up that they are really, really not having fun.
More than that, I'm not sure I would work to the standard I want to for such a new position if transplanted in a shrieking rush when I haven't even had my thesis-defence yet.
So that raises a spectre of what I'd do if I applied for the experience of doing so, and they offered me the position. The 'introducing myself and networking' element of doing the interviews might be somewhat eroded by saying "Kidding!" at that stage.
Plus, I can't convince myself that turning down a lecturing position is anything other than folly. Stupid brain!
So anyway, I have bounced these very issues, in a hopefully more coherent fashion, at one of my PhD supervisors, so we see what advice I get there.
Bear minimum, it's practice in writing professional CVs and cover letters; we'll see if it's more.
Other related stuff which has been needling me in amusing ways:
- I was taking notes today on a really good article on ARGs, and happened to notice it was a paper presented at a conference... at the university in Melbourne offering the job. I could almost see the cartoon "TEMPT! TEMPT!" sign, which was cruel, universe. Cruel. Poor form, in fact.
- Apparently Melbourne is a lovely city, and I have anecdotes supporting this from people who have experienced it over several decades worth of data.
- I and my snake-brain both know that academics get paid peanuts, and have to fight hobos for the best dustbin-leavings and will die raving in the streets about fire-ants and communism. Hell, I have planned for this very eventuality! ...Yeah. Whoever advertised the position? Seems to have not got the memo. *Fans self.* ohhhhhh that dirty sexy money. Interestingly, a university in Sydney advertised positions about a year back that were equally seductive for one's mercenary tendencies, so it might not be a typo in either case, which was my first assumption.
There we have it. Unexpected, and entirely intriguing. It's one of those cases where it would be simultaneously sensible and reckless to either apply or not apply, which is just funny.