The Faculty Career Journey Begins with a Single Step

Finding a faculty position reads a little like a choose-your-adventure story; there are many ways to get to success and more ways to get to pitfalls. This presentation aims to de-mystify the application to interview stages of a career search and cover the steps involved in that process. Given that there are more people “doing materials” than faculty in “materials departments”, the differences between an MSE-only and a more shared model will be examined. Common points in application materials for faculty positions for a range of departments, schools, and universities will be noted; in particular the presentation will highlight the need to demonstrate independent thought and ownership of research activities, maturity and dedication to education at the appropriate level of the institution and articulating a vision of career success at both short- and long-term time scales. The presentation will cover the “letter” to “on-site interview” stages of the journey and will emphasize the need to identify the audiences at various stages.