of those posted on the ecology Wiki, most are advertised as permanent. Stability is sometimes impossible to predict.
When I started my first job back in 2003, there were few resources to investigate the financial status of a school. Back then, I took a job at a school that seemed financially stable. After arriving, I was enlightened to the fiscal situation with when a 4.8% budget cut caused them to shed faculty. Now, you have multiple databases on the Chronicle that can give you a clue and independent websites: AAUP Salary estimates on CHE: http://chronicle.com/article/2013-AAUP-Faculty-Salary/138291?cid=megamenu Changes in state support over the past 25 years on CHE: http://chronicle.com/article/25-Years-of-Declining-State/144973?cid=megamenu Sustainability of spending by universities: http://thesustainableuniversity.com None of this is going to give you an assured path. For example, I worked at one small school five years. When I arrived it was pretty stable and there was plenty of money to teach classes. It was hit with a cumulative 22.2% budget cut, and I was shed despite being promoted to associate professor (w/o tenure) only a year earlier. You just never know. My following job was supposed to be stable too. When I took it, I had no idea their budget situation. I had been hired by special permission in the midst of a hiring freeze. During my 18 months working there, I watched nearly all of the support staff and hard-money postdocs get released. And, after an audit they eliminated six faculty lines, including mine. However, had I access to the 25 year record that CHE recently released, I would have known to be careful. During that 18 months, the school was hit with a 13% budget cut. Heck, I had offer letters through Aug 2014 when I was notified in May 2013 that my contract would not be continued past Aug 2013. I do not think the Chair or Dean at that school saw this coming either. My current position is completely temporary, so like so many I'm looking. In every one of these cases, the decisions that had to be made were not the decisions that people wanted to make. Every since the Trade Towers incidence we have been riding an economic roller coaster mostly downhill. So, even those in the know, often don't know! If you make a decision with the best information available, and discover later that your info was incomplete or bad, you can at least be satisfied your decision was made properly. On Wed, Mar 12, 2014 at 2:25 PM, Aaron T. Dossey <[email protected]> wrote: > > I am curious how many of those academic "positions" / "jobs" / > "opportunities" are stable, permanent, full time , etc. Postdoc, postech, > postemp, temp, term, student, intern, etc. do not count. > > > On 3/12/2014 2:33 PM, Malcolm McCallum wrote: >> >> I found this information to support that previous email on consulting. >> >> http://www.pmenv.com/Environmental-Consulting-Career-Advice >> >> I hope this helps out some people. >> >> On Wed, Mar 12, 2014 at 1:29 PM, Malcolm McCallum >> <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> A few moments ago I did an indeed search "for environmental consultant." >>> The search returned 4,362 vacancies, compared to the 721 academic >>> posts listed on the ecology job wiki. Now, many of these >>> solicitations were older and had not been removed from the web yet. >>> Others, certainly are not appropriate for an ecologist. But, the same >>> can be said of the 721 posted on the jobs wiki. >>> >>> My point here is that if you are a doctoral ecology student, it >>> behooves you to take some courses in environmental >>> policy/environmental law/risk assessment/environmental assessment >>> before you graduate, maybe even a course or two in business management >>> or public administration. The pay is often better than what you get >>> in academia, and you still work on projects that can be pretty >>> intriguing. These will be very applied, and you will be expected to >>> beat the bushes for contracts I suspect. But, find me an academic who >>> is not expected to find $$. >>> >>> I've applied for a few of these in the past, I'm sure many others >>> have. I get the feeling most positions are filled by MS level >>> employees, but I know plenty of PHDs doing this. >>> >>> With so many people discussing employment opportunities, I felt it >>> might be worth mentioning this on the listserv. It would be >>> especially interesting to hear input form those who do this kind of >>> work. IT would probably be useful for the many people who are seeking >>> employment. >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Malcolm L. McCallum >>> Department of Environmental Studies >>> University of Illinois at Springfield >>> >>> Managing Editor, >>> Herpetological Conservation and Biology >>> >>> "Nothing is more priceless and worthy of preservation than the rich >>> array of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a >>> many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature >>> lovers alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share >>> as Americans." >>> -President Richard Nixon upon signing the Endangered Species Act of >>> 1973 into law. >>> >>> "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - >>> Allan Nation >>> >>> 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert >>> 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, >>> and pollution. >>> 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction >>> MAY help restore populations. >>> 2022: Soylent Green is People! >>> >>> The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) >>> Wealth w/o work >>> Pleasure w/o conscience >>> Knowledge w/o character >>> Commerce w/o morality >>> Science w/o humanity >>> Worship w/o sacrifice >>> Politics w/o principle >>> >>> Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any >>> attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may >>> contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized >>> review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not >>> the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and >>> destroy all copies of the original message. >> >> >> > > > ATD of ATB and ISI > -- > Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. > Biochemistry and Molecular Biology > Founder/Owner: All Things Bugs Inc. > Capitalizing on Low-Crawling Fruit from Insect-Based Innovation > http://allthingsbugs.com/about/people/ > http://www.facebook.com/Allthingsbugs > https://www.facebook.com/InvertebrateStudiesInstitute > 1-352-281-3643 > -- Malcolm L. McCallum Department of Environmental Studies University of Illinois at Springfield Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology "Nothing is more priceless and worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature lovers alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share as Americans." -President Richard Nixon upon signing the Endangered Species Act of 1973 into law. "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - Allan Nation 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
