lessons

The semester is almost over, which also means that my first year of teaching in a tenure-track job is almost over. I thought I'd wait until the semester was ACTUALLY over before writing this post, but I have time tonight and figure I can update if I need to. 

So, here's (some of) what I learned this year. 

Organization is key. You get a ton of campus mail, email, notes, mail, cards, mail, invitations, mail, information, and mail. If you don't keep it organized, even if you think you'll file it tomorrow, you'll lose track. Paper stacks up on paper and suddenly that advising form has been sucked into oblivion and you have a student coming in to talk about their program of study in 15 minutes. There's a lot to keep track of. A LOT. So try to stay organized from the beginning. That was my original plan and I didn't do a particularly good job at it. I wish I had. It's going to take a bit of time to get stuff in order.

Meetings. Even at those schools (like mine) that protect junior faculty, you're going to go to a lot of meetings. And at first you're going to have no idea what's going on. Don't sweat it too much. If they ask you to take minutes, agree. It helps you figure out what's going on. 

Almost a decade of teaching as a graduate student and instructor is fantastic prep for your first tenure track job. But when you start teaching at a new school in a new program it will feel remarkably like the first time you ever taught and that decade will matter less than you'd hoped it would. And it may take months for you to find your teaching-legs again. 

Teaching all courses that you've never taught before leaves you with almost no time for your own writing and research. Some people will remember this, some might not. But you should try, at least, to go to a conference or two because that will give you a deadline, perhaps a draft, and will help you network and, to be honest, get out of town for a bit.  

National economic crisis will actually affect you. You'll probably have more money than you did as a graduate student, but you'll probably have more bills, too. If you're like me, you'll spend as much as you earn. And you'll worry, suddenly, about national budget cuts and how they'll affect you and your colleagues.

Good colleagues are essential. Be a good colleague. Be thankful for your good colleagues. Get coffee with people in order to keep your sanity. Go to as many department events as possible. Be part of your department. 

Remember that it's okay that you don't know what's going on and ask questions so you learn what's going on. Take notes. You might think about keeping a list of questions early on so you can space them out a bit. I felt like (still feel like) an ass asking six questions every day. 

This one sounds dire, but is important. Even though they might say that your contract is 60% teaching, 30% research, and 10% service; and even though some people might say that tenure is based more on 60% research, 30% teaching, and 10% service; your job is actually, in practice, 100% teaching, 100% research, 100% service. Multi-tasking and time management are absolutely essential. I need to be better at both of these things.

You'll never really have the kind of free time you want (just like in grad school). Still, in spite of the insane time constraints, the massive responsibilities and commitments, and the sheer panic of everything you need to learn and to do, it is imperative that you take some time for yourself. I think, in particular, and this is true especially if you've moved for your new job, you should make time each week to talk to friends and family. Talk to your support group. Even if you're certain you made the right decision and you love your new job and new digs, talk to your support group. Even positive changes cause stress.

There are a few moments here where I've said something about this new job being like grad school. In some ways that's true. Grad school does, in ways, start to prepare you for a tenure-track job. But, and those of you in grad school are going to be be irritated at this and scoff -- I would have, too -- you'll be busier than you were in graduate school. I know that part of it is nostalgia and therefore not quite true, but graduate school now seems like these great expanses of free time. I know that wasn't true. I KNOW it. But I also know that I'm much busier now than I ever was in graduate school. Much much MUCH busier. 

Which brings me back to organization and colleagues: two ways to keep your sanity.

Finally, of course in this economy it's a wonderful thing to have a job. But even if the economy were in good shape, I am reminded of how lucky I am. I worked very hard to get this job and, if I'm being honest, it's pretty fantastic. Busy, hectic, stressful, and sometimes crazy, but, at the end of (most) days, I'm still floored by how lucky I am to have not just any job, not even just any teaching job, but this particular job at this particular place with these particular people. I'm flat out tickled to be here. Overall, it's been a really good year.