Career Prep participants’ “big questions”, 2014Participants in the 2014 workshop on Preparing for an Academic Career in the Geosciences were asked about their biggest questions related to the job search process, teaching, and research. Their questions are wide-ranging and highly variable. However, there are a number of themes that emerge. Here are their most common questions in each area.

Job Search How to figure out what job/school type would be a good fit How to prepare application materials How to stand out amongst the other applicants What can be negotiated How to deal with the “two-body problem” (for a small but significant minority)

Teaching What are typical teaching loads at different types of institutions How to design/develop a course

o How to balance academic support for students who need it with academic rigoro How to engage students in the learning process, particularly in large classeso How to assess student learning effectively and give them timely feedback, without

grading taking too much time

Research What are typical expectations for research activity at different types of institutions

o How much is “enough” (in funding, publications, etc.) Funding: how to get it and what are some less-well-known sources, especially for early

career scientists How to move from conducting research as someone else’s student or post-doc to

developing one’s own research programo Branching out to new research areaso How to develop collaborationso How to set up one’s own research lab and groupo How to manage a lab (projects, facilities, and students)

Other How to balance teaching, research, and life? What is the tenure process, and how best to prepare for it

For participants’ specific questions, see the next several pages. They are grouped by topic (job search, teaching, research, and other) and subtopics (many).

What are your top two questions about the job search process?

Preparation Post-doc:

o Is it recommended to have a post-doctoral position before teaching position?o If I want to teach at a liberal arts college, am I expected to have completed a post-

doc prior to my employment?o Is a post-doc necessary for all academic jobs?o How vital is a post-doctoral position to career advancement?

How to prepare for interdisciplinary research positions? How to develop your career path after Ph.D.? What additional things should I add to my CV in the time I have remaining in Graduate

school? How to prepare (application materials/interviews)? How much experience is truly needed to be a competitive candidate for a tenure-track

position? How many publications do I need to be considered a viable candidate? How to make myself competitive for a Tier I faculty position what can i do to make my self fit for the Job market. How extensive does one's teaching experience actually need to be in order to a

competitive candidate in a geoscience department? If I am applying for teaching-heavy positions, should I already have designed courses? Is

this something that there is room to do when you arrive in such a job or do you have to start teaching straight away?

Do adjunct positions help or hurt your future hiring potential? How can I get prepared for an academic career when there are two years before

graduation? How can I best network with potential employers/colleagues and make them aware that

I'm in the market for an academic position?

Job Fit What type of institution would be the best fit for my skills and background? What is the most common mistake first-time job seekers can make, especially in

academia? How do I know what department(s) I should apply to? What are the most important questions to ask to determine if an institution will be a good

fit? (Tenure process? Student quality? Faculty satisfaction?) And how do you ask these without sounding presumptuous?

When looking at the department/university you are applying to what qualities/things should you consider?

Should I apply to job postings where the described profile does not exactly match mine or is only vaguely related?

How to figure out what job/school type would be a good fit. What type of institution would be a good fit for me? How can I determine department qualities before an interview (outside of investigating

the department website)?

How do I know which positions to apply for, which ones I am best suited for? How do I really know if I am fit for academic jobs? What qualifications are desired for teaching-focused and research-focused schools? How do you narrow down a job search to only those positions that are a good fit? Will a PhD hurt my chances of getting hired at the community college level? How does the breakdown of Research/Teaching/Service vary across the different types of

institutions? Decision-making jobs and interdisciplinary research jobs--do they even exist? What types of academic positions are available, what are the differences between them,

and how do they differ depending on the type of university you work at?

Two Body Problem/Family How do I best present myself as a trailing spouse? What are the difficulties in applying for a job with a spouse in academia at the same

institution? How does my spouse sell potential employers on me as a trailing spouse, with regards to

jobs, work visas (if applicable), etc? How to seek a position with a partner also in academia (two body problem)? How do you balance the needs/wants of the rest of your family in deciding where to focus

a job search? How can my wife and I maximize our chances of getting jobs that we enjoy within a

reasonable distance of each other? How do you "bargain" for an academic job for a spouse? Any insight on the two-body problem would be most welcome.

Institution Type / Position Comparison How can I best search for jobs within certain types of universities (e.g. research-heavy

universities vs. 4-year undergraduate colleges)? There are tens of thousands of PhD's awarded every year, and there are at least an order

of magnitude less faculty positions open. How do you make yourself extremely marketable, when the job options are so slim and sometimes very specific?

How can I find a job with a teaching emphasis? What are the differences in applying to large research institutions vs small colleges? What are universities and colleges looking for when hiring a postdoc and a new

professor? How do these different types of universities prioritize research vs. teaching and how

should this affect my application process? What are liberal arts colleges looking for in their applicants? What are universities looking for, a researcher who can teach or a teacher who can do

research?

Finding Job Ads Where do I even start? Where are jobs posted for small liberal arts colleges? Where can I find centralized listings for available positions? Where are the best places to look for academic jobs?

Where can job postings be found (besides GSA, AGU, Geochemical Society websites)- is there a more centralized source?

How do I find ALL of the job openings that are available (even those that may not be posted on various lists)?

Where do non-research (or "less-research") colleges advertise their position? What is the best way to find out about job opportunities? How find jobs for interdisciplinary applicants and how best to present myself as such? How many tenure-track positions in the geosciences are likely to become available in the

next five years? Where to look and when to apply for faculty jobs In general, knowing the best ways to stay up-to-date on job listings/opportunities.

Publications? Listservs? Other?

Applying for Jobs How to figure out what departments are looking for? Relative importance of research vs

teaching statements. What do search committees look for to evaluate candidates? What is the most important virtue/merit needed for an academic career? Is it advised to apply directly out of grad school, or is it recommended to apply for post

doc position first? What can be done before, during, and after the interview process for a tenure-track

faculty position to stand out? What is the best way to let certain departments know that I'm interested in working there,

even if they do not have a posted job opening? To post-doc or not to post-doc: is it necessary to post-doc in order to succeed in today’s

academic world (i.e., first to get the academic job, and beyond)? How do you go about applying and being successful at getting an academic position How to write a research statement? Is submitting my application materials early important? How do you deal with an advisor who is not a particularly good advocate for you,

whether due to spaciness, tardiness in requests for references, etc? How important is it to have ongoing research funding when applying for jobs at 4-yr

schools? have any women felt like their "excellence" has been evaluated differently than men in

terms of the hiring process?

Making application stand out/competitive What steps are necessary to make me stand out among other candidates? What makes someone competitive for postdoctoral/faculty positions? How can I make myself more marketable to the institution that suits me best? How do I stand out amongst the other applicants? What do employers look for today (other than what is in the job advertisement)? How do we find out about the specifics [about what employers are looking for] prior to

the application process? What are the most important attributes in which departments are interested?

Is it better to be very specialized, or to have a broader background/scientific goal for jobs?

How do you secure a job in such a competitive environment? What are the most important characteristics for academic resumes? What are departments looking for in terms of recommendation letters? As a geophysicist, how do I pitch myself to either a pure "physics" or "geology"

department? What are community colleges looking for in a job applicant? How to develop an attractive Cover Letter? How to develop succinct teaching and research statements? How can I write a better cover letter? How do I best highlight my teaching background and adequately express my interests to

make my application stand out? How should I tailor my application to appeal to the selection committee? What specific qualities might the ideal candidate for a tenure-track faculty position have

(on paper and during the interview)? What attributes are search committees looking for in candidates at 4-yr schools versus at

PhD-granting R1/R2 schools? What are the typical components of the application/interview process and what is most

important to hiring committees? What is the most sought after experience when applying to non-research university? How can early careers show they are competitive with experienced faculty when applying

for the same positions? How can you stand out among all the other applicants? What skills or qualities are institutions most looking for? How do I get noticed in such a competitive job market? How to increase the change to get an interview? How to write an effective cover letter? Is it worth responding to ads that don't exactly describe your background/skills? When applying for jobs, just how much of a research plan do I need to have already in

place? For example, can I get a job without a full description of what I'm going to do for the next 7 years?

Interviewing I would like a "behind-the-scenes" perspective on interview visits to

universities/colleges/etc. How to prepare a job talk? How do I ace an interview (particularly conference call phone interviews which are

extremely awkward)? What should I expect from on campus interviews, and how do I best prepare for them? What are some good ways of documenting and communicating teaching skills/experience

for a job interview? Regarding future research plans/goals, how does one prepare for an interview without

having existing funded grants? What should I expect during the interview process? What questions should I be asking at an interview.

How to best prepare for interviews? How to ace the interview? How to sell your strengths in an interview? How to do a good teaching demo class during an on-site interview? How can one incorporate active learning in an interview teaching demonstration -- Is a

simple activity enough to show understanding of active learning?

Negotiation I would like additional insight on the negotiation process, once offers are on the table. What is the negotiation process like? What are the different things that one should

consider during this process? What aspects of an offer should be negotiated? When is the right time to negotiate salary, lab start-up funds, etc.? What are some examples of appropriate and inappropriate things to negotiate for once a

job offer has been made? With whom do you negotiate to be sure what is being offered can be given?

What salary/benefits should I expect when I sign a contract/a contract is proposed? Many positions are paid for 9 months only. What are the options for summer months? How to design and ask for a starting package to set up a lab, etc. What am I allowed to ask for in terms of lab setup? How do you negotiate lab/research needs? What types of things can be part of a start up package?

Other Where do you start? How is it [the job search] best done? Will I be able to pay my bills on a junior professor's salary? How to get the job? Advantages of disadvantages of international applicants. Do search committees like to see a research plan for the first year (or longer?) with

specific goals? How to strategically place your teaching experience without sounding like you only want

a teaching job? How to best highlight my future potential when I haven't secured funding yet? Will I be able to continue my research 1/2 time and teach 1/2 time? What are reasonable expectations for job security, career advancement and institutional

support in today's academic job market? Is tenure an attainable goal for most young professionals in this geosciences today? How many positions should I apply for at a time? How can I evaluate myself when searching for a job? As an international what are the prejudices i may need to guard against when searching

for a job How important is networking in the job search process? Is it as important as having a

good quality resume? When is an appropriate time to start contacting possible postdoctoral advisors?

What selection criteria do institutions use when deciding which faculty job applicants to interview?

I am concerned my publication records is poor, and I do not know how much this weakens my applications. Is there a lot of hiring done on promise of expected results rather than on demonstrated published outcome?

How to talk about your research when you think you might want to go in a different direction than your PhD.

What are the expectations of the institutions (2-year and 4-year) of their applicants? When is it appropriate or expected that job candidates reveal aspects of their personal life

during the hiring process (marital status, family plans, spouse career, etc.)?

(Continue to next page for teaching questions.)

What are your top two questions about teaching (in terms of being a faculty member)?

Course Design How to:

o How do you approach developing new curriculum?o How to develop a course material? o What are some top tips and tricks for being more efficient in preparing lectures,

homeworks, etc.?o I am curious about the logistics associated with developing a new course.o What are some strategies for coming up with a new course- how do you begin to

structure a course intentionally?o What are the best strategies for preparing a course?o How to strike the balance between including the important concepts of a subject

without packing too much material in the course and overwhelming students with content?

o What is an adequate time-partitioning model between explaining theory, showing applications, and allowing students to have some hands-on experience via problem solving or individual research?

o How do I create a course from scratch?o How to design courses effectively, so it's well-balanced for me and students in

class?o How to design classes which I have not yet taughto How to develop a new course?

Rigor and academic supporto There is a fine line behind pushing ones critical thinking skills and making the

students feel like they are too far out of their comfort zone. How do you find the correct balance when designing a curriculum?

o How to balance the top 10% and the lowest 10% in large classes?o How do I encourage collaboration, but not copying?o How do you find the balance between letting a student stumble and fall,

academically, and not having any consequences for failure?o How do we modify/vary instruction while still keeping rigor high?o What is the appropriate level of assistance to provide to students (to avoid

expecting too much or “hand holding”)? How many hours/week (or per class period) does a new course take to develop and teach

for the first time? How much freedom do you have when you want to design your own course at your

university? How often do faculty develop new courses? Is it common or easy to suggest and implement new courses in old departments? How do you decide on the best textbook to use or even whether you should use one? How to develop field trips? Do the goals and approach to teaching vary depending on class size? If so, how? What are the major differences between designing courses for large introductory and

small upper division classes?

how far in advance of the start of a new term do you start preparing for a new course? The quality of written communication from students seems to be declining. What are

some effective ways that might help to improve student’s scientific writing that might be incorporated into a typical curriculum, particularly at the 1st and 2nd year level?

How can I make myself more valuable to students and fellow teaching colleagues in the department?

Introduce quantitative skill without making the class overly complicated. How to integrate technology into new and existing courses. How different an approach is needed for teaching undergraduates versus masters/graduate

level?

Time/Task Management Balancing teaching and research/other commitments

o How does a person most effectively balance teaching, research, and life?o Does teaching always need to come second to research?o How do we balance teaching with research? or what is a "good balance" between

teaching and research?o How to balance teaching and research?o How do you engage students and teach effectively without diminishing your

research responsibilities? o How can I best balance quality teaching with research demands? o How much time on average should I devote to it? How do I make sure I leave

enough time for everything else?o How to balance between teaching and research?o What are some effective strategies for balancing teaching and research, possibly

by integrating the two?o How hard/easy is it to balance the time you spend preparing classes and teaching

with research?o How can I effectively budget my time while developing multiple courses at a time

during my first few years as a faculty member?o how to balance teaching and research as a new faculty member.o Tips for balancing time required to teach effectively and still conduct research?o How do you manage teaching classes, getting established in a department, and

mentoring students all at the same time?o How do I make my classes engaging, innovative, inspiring, and responsive to

student needs without it taking 100% of my time? How do you avoid getting burnt out? How can you become the most effective teacher given the time and resource limitations

that faculty face?

Assessing Student Learning How do I effectively assess the learning of my students?

o How do I monitor my students progress without giving an overwhelming amount of quizzes?

o How do you give students enough feedback to make improvements?

o How do you assess students' abilities and adjust course material/assignments accordingly?

o How to evaluate?o What are some strategies for reducing the amount of time spent grading while still

giving useful feedback for student work?o How to write effective exams and assignments for classes with a range of

difficulty? How do we deal with students dropping the course because it is challenging? How do you handle grade inflation and students' expectations about grades?

Expectations Teaching load:

o What are typical teaching requirements for teaching-heavy vs. research-heavy positions?

o What is a reasonable teaching load that a college or university can expect from a new junior faculty?

o How many courses will I be expected to teach per semester at a small college (one that does not confer graduate degrees)?

o How does teaching load vary by institution level (e.g. R1, R2, 4-yr)?o What is the anticipated course load for a new faculty member seeking a tenure-

track position?o How much teaching is required in a-year and 4-year undergraduate institutions?

Are there any requirements toward remaining employed, ex. getting funding? How much freedom do you have in deciding which courses you want to teach?

o How often do you feel unqualified to teach a course but still teach it anyways? How much freedom are you given to design your own courses? Will my teaching be primarily assessed through student evaluations? How much research is done at a teaching college?

Class Planning Is there an "ideal" amount of material to cover in a lecture that still leaves time for

questions and activities but also fills the whole class time? How much time should be spent preparing for a lecture and how much time would be

over preparing (thinking in terms of time management)? What are some ways to make geology lab requirements more fun for students? Keeping students engaged for the duration of class? What are the best strategies for preparing and delivering lectures? As someone with limited pedagogical experience, what resources are available to help me

become a better educator?

How to Engage Students In large classes:

o How to engage a 100 student course with no lab time? o How to deal with classes larger than ~20 (i.e. 100+)?o How do I implement interactive learning to large classes?

o What are some strategies to keep students engaged particularly in large (> 50 students) classes?

o At larger institutions, how big is too big in terms of classroom size, assuming I would like to effectively reach the majority of my students?

Using active pedagogyo How can you incorporate experiential learning into a large lecture hall style class? o What are some ways to better ensure that students are actively participating in my

class?o how open are departments to "team-based learning" or group learning rather than

traditional lecture/test/lecture/test?o Suggestions for ways to engage students in active learning (self-discovery), even

in large classroom settings? How do you keep the material fresh and exciting?

o How to engage students in a major course?o what are the best teaching practices that gets students involved in the teaching of

rocks, minerals and crystallography.o How do i effectively teach a non science major student geology.o How to make intro classes both educational and engaging for all types of studentso What is the best way to get students excited about an introductory class?o What techniques can be used in making introductory classes more engaging?o How do you make students, in particular undergrads and non-majors, interested in

the geosciences?o How do you balance teaching students the basics while keeping problem sets

(e.g., homework, exams) interesting and applicable?o How do I keep students from getting bored?o How can I get students to ask more questions?o How to teach effective?

Other How is teaching evaluated?

o In what ways are faculty evaluated on their teaching?o How do I evaluate my effectiveness as a teacher?o Will my teaching be primarily assessed through student evaluations?

Mentoring students:o How do you balance being in a position of power and also being a mentor? o How to mentor students (undergrad and grad) under research pressure?

How common are non-research positions at R1 schools? How do we develop our teaching skills and experience at the postdoctoral level -

especially for those of us in departments/programs with no teaching exposure? How are teaching skills valued? How are student learning expectations (courses offered, knowledge base required)

changing at colleges and universities? How do you balance the more traditional teachings (what you'd find in a textbook) with

ground-breaking research? How to teach interdisciplinary classes

I've been told that I can be intimidating. How do I lessen this appearance while still being authoritative.

Are new faculty always given the teaching assignment tenured faculty do not want to teach?

What are some good tips for managing the first few years? How to use technology in distance learning effectively? How do I encourage students to take advantage of office hours?

(Continue to next page for research questions.)

What are your top two questions about research (in terms of being a faculty member)?

Expectations How much time do you devote to research at different types of colleges?

o How do expectations of research output and grant input vary by institution level (e.g. R1, R2, 4-yr)?

o What kinds of pressures are on new faculty to have successful research projects?o What are realistic research goals for new faculty? (e.g. maybe submit x number of

grant proposals, make research connections at new home institution?) o Are there any requirements for showing progress on research at the facility?o What level of research can I expect to conduct at a small college/university?o What expectations do liberal arts schools have for research?o How do the opportunities available to conduct research differ between a larger

university and a smaller college?o Should I approach the level at which I advance my own research differently at a

teaching-intensive position vs a research-heavy university?o How much will I be expected to research in an academic position?o How do research expectations vary between institutions?o how many projects do you work on simultaneously, on average?o How many proposals are considered enough before tenure?o What is the expected ratio of teaching to research for new faculty (ie: will I have

time to do research)?o How do research expectations vary among different universities?o What is the importance of research for teaching-focused positions (and why do I

feel like I need funding to be considered for even those jobs)?o How important is research in a teaching-oriented college?o How much research is required in 4-year undergraduate institutions?o What are the expectations for research and publications at a 4-year college for

faculty?o Do 2-year institutions require research?

How much time should one expect to spend on proposal writing/obtaining funding vs. actually doing research?

If you are a field scientist in a primarily lab-oriented department (or vice versus), how can you manage your department's expectations about research and publication volume/frequency?

How can you evaluate a university's expectations about your teaching/research load?

Funding How

o How to secure funding?o How to get funding?o How do you secure funding in this current economic crunch? o How to write a proposal? o How to best write an NSF proposal so that it gets funding? o How to get involved in proposal writing?

o I would like a general "tour" of the proposal writing process, as well as insight on how individual faculty members interact with the department/university on obtaining access to funds and other critical research resources.

o How do I ensure that my research keeps getting funded?o How to write an attractive and promising proposal?o How do you get funding for research at undergraduate institutions?o how to build a strong research program when funding continues to be very

difficult to obtain.o What will the research funding environment look like 10-20 years from now?o Tips for effective proposal writing?o How do you make sure you have enough funding?

Whereo What makes research grant proposals competitive and what are common funding

options?o What are other sources of funding besides NSF for geosciences?o What additional funding opportunities are available to early career faculty?

Resourceso What resources do universities generally offer to assist in the grant writing

process for early faculty (e.g. workshops, feedback)?o How much support (monetary or otherwise) from the institution can be expected

for research opportunities?o What are some good resources for keeping track of funding opportunities and

CFPs? Proposal writing vs actual research

o How much time do you invest in writing research proposals versus research?o How do you balance grant writing with actually getting research done?o How much time are we expected to devote to proposal writing and tips for writing

a successful proposal

Getting Started What is the most important [research-related] thing to get done your first semester? How do I best manage the first few years? What do you need to know to get yourself set up as a new researcher? Do you typically come up with research questions and funding prior to looking for a

faculty position, or vice verse? As a young researcher, what support is available for establishing research projects? Will work space be provided to me to keep lab equipment in and/or will I need to find

support/funding for the facility work space? Tips for identifying new research projects and securing funding for them.

Branching out to new topics How to shift your current research topics/area to a new research topics/are that is local to

the school you apply for? How to branch out while keeping a focus?

How do I plan for moving my research from a postdoc in someone else's lab to my own research agenda in my own lab (mentally, funding, logistics, etc,)?

How do I begin a new research topic? Is there any advice on developing new research questions and whether to continue work

in PhD area or move into new areas? How common is it for new professors' research directions to change during the pre-tenure

stage and how often does this change in direction work out in the person's favor? How to i sustain and fund my research without running out of ideas. How do you establish the focus of your lab to define your own research identity (i.e. not

be a clone of your PhD advisor)? how easy is it to broaden your research scope? What are some strategies to develop and keep track of research ideas? How do I mold my research interests with those of the department? How to tailor a long term research vision? and how to start building it?

Lab/Program Set-up What are the different strategies that one should consider in setting up his/her research

program at a new job? How can I most effectively develop a research program that will support multiple

graduate students? How soon into the position should you consider starting your own research group? Any

advice/tips on how to approach starting your own research group? How do you build a research group? What qualities do you look for in graduate students? How do new faculty members generate appropriate research projects for the students they

advise? How do you go about establishing your research group/lab? How to plan the research for the next five year? Diversify research topics or focus?

Project/Lab/“Personnel” Management How to manage multiple projects simultaneously? How to mentor/collaborate with students for a research project? What are the best ways to advise undergraduates involved in research? How do you balance what research you take on yourself vs what you give to a student? How to run my lab and mentor students effectively? How to design and implement a research plan for graduate students and postdocs How do I minimize stress and maximize my students' learning and my research

productivity. Dealing with different working styles between students and myself? How to helps graduate students develop their own research project? What is the best way to mentor graduate students?

Time Management: balancing research and other commitments How do I balance research and teaching? When you are just starting off as a faculty member, how do you balance teaching and

research without graduate students? How to balance between research and other duties?

How do you balance research with teaching? what are the key things you need to do in other to strike a balance between teaching

responsibilities and research. How to balance teaching and research as a new faculty member

Collaborating When starting a new job, should one focus more on collaborations, or on an independent

research plan? What are the pros and cons of either approach? How do you develop effective collaborations? Is there much, if any, collaboration among professors at small colleges and their

colleagues at research universities? How and when do you cultivate collaborations in your new institution? how do you decide on collaborators for grant proposals? What is the best way to start a collaboration with a colleague?

Publishing What is a reasonable rate of publications? What percentage of one's workload can reasonably be dedicated to doing first-author

publication research vs. student first-author and how does this change in the course of a career?

What are some strategies that might be incorporated into the process of supervising either a Bachelor or Master’s thesis that would prepare/excite the student follow through with the laborious process of submitting/publishing a peer-reviewed manuscript?

Is there a strategy as to the pattern of your publications year to year that looks better to a tenure committee, e.g., is consistency per year better than fluctuations or a steady increase?

During the tenure track, is it more important to have articles as first author or to have students publishing articles?

Undergrad research How to ease undergraduates into researching journal articles? How easy is it to get research done in a small liberal arts college where the focus maybe

teaching and where there are no graduate students/postdocs/lab techs to help with your lab?

How can I involve undergraduate students in research projects at a smaller school (funding, equipment, size/scope of project, etc.)?

How do you incorporate research at a primarily undergraduate university and give undergrads opportunities to do resreach?

Other Can I succeed as an academic if I'm ambivalent about research? How should your research "complement departmental strengths in x,y,z"? How to help students answer research questions without telling them to follow a specific

path? How to do the interdisciplinary research?

How important is the balance between specificity versus broad research interest within your field?

NSF-EAR has changed their Broader Impacts expectations so they are at the same level as the intellectual merits of a research proposal. What are some ways to get training in effective science outreach and/or develop partnerships to facilitate science outreach at this level?

How do I evaluate myself as a researcher? At smaller institutions, where you may be the only researcher working in your sub-

discipline, how do you stay connected and "up on" current research? How do you attract and develop good student researchers?

(Continue to next page for all other questions.)

Other questions

Balancing time:o Is balancing teaching and research as complicated as it seems?o How hard is it to balance your academic job and family?o How do I balance time at work and home?o Is it worth the sacrifice? o Can you have a work-life balance (realistically)?o How do I balance committee meetings and teaching? o How to manage time to have a healthy work-life balance? o How do you maintain work/life balance throughout your career?o How do you balance teaching, research and publishing responsibilities with each

other and with the rest of life?o Tips for becoming more efficient at work and being able to balance professional

and personal life?o How do you suggest allocating your time between research and teaching?o For an academic, is there a happy medium between home and work life? If so,

how do you achieve it?o Any insight on achieving and maintaining work-life balance would be most

welcome as well. Tenure

o How to improve potential of tenure?o If you're a tenure-track professor, do you typically have 6-7 years to prove

yourself or can you be unceremoniously axed at any time?o Is there a way to become a faculty member in the USA without entering the

seemingly life-destroying tenure-track process?o Any tips on achieving tenure?o What is the process/time necessary for getting tenure?

How difficult is it to get an academic job? What is the job market for geoscience higher education in the next few years? How can you reduce/manage stress? How do you deal with faculty politics in an effective and intelligent way? How do I make the transition from a post-doc to a faculty member? What do you do during the summer if you are teaching at a liberal arts school? How do female academics overcome challenges that are unique to them? Given the current funding situation, it seems like the current academic situation is

unsustainable. How might academia be changing, and how might that affect me? How do you interact with other faculty members in your department, or at your

university? What sorts of academic service to the university are typically required of faculty

members, and how much does a typical faculty member take on? do women feel like their department supports women in geoscience? As a young female scientist, how will my career (in the postdoc or faculty member stage)

be affected by the decision to have children?