Archive for May, 2007

Commuting: how far is too far?

Thursday, May 31st, 2007

Cost of season ticket for my new commute: £3000, gasp!

I have been thinking about the issue of work-life balance today. I like many academics (especially those with partners) am not able to move to the town where my job is, so I have at least a few years of commuting ahead of me. While I am not sure that I want to spend 4 hours every day on the train (!), the prospect of spending the same amount of time driving on the M6 upsets me even more! Question: Is my new job worth the price of traveling in terms of time and money? Answer (for me at least): of course it is.

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Posted in Jobseeking | 8 Comments »

Preparing to teach…

Thursday, May 31st, 2007

Baccalaureate papers marked: 350 (!)

Undergraduate essays marked: 28

Random dreams about marking: one too many!

Perhaps you are wondering why I am marking Baccalaureate papers when I am a lecturer at a university. Well, I started the job three summers ago as a way to make extra money, and while I am still doing it for that reason, I have fallen in love with the job and don’t want to give it up. It is a very intense three weeks in which you have to mark 350 papers, so you do end up living and breathing the job. But it gives you a great opportunity to work out teaching strategies because you see a wide range of abilities and soon get to learn how students can be coached into passing exams, even without the highest intellectual capacity.

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Posted in Jobseeking, Teaching | 5 Comments »

Job!

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007

Well, dear reader, I got the job! This most exciting news hasn’t quite sunk in yet and I am not sure of the details of my future role, but I will be lecturing at Manchester Met from September! Now that I am a successful academic jobseeker, I can share my advice on performing well at interview.

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Posted in Academic Life, Jobseeking | 4 Comments »

Interview!

Wednesday, May 9th, 2007

Interviews invited to: 1 (but that’s all it takes!)

A very exciting development this week, Manchester Metropolitan University want to interview me for the permanent lectureship. Having had a long while without the chance to show what I can do, this is a great opportunity. And the lure of possible job security, now within reach, is spurring me on. So, how to prepare for an academic interview? I was given ten days’ notice, so this is plenty of time to do some research to find out what they might be after. However, sometimes you may only have a couple of days to prepare, so you’ll have to work fast.

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Posted in Academic Life, Jobseeking | 2 Comments »