For those of us who have permanent academic jobs, the cycle of the year is about to enter its research/course planning/writing up/working from home phase. But for those scholars who have been working on temporary contracts, the prospect of being without wages over the summer can suddenly seem very real around the end of May. However, there are some job opportunities out there for those who are prepared to put in really hard work over the summer.
Archive for May, 2009
Summer job opportunities
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009Marking season is upon us!
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009It’s that time of year when lecturers are rarely to be found in their university offices and instead spend much of their time working from home buried under a pile of marking. For some this is a very difficult timeas many lecturers find marking, especially on a large scale, tedious to say the least. But it is an important part of the job and there are some redeeming features…honestly!
Hiring and firing: the gender aspect
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009There’s a fantastic article in this week’s Chronicle outlining an important issue in academia in the United States: the link between an increase in the use of non-tenured staff (ie part-timers or those on temporary contracts) and the rise of women in the academic workplace. Although the system is slightly different in the UK I think that the comparison raises some important issues for lecturers and researchers to consider the world over.
Invigiliation duties
Thursday, May 7th, 2009Part of the job of many academics is to get involved in exam invigilation during the summer term. For a few lucky ones, perhaps this job is done by other staff members, but in my department we have to do our fair share. While many people see it as a boring couple of hours doing nothing, I think that it is a really important part of the job. (more…)
