(International) Academic Career

UAB, Catalunya

January 18th, 2018

Marc Masdeu

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

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1 Introduction

2 Preparing for an academic career

3 Different countries, different systems

4 Conclusion

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What does an academic career look like?

1y at MPIM (Germany).1y at Essen (Germany).3y JdlC at U.Barcelona.

Now: Lector at U.Barcelona.

1y Stays at Cambridge,MIT, UCSD.

2.5y at Bielfeld (Germany)2y at Essen (Germany)

Now: BGSMath at UPC.

1y at Ben Gurion (Israel).2y at Rovira i Virgili (URV).3y JdlC fellow at URV.

Now: Lector at URV.

2y at Bielefeld (Germany).1y in Luxembourg.2y BdP fellow at UPC.1y at CRM – Barcelona.

Now: Postdoc at UPC.

1y at INRIA (France).1y BdP fellow at Queen’s

(Canada).3y JdlC fellow at ICMAT.4y Ayudante Dr. at Carlos III.

Now: Contr. Dr. at Carlos III.

2y at Bonn (Germany).2y at Orsay (France).3y Maître Conf. at Paris.

Now: RyC at U.Barcelona.

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Do you REALLY want to pursue an academic career?

Very high (too high?) mobility.Low salary (. . . ).Difficult family life.Constantly searching for the next job/funding.Extreme pressure to publish.Academia is not a ladder, but a pyramid: need contingency plan.

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My story, as told by my CV

9/99-6/05 Studied Mathematics and “Telecos” at UPC (Catalunya).8/05-7/07 “La Caixa” Fellow at U.Illinois, Urbana–Champaign (USA).8/07-6/10 Thesis at McGill University (Canada).

7/10-12/13 Ritt Assistant Professor (Postdoc) at Columbia Univ. (USA).1/14-2/17 Postdoc, then Marie-Curie Fellow at U.Warwick (UK).3/17–now Ramón y Cajal researcher at UAB (Catalunya).

This is what you will find in my CV. . .

. . . However, I’d like to tell you what is NOT in there!

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A more real story

U.Illinois at Urbana–Champaign was my back-up option, the otherFIVE universities to which I applied refused my application. My firstchoice was Berkeley.I wanted to move to another university to do my thesis. I applied toFOUR universities then, only repeating Berkeley. I was offered aspot in the other three –not Berkeley–, and I took McGill.On my last year at McGill (2009–2010) I applied for postdocs:

§ 44 positions in the US and Canada, some at top places, but somereally not. . .

§ 7 positions in Europe (IHES, Orsay, Max Planck, Hausdorff, FSMP,Warwick, Cambridge).

. . . and got lots of rejections! Only THREE hits: IHES, Max Planckand Columbia.

§ Note that I didn’t get the Warwick job then. . .

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A more real story (continued)

In 2012-13 I applied to FIVE posts in the US and Canada, gotNONE. Later I got the position at Warwick, for two years (2014 and2015).At the end of 2014 I applied to some fellowships: Ramón y Cajal,Beatriu de Pinós and Marie-Curie. I won the latter, but wasrejected from the other two.During 2015 I applied to 26 posts in the US/Canada, and to severalpositions in the UK, and was unsuccessful in all of them.At the end of 2015 I applied to the RyC and Ikerbasque fellowships.Although I happily got the RyC, I got rejected from Ikerbasque.

UpshotUnless you are Gauss, apply to everything that moves.

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What to focus on during your PhD?1 Research (obvious!).2 Publications

§ Write up the results of your thesis and submit them to a journal.§ Post your results to the arXiv.

3 Teaching§ Teach at least one class a year (even if not required by your funding).§ This will also give you practice in public speaking.§ Learn how to use LATEX Beamer.

4 Networking§ Build a professional website, update it frequently.§ Prepare your CVN (https://cvn.fecyt.es/editor).§ Create profilese at , , .§ Consider other social networks: , , . Or a blog!§ Attend summer schools, conferences, workshops,. . .

5 Service§ If asked to referee a paper, agree!§ Volunteer to be in committees in your department/university.§ Volunteer to help in the organization of local events.

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The North-American academic systemDistinction between Colleges and Universities.

§ Colleges ; teaching.§ Univerities ; research.

Use http://www.mathjobs.org!1 Graduate student

§ Master’s student§ Doctoral (PhD) student

2 Postdoctoral positions (think: temporary positions)§ Non-tenure track: Postdoctoral research associate, Postdoctoral

fellow, Visiting Assistant Professor,. . .‹ Temporary contract, usually 2 or 2 ` 1 years.‹ There are some positions with names: Benjamin Pierce (Harvard), Ritt

Assistant Professor (Columbia), Simons (several unis), C.L.E. Mooreinstructor (MIT), Veblen Research Instructorship (Princeton / IAS), . . .

‹ They don’t lead to a tenured position.3 Tenure or tenure-track (think: permanent positions)

§ Usually called “Assistant Professor”.§ You apply to these usually after (at least) one postdoc.§ Some colleges may give you a tenure-track job right after Ph.D. (rare).

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The UK academic system

System revolves around Oxbridge (Oxford + Cambridge).§ These are “star” universities.§ There are many more universities, some outstandingly good!

Ranking is based on Research Excellence Framework (REF),done in 2014, next is 2021.Temporary jobs: Research associate, Research fellow, Seniorresearch fellow.Permanent jobs: Reader, Professor, . . .Look up http://jobs.ac.uk for openings (alsohttp://www.mathjobs.org)!Very often money comes from a personal grant, the grant holder isthe main person to decide for the selection.

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Other countries (that I know something of)

France: need a “Qualification pour Enseignants-chercheurs”.§ You can then try to compete for a “Maître de Conférence (MCF)”.§ Or try to get a position at CNRS (very hard!).

Germany: usually a professor, who has a grant, looks for a postdoc.§ OK to approach them and ask if they would consider you.

Italy: postdocs virtually don’t exist.Others to consider: Nederlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Finland,Sweden, . . .

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Some regular postdoctoral “junior” fellowships

Beatriu de Pinós – modalitat A: (25 spots, 2 years). Abroad.Juan de la Cierva – formación: (225 spots, 2 years).BGSMathFSM Paris (10 spots, 2 years).https://www.sciencesmaths-paris.fr/en/postdoctoral-programmes-247.htm

Max Planck Insitute @ Bonn, Guest Program (up to 1 year).CRM-ISM postdoctoral fellowships @ Montréal.PIMS Postdoctoral Fellowships @ West US & Canada.

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MathJobs.org (as of January 16, 2018)

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MathJobs.org (as of January 16, 2018)

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Common Application materials

1 Cover letter: less than one page.§ Needs to be personalized to each university (automatization?).

2 Curriculum Vitae: 2 pages max.§ Education and awards.§ Publications (include theses and “in preparation”).§ Talks, attended conferences.§ Teaching and service.

3 Research statement: 5-7 pages.§ Thirds: general mathematician; non-expert in your area; expert.§ What have you done? More importantly, what do you want to do next?§ Make it easy to read, show it to people to get feedback.§ Some posts may ask for shorter/longer ones. . .

4 Teaching statement/philosophy: 2 pages.§ The safest bet is to not try to be too original here. . .

5 Four reference letters, one of which about teaching.§ Very important who writes these letters.§ They should know you well.

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Some lessons learned

Start preparing the materials the summer before graduating.§ Ask for reference letters early.§ You should have everything ready ideally in October.

Update your website frequently.Possibly automate the process of writing cover letters.Check regularly:

§ http://www.mathjobs.org,§ http://jobs.ac.uk,§ http://euro-math-soc.eu/jobs.

Try all options. There is a good amount of luck involved.Even with a very low hit/miss ratio, the outcome may be good!Always have a “B plan”, and even a “C plan”.It is quite hard as it is, so try not to restrict options.

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Thank you foryour attention !

Bibliography and slides at: http://www.mat.uab.cat/~masdeu/

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