I just erased a long entry about why I was leaving UB, and what I am looking for in a new job. It took a while to write, and it was probably good for me to write it out. But it was also probably also too honest to do me any good. Transparency has its limits, and blogging about the reasons you are leaving your current position are probably among those limits. Besides, I wouldn’t want a future employer to think I was willing to air the department’s dirty laundry. Like most academics, I am convinced that the petty politics of the university would make an excellent novel. And like most, I’m smart enough not to write that novel.
Basically, I want to work in a place full of people who remind me of who I want to be: people who are creative, who challenge the status quo, and who care passionately about the world they live in and the work they do. I think it is fair to say that while I respect my colleagues here at UB, I don’t feel like they get excited about the kinds of things I get excited about. I know that there are people out there who do–I’ve been lucky enough to meet many of them, in part through this blog. All I’m looking for now is a place where they congregate, and a home for me to do exciting work. I am looking for fertile soil to land on. So far, I haven’t seen a lot of promising landing spots.
Contrary to what I had hoped, I will have to be circumspect in my blogging of the process. My new blogging rule has become “blog about what you are doing, not what you are going to do.” So what I am doing right now, is trying to figure out what sort of place would be somewhere I could grow and find my contributions appreciated. Oh, that and seeking out some letters of recommendation for a couple of academic postings that look promising. Once I know more for sure, I’ll be sure to share it with you all.
In the meantime, if you have ideas, let me know. Generally, I am looking for something that is in New York or within an hour or two of commute time (or largely telecommutable). If it is something really cool, I might be willing to break that barrier. It need not be an academic posting; I am certainly interested in the possibility of working in a more entrepreneurial atmosphere on either side of the ivory curtain. It needs to be something that represents a shifting challenge, and that engages me in some form of problem solving, because, frankly, boredom is my greatest enemy. And it needs to be with people who are passionate about changing the world, and able to do so. Is that too much to ask?
Job blogging
I just erased a long entry about why I was leaving UB, and what I am looking for in a new job. It took a while to write, and it was probably good for me to write it out. But it was also probably also too honest to do me any good. Transparency has its limits, and blogging about the reasons you are leaving your current position are probably among those limits. Besides, I wouldn’t want a future employer to think I was willing to air the department’s dirty laundry. Like most academics, I am convinced that the petty politics of the university would make an excellent novel. And like most, I’m smart enough not to write that novel.
Basically, I want to work in a place full of people who remind me of who I want to be: people who are creative, who challenge the status quo, and who care passionately about the world they live in and the work they do. I think it is fair to say that while I respect my colleagues here at UB, I don’t feel like they get excited about the kinds of things I get excited about. I know that there are people out there who do–I’ve been lucky enough to meet many of them, in part through this blog. All I’m looking for now is a place where they congregate, and a home for me to do exciting work. I am looking for fertile soil to land on. So far, I haven’t seen a lot of promising landing spots.
Contrary to what I had hoped, I will have to be circumspect in my blogging of the process. My new blogging rule has become “blog about what you are doing, not what you are going to do.” So what I am doing right now, is trying to figure out what sort of place would be somewhere I could grow and find my contributions appreciated. Oh, that and seeking out some letters of recommendation for a couple of academic postings that look promising. Once I know more for sure, I’ll be sure to share it with you all.
In the meantime, if you have ideas, let me know. Generally, I am looking for something that is in New York or within an hour or two of commute time (or largely telecommutable). If it is something really cool, I might be willing to break that barrier. It need not be an academic posting; I am certainly interested in the possibility of working in a more entrepreneurial atmosphere on either side of the ivory curtain. It needs to be something that represents a shifting challenge, and that engages me in some form of problem solving, because, frankly, boredom is my greatest enemy. And it needs to be with people who are passionate about changing the world, and able to do so. Is that too much to ask?
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