Promoted
As of today, I'm now an Assistant Professor of Geology at NOVA. (I used to be an Instructor.) Yee-ha!
The Rank ladder at NOVA has four rungs: Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor. With positive evaluations and the credits I accrued from my MSSE program, I qualified this summer to climb up a step. (NOVA does not have tenure; just contracts of increasing duration.) In another couple years, I'll be able to apply for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor, but I won't be able to make the jump to full Professor unless/until I get a PhD.
I'm a bit torn about the PhD: I feel like it's a research degree, whereas I'm not doing research in my job at NOVA. I'm an educator. And it's a fair bit of effort, that whole PhD thing: getting a degree specializing me to do research that I don't do. On the other hand, it sure would be nice to be finished with explaining to people that I'm not a doctor. And I'm sure it would help inform my teaching -to some extent- it's just a question of gains versus effort.
Time will tell; I get the feeling I'm going to start itching for another degree come next summer...
Anyhow, for the moment, I'm pleased with the validation of being promoted. Yesterday, I updated my main NOVA webpage to reflect the change. ...And the moustache.
The Rank ladder at NOVA has four rungs: Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor. With positive evaluations and the credits I accrued from my MSSE program, I qualified this summer to climb up a step. (NOVA does not have tenure; just contracts of increasing duration.) In another couple years, I'll be able to apply for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor, but I won't be able to make the jump to full Professor unless/until I get a PhD.
I'm a bit torn about the PhD: I feel like it's a research degree, whereas I'm not doing research in my job at NOVA. I'm an educator. And it's a fair bit of effort, that whole PhD thing: getting a degree specializing me to do research that I don't do. On the other hand, it sure would be nice to be finished with explaining to people that I'm not a doctor. And I'm sure it would help inform my teaching -to some extent- it's just a question of gains versus effort.
Time will tell; I get the feeling I'm going to start itching for another degree come next summer...
Anyhow, for the moment, I'm pleased with the validation of being promoted. Yesterday, I updated my main NOVA webpage to reflect the change. ...And the moustache.
12 Comments:
Congratulations! And I like the moustache.
Let me add my congratulations. If they make you a professor, does it become a full beard, along with a pipe, tweed suit and erudite composure?
Congratulations!
Hey, congratulations! I think you should step beyond facial hair for the next promotion. I'm seeing a magenta mohawk.
Congrats!
Though getting a PhD doesn't mean you will stop explaining that you aren't a doctor, well a medical doctor anyway ;-).
Congratulations!
Thanks everyone!
Congradulations! Yeah!!!!
Many congratulations!
Next level up should totally come with some Ambrose Burnside-esque muttonchops. Hee hee hee.
I'm late to the party ... congrats!
I'm even later, but congrats!
Can your Ph.D. be in science education, or does it need to be in the geosciences?
Hey Maria,
A potential PhD could be in basketweaving; it doesn't matter. I could potentially pursue science education further (haven't tapped out my interest in it yet -- certainly a good thing for a science educator), but I also have some geological questions that I'm interested in and willing to pursue doggedly for a couple of years...
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