This April, I was one of the lucky participants in North Carolina State University’s Building Future Faculty (BFF) Program. Every year, the university hosts about 35 graduate students and postdoctoral scholars from every field of study and from all over the United States. All participants are aspiring faculty members who are underrepresented in their fields and committed to promoting a diverse professoriate.
As part of the three-day workshop, we learned what is expected of early-career faculty—such as earning grants, mentoring graduate and undergraduate students, developing curricula, and serving the university. We also practiced skills that will serve us as we seek faculty positions—like communicating research clearly in print and in person, networking, preparing appealing application packages, and negotiating after receiving offers.
This workshop taught me how to successfully transition from a student to a faculty member, and I’m inspired to pursue my own version of academic achievement. While I want to share everything I learned at the BFF program, for the sake of brevity, I will only share 10 pieces of advice for an aspiring professor:
1. When writing grant proposals and papers, let perfectionism go. Free-write first, and then revise. Also ask others for feedback on your writing.
2. Make presentation slides sparse, mostly jargon-free, and easy to read. Never exceed your allocated time.
3. Don’t over-prepare for classes. Aim for 2–3 hours of preparation per lecture hour, and it will benefit both you and your students.
4. Learn your students’ names, and greet them by name. They’ll pay you back with respect and effort.
5. Get to know your colleagues. Fight the instinct to focus solely on research, and go out to lunch with other faculty, talk with interesting people, and seek help and advice when you need it.
6. Make commitments wisely, and learn to say no to activities that don’t align with your goals. This is particularly important for women and minorities, who are frequently asked to serve on committees that need more diversity.
7. Take control of your time. Stay faithful to your office hours, respond to e-mails only a few times a day, and work away from students/colleagues a few times a week.
8. During the interview process, be the best version of yourself at all times. This includes informal conversations over dinner — consume alcohol at your own risk.
9. Include all of your huge accomplishments on the first page of your CV. Nationally recognized fellowships should be right next to your dissertation title.
10. Only pursue a tenure-track position if you love academic life. It’s not worth the pressure if you don’t love it.
If you are an underrepresented doctoral or postdoctoral scholar who is seriously considering an academic career, I can’t recommend NC State’s Building Future Faculty Program strongly enough. Applications are due in early November.
Many thanks to Rebecca Brent and Richard M. Felder for offering much of the advice that I included in this list.