Hi y’all! I’m posting to get some advice from this subreddit.
I’m a postdoc in metallurgical engineering in the US, I have been a postdoc for the last 3 years and have a postdoc position contract for the next 2 years.
This academic year, I decided to start applying for faculty jobs in the US, just to see how the process was going and get experience for the future. I was not expecting to get an offer this year, so I applied for several institutions in states I was not necessarily interested in living, because I wanted to get to the on campus interview stage to get experience out of it (so I wanted to have a larger pool of institutions).
I ended up applying to 8 positions, got 4 phone interviews, 2 on site interviews and it seems like I’m getting a job offer from 1 R1 institution.
The institution that I am getting the offer for seems awesome, the job opportunity seems excellent and I think I’d be really happy there professionally.
The problem is that it is in a red state, in a very rural area without mountains. I’m very liberal, polyamorous, LGBT+, a woman, and an immigrant, and I love socializing, parties, and mountaineering. So I’m afraid that living in that town will really suck for my personal life.
I’m freaking out because, in my mind, I could just decline this offer and keep looking next year but, especially with the new administration, everyone seems to suggest that I should take the job, because next year the opportunities to find a job may be much lower. Plus most of the posts on reddit talk about people applying to 100 jobs and getting 1 offer, which seems crazy to me, based on my experience this year. But maybe I’ve just been extremely lucky, I don’t know.
I wanted to ask here if anyone thinks that declining the offer is not a crazy move and I may find better opportunities in the future. I’d like to mention I’m not closed to working in R&D for the industry, as long as it’s a good match, and I’m a EU citizen and I’m not closed to coming back to EU if I get a good job there too. I’m single so moving is no problem. I love science and research but I also do care about being personally happy, I’ve always had a very good work life balance and, honestly, if I don’t, I stop being productive.
What do y’all think? Should I decline this offer and wait to see what happens next year? Could this ruin my career?
Comments
Take the job and keep applying next year?
If you would be ok with living in that area for a bit, take the job and start looking for positions elsewhere. It’s easier to move to another TT position than it is to get the first TT job, especially at an R1. I took a TT position in a red state as my first job when I was less selective but started applying for jobs in my ideal places (which also happen to be universities near mountains and in blue states) and landed my current position that fits both of those requirements. It just depends on if you can potentially handle living in a place you don’t like for a few years before making the next move. Since you’d be at an R1, presumably you’d be paid decently so you could afford to travel which might help with the personal aspect. Good luck with your decision.