*Concerns of Young Mathematicians* Volume 3, Issue 14 April 12, 1995 An electronically distributed digest for discussions of the issues of concern to mathematicians at the beginning of their careers. Please, direct submissions and questions to Kevin Madigan madigan@math.nwu.edu , editor for the month of February. Next issue: Wednesday, 12 April. March Editor: Wendy Brunzie brunzie@turing.ucdavis.edu April Editor: Kevin Madigan madigan@math.nwu.edu May Editor: Franklin Mendivil mendivil@math.gatech.edu To subscribe: Contact Charles Yeomans at cyeomans@ms.uky.edu Back issues and other information are available via anonymous FTP to ftp.ms.uky.edu, in pub3/mailing.lists/ymn-list. Or connect to the YMN homepage on the WWW, the URL: http://math34.gatech.edu:8080/YMN/ymn.html The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the administrative board or membership of the Young Mathematicians' Network. The editorial policy of this newsletter is to encourage discussion of issues, and facilitate the dissemination of information, relevant to the concerns of young mathematicians. Table of Contents Item # Title ------ ----- 1 Editor's notes 2 News of the Archive for Proposals 3 Notes from the Academic Front 4 Closing Credits _______________________________________________________________ Item #1 Editor's notes: Wow! What a short issue we have this week. Sorry its a little late, but I wanted to make sure there were at least two items before I mailed it out. Send me stuff for next week! _______________________________________________________________ Item #2 News of the Archive for Proposals There are several successful proposals which will soon be available on the YMN archive (I hope). These will include proposals for the CAREER program for young people in tenure track jobs, an NSF grant proposal, and one other. Unfortunately, some of these documents are not written in TeX, but are written in WORD. Short of encrypting the word documents and archiving the encrypted version, I do not know how to archive the WORD files in the most useful fashion. I would be very appreciative if somebody who has some knowledge on how to do these things could get in touch with me. It would be particularly useful if they would be willing to help with some other computer problems that I have had with the archiving of files for the YMN. Curtis Bennett cbennet@math.bgsu.edu _______________________________________________________________ Item #3 Notes from the Academic Front I recently decided to leave academia and pursue actuarial work. Feeling that some of our members may benefit from a discussion of why I chose to leave academia, our managing editor asked me to write this article. Next week's issue of *Concerns* will contain a discussion of my experiences seeking actuarial employment as well as what little advice I can offer. We are all familiar with the positives of academic employment. It offers a nice lifestyle and can be very stimulating. However, there are other considerations. In order to understand my decision, you should know a little about me. I took my PhD from the University at Albany, SUNY, in May of 1993. I am married. My first job was offered in early August of 93. This was a tenure track appointment at a medium sized state university in Texas. The geographical area was not very attractive to me, but there were people on the faculty with whom I could pursue research. The teaching load (for me) was 3 courses per semester, and the salary was OK. This university has an admissions policy that is very close to open admissions. My main function was to teach College Algebra to poorly prepared students. Due to the lateness of the offer, it wasn't practical for my wife to move to Texas right away. Fortunately, we did not rush to move her, because on March 1, 1994, due to budgetary problems (problems which are still haunting this university), I was informed my position was being eliminated. This left me with few options. I made a lot of phone calls, sent a lot of e-mail, and prepared myself for non-academic employment. In May, 1993 I was offered the position I now have, a one year position at Northwestern University. So, I began the fall at Northwestern with the knowledge that things can get pretty ugly in academia. I applied for a few fancy jobs and some desirable jobs at good liberal arts colleges. After my experiences in Texas, I was being very picky and was not applying for any job I felt I really wouldn't want. In other words, I was already making some recognition that I would probably be leaving academia. I considered the following: - The very real prospect of being a migrant mathematician for the next few years, working for low pay in temporary appointments. Such appointments would most likely necessitate moving several times, which would mean my wife would either sabotage her career (which is going well) or live apart from me. - The relatively low pay in academia. - Many of the tenure track positions available require heavy teaching loads at the freshman and sophomore levels. Furthermore, many of these positions are in universities or colleges with low admissions and grading standards. - I sometimes felt that I was pretending to teach mathematics to students who were pretending to learn, that it was all a big charade. Many students are only concerned with grades (the system encourages this), and knowledge becomes secondary, if not completely irrelevant. - Many of the positions at research oriented departments are highly competitive. Therefore, one must spend many, many hours engaged in research if one is to obtain a tenure track job and subsequently be granted tenure. Success in this environment requires one to think about mathematics for most of one's waking hours. I have other things to do with my life besides proving theorems and otherwise being engaged in research. The pre-tenure pressure to publish does not allow one to fully pursue one's interests, but forces one to concentrate on problems which can be solved in a reasonable amount of time. To be honest, I lost interest in the problems directly related to my thesis. My interests were pushing me in two directions, both of which require preparation time (reading the relevant literature and filling in gaps in my background). Furthermore, in many of these positions teaching is not taken seriously, in fact, viewed by some with contempt. I think this borders on the fraudulent (the tax and tuition payers are paying for good teaching, not more papers in journals that can only be read by a handful of people). - Many univesities and colleges are located in small towns or small to medium sized cities. My wife would have trouble finding work in or near such a place, and many of these places are fairly isolated. My family is spread out around the country, hers is in New York state. Accessibility became an issue (Where is the nearest airport? What is there to do in such a place? Will we ever see our families again?). - Mathematical research is an inherently frustrating business; these problems are hard. - The relative ease with which I knew I could find a job here in the Chicago area, which would allow my wife to continue to pursue her career and allow us to stay put. - It takes several years before one gets any real feedback on one's job performance. I decided I didn't want to have to spend 5 or 6 or 7 years working before I would be eligible for a promotion. - The stress associated with looking for academic employment in mathematics in the 1990s. I could proably go on like this for some time, but I think the list above hits most of the important points. Please do not misconstrue my motives or feelings. Some assume I must be doing this unwillingly or with a heavy heart. On the contrary, I am looking forward to this change; I feel much better about my future. Of course, I never lost my love for mathematics. I merely decided at this point in my life I would rather do something else for a living than continue in academia. My decision to become an actuary (as opposed to pursuing some other line of work) is highly personal; many of my family members work in the insurance business. Next week I will discuss my experiences looking for a job, as well as what little advice I can pass on. You already know the most important piece of advice: NETWORK. Kevin Madigan madigan@math.nwu.edu _______________________________________________________________ Item #4 Closing Credits Charles Yeomans cyeomans@ms.uky.edu Mark Winstead mwwinst@gcr.com Nancy Wilson nwilson@stmarys-ca.edu Emil Volcheck Emil.Volcheck@risc.uni-linz.ac.at Frank Sottile sottile@math.toronto.edu Vic Perera vicum@math.ohio-state.edu Franklin Mendivil mendivil@math.gatech.edu Kevin Madigan madigan@math.nwu.edu Leigh Lunsford lunsford@math.uah.edu Steve Kennedy skennedy@mathcs.carleton.edu Matt Hudelson hudelson@math.washington.edu Silvia Heubach silvi@cinenet.net Bob Dobrow dobrow@cam.nist.gov Lyle Cochran lcochran@fresno.edu Kevin Charlwood kec1@bradley.bradley.edu Neil Calkin calkin@math.gatech.edu Wendy Brunzie brunzie@mathfs.math.montana.edu Curtis Bennett cbennet@bgnet.bgsu.edu Frank Arlinghaus frank@math.ysu.edu Edward Aboufadel aboufade@sun.scsu.ctstateu.edu _______________________________________________________________ End of Journal -- Next week: The Discussion Continues