Taking Charge of Your Career

My career path Assistant, Associate, Full Professor at Univ. of Pittsburgh –research pl and then se Graduate Dean, University of Pittsburgh for 5 years Full Professor Owen R. Cheatham Professor and Chair, University of Virginia

Did I plan this? NO I took advantage of opportunities Got bored at some points in my life Got discouraged at some points Always kept up my research! Always had graduate students

Being an administrator Dean Why was I recruited Served on University committees and spoke out but was reasonable Did my homework on any committee I served on Respected for research, teaching, and service

What I liked about dean Make an impact At center of university life Meet a lot of different people from different disciplines Different responsible

Negatives about being dean Too many meetings that don’t do anything Reputation – is this an action committee? Easy to just maintain – but if want to change, it gets tiring after awhile Starting losing the edge in research Removed from the discipline

Chair Reputation Not everyone wants to do it New challenge Have some things to do but could not do it in my old department

Pros and Negatives Pros Con Make impact Like solving problems Enjoy being “the boss” Con Lots of interruptions Lots of problems – personal, space, funding

Career Planning Not passive – think about it Where do you want to be in X years – Goals should reflect this Short term and long term goals – research Steps to achieve the goals - flexible Early career plans and later career plans

Career planning Don’t close doors on yourself – try to keep all options open Professor – administrator – professor Recognize and take advantage of opportunities that come along

Examples Long term research project Shorter term results Early career Develop research program and teaching proficiency Focused research Later Different research interests – risk taking Service – professional organizations, working for diversity Administration