Where is the best place to start learning about being a faculty member?
From PsychWiki - A Collaborative Psychology Wiki
Start with your mentors in graduate school
- If they trained you in graduate school, then chances are they will still provide guidance and training when you get the academic job.
- Why are your mentors the best source of information? They can provide their insights from first-hand experience with the challenges they faced while developing into a productive member of the academic community.
- They can also provide honest advice because they are not affiliated with your new department (assuming of course you didnt land a job where you graduated from).
- They are familiar with the culture and politics of the discpline.
- So the next question is how to find someone familiar with the culture and politics of YOUR new department? (see next section)
Find "guides" in your new department
- Only someone familiar with your new department can give you the kind of expert advice that only comes from knowing the people involved, understand how to find resources, where to turn to for advice, navigating the bureaucracy, and etc.