HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: merolajs@vtcc1.cc.vt.edu (JOSEPH S. MEROLA DEPT OF CHEMISTRY VPI&SU)
Newsgroups: sci.research.careers
Subject: Re: Getting Faculty Position. What is the secret ?
Date: 31 Jul 92 13:20:00 GMT
Organization: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

>But aside from that...I have 9 publications (not enough, I know, for someone
>on a second post-doc, but...).  I've been listing all 9 on the second page
>of my resume', and numbered as well.  I figure if they're inclined to
>count, there's no reason being coy about it.  Of the 9, 3 I was only
>tangentially involved in.  Would it be better to list 6, and say
>'relevant publications' instead of 'publications?'  Or is it all just
>so much worry about nothing, because it doesn't make a whit of difference
>anyway...
> 
>--
>Brian Moore
>Chemistry Dept.   Univ. of British Columbia
>moore@theory.chem.ubc.ca


As Graeme Hirst said in his series of excellent postings, your chances of
getting interviewed are high if you are known to someone in the department.
Whether or not you list 9 publications or 6 publications is not going
to make a lot of difference.  In chemistry, depending somewhat on your
area of specialization, 9 publications for someone into a 2nd post-doc
isn't so bad, but it isn't outstanding.  So, you won't get thrown out
for that reason. (Someone with 0 publications will have their vita 
thrown out for a position involving research.)  However, neither will you
get an interview because of your publication list.  
     There are probably numerous stories floating about how people 
actually got their jobs, and I can bet that personal contacts paid a 
large role in a huge number of them.  To get noticed in the chemistry
field, you need to have EXCELLENT letters of recommendation.  You also
need to have an advisor of some note really pulling for you.  (Calling
on your behalf in addition to writing a letter.)  Your chances are
also greatly increased if someone on the faculty is already familiar
with you or your work.  
     One thing that can be done to increase your visibility, is to write
to faculty who have research interests related to yours a year or two 
before you  will be seeking a job telling them
about your research, sending some papers, etc.  Not only will you get
some useful research discussions going, but you will also get your
name planted in a lot of peoples' minds.  

Joseph S. Merola
Department of Chemistry
Virginia Tech
Newsgroups: sci.research.careers
From: maniattb@cs.rpi.edu (Bill Maniatty)
Subject: Re: creating new types of jobs
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 16:23:03 GMT

I think for any nation, it is clearly in their best interest to encourage
research.  I think the U.S. needs to cultivate some new attitudes towards
research:
	1).  Applied research should be taken to the market place by developers
		in a timely fashion.  American research comes up with great ideas,
		but it is common for other countries (especially in the Pacific
		Rim) to beat us to the marketplace with our own inventions.
	2).  Basic research should be viewed as a long term investment.  I've
		heard (please confirm/deny this as I could be mistaken) that
		the NASA missions to the moon created 7 dollars of economic
		growth for every dollar spent (new technology to marketplace).
	3).  Incentives for long term investment, and for startup of companies
		need to be created.  The U.S. political climate is very harsh
		on industry.  We need tangible goods, not just services.
	4).  The Govt. may need to support R&D as a Public work, much as MITI
		does in Japan.
I do feel that the FSF performs valuable services, but it is unrealistic to
expect the country to support the majority of researchers in that fashion.
We would kill our large vendors that way (as if they aren't hurting bad enough),
and our country needs them (they employ many people besides researchers, and we
don't have enough available positions for them).  The U.S. needs to take steps
to provide products of the Highest Quality, we will be worse off if we abandon
manufacturing, or try to become a low cost low quality vendor.

Bill
-- 
|
|	maniattb@cs.rpi.edu - in real life Bill Maniatty
|
From: chased@rbbb.Eng.Sun.COM (David Chase)
Newsgroups: sci.research.careers
Subject: Supply and demand (again) (was Re: Interview experiences)
Date: 24 Jul 1992 02:43:18 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
NNTP-Posting-Host: rbbb
Keywords: interview, acadmics, industry

In article <1992Jul23.164527.5756@ucsu.Colorado.EDU> andersmh@ucsu.Colorado.EDU (ANDERSON  MIKE HOWARD) writes:
>BUT,  many don't think you've tried very hard unless you've
>sent out an enormous number of applications.

>ps.  The solution:  Reduce the number of graduating scientists.

Is the excess supply of scientists a (I'll not argue the point) a
world-wide phenomenon, or just a U.S. phenomenon?  For some fields
where the U.S seems to be the place to be (biotechnology, for
instance) this might not be an option, but how about others?  Waiting
for the pool of job-seeking scientists to dry up could take much
longer than moving to someplace where scientists are currently scarce
but still in demand.  (yes, perhaps this is riskier.  How risky is
trying to get tenure?)

I know, for instance, that people in Numerical Analysis at Rice U.
work (to some degree) with people in South America (my information is
a little stale, but I believe this is still true).  My wife and I have
had (extremely informal, perhaps in jest) offers to come spend a year
in Tromso, Norway (150 miles north of the Arctic Circle.  "We have a
rich indoor life.")

David Chase
Sun
From: eugene@wilbur.nas.nasa.gov (Eugene N. Miya)
Subject: Re: What's it like at NASA.
Organization: NAS, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 92 21:23:00 GMT

In article <29JUL199215560030@lims02.lerc.nasa.gov>
afwendy@lims02.lerc.nasa.gov (WENDY WARTNICK) writes:
>>>NASA?
>
>>They'd like to have PhD.  The managers like to count the number of PhDs
>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>Maybe if you intend to do research, not so true if you are doing Project 
>Engineering.  Project engineers do just fine with a BS, but are strongly 
>encouraged to get a masters.  A project engineer with a PhD is 
>overqualified.  

So, so, mixed blessing.
Upper management wants to collect PhDs.  Same goes for LLNL, LANL, etc.

>As an aside, one does not need a PhD to be an astronaut either!

The official party line on being an astronaut is posted by Jon Leech
in the FAQ on sci.space.  It's the text from the SF brochure at JSC.
You do not need a PhD, but the Astronaut Office wishes to handle inquires
(Code AHX).  No further comment.

>Hm...that explains Cleveland! :-)
>Only in California!!!!!!  I'm living rather pretty here! (no Cleveland 
>jokes please!  Come check this place out before you make Cleveland jokes...
>it ain't all that bad--and I'm a native Minnesotan!)

I am a CA-Native (3rd gen.).  I kind of like it here.
GSFC is near enough WDC its cost of living is also high.  I suspect JSC
is now as high as well as the few CSs at JPL.  I was paid more at JPL
as a Caltech employee.

Lewis as a Center is the only Center with the sign (as you leave:
"For all mankind.").  I like that, cute.  On the other hand other
Centers (parts of Ames included are more ex-USAF) are a little more
politically conservative.  I brought the first Mac ever seen at Lewis
(gave a presentation on the state of the computer industry in Silicon Valley).

Each Center has its strengths and weaknesses.  If it is computer related,
I would have to say Ames has a good deal of strength, not because of the
Center, but because of the Valley.  [Amazing what they let spouses and
children get away with....]  If you were an astronomer, depending
on type, you go to JPL (deep space, planetary, some stellar), GSFC (planetary,
geo-sci, some other), a tiny bit of that is at Ames and other centers).
And so forth for different experiences.
Get the address list from the s.s. FAQ and write them.  DO not depend on email.

BTW: this was one of the reasons why I wrote the misc.jobs.* FAQs as well
as the first space FAQs to make my life attracting and hiring people easier.

--eugene miya, NASA Ames Research Center, eugene@orville.nas.nasa.gov
  Resident Cynic, Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers
  {uunet,mailrus,other gateways}!ames!eugene
Second Favorite email message: Returned mail: Cannot send message for 3 days
A Ref: Mathematics and Plausible Reasoning, vol. 1, G. Polya
From: karr@cs.cornell.edu (David Karr)
Subject: Re: Interview Experiences?
Keywords: interview, acadmics, industry
Organization: Cornell Univ. CS Dept, Ithaca NY 14853
Distribution: world,local
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 17:43:22 GMT

In article <24094@castle.ed.ac.uk> egnr76@castle.ed.ac.uk (A Kashko) writes:
>
>	Some application forms and job particulars over here say canvassing
>in any form disqualifies you. Be careful lest this tactic be considered
>canvassing (As it will be in the very large number of cases where the
>job is already allocated but has to be advertised and interviews have to
>be held, for legal reasons).

In the case where the job is already allocated, you have no chance to get it
anyway, so it seems that "canvassing" will then merely relieve you of the
possibility of a wasted interview trip.

Possible bad side effects of job-hunting strategies are interesting only 
when you had at least a slim chance of getting the job in the first place.

What is the chance that you will be written off for "canvassing" for a job
for which the department actually wants to hire someone?

-- David Karr (karr@cs.cornell.edu)





Newsgroups: sci.research.careers
From: esl_manager@uh.edu ()
Subject: Re: A B.S. is not enough to do research?
Reply-To: esl_manager@uh.edu ()
Organization: University of Houston
Distribution: world, local
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 19:50:17 GMT

	I must say that I agree with Blake Wood wholeheartedly. In addition to
what he has written, I guess the university that one graduated from
plays a lot in training the students also. One fine example is Mr.
Karels, who is now with UC/Berkeley Computer System Researc Group
(CSRG). Wouldn't you consider that a clearly visible research position ?
I believe he has also coauthored a popular 4.3 BSD UNIX textbook with
McKusick & Quarterman. Personally, I think that is a lot of contribution
to the state-of-the-art without a PhD.

---
Arthur
Newsgroups: sci.research.careers
From: solman@athena.mit.edu (Jason W Solinsky)
Subject: Re: Getting Faculty Position. What is the secret ?
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Distribution: usa
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1992 11:50:35 GMT

In article <14qb43INN4m7@network.ucsd.edu>, mbk@lyapunov.ucsd.edu (Matt Kennel) writes:
|> rr2@cec2.wustl.edu (Rajamiyer Ravichandran) writes:
|> : 	I am currently in the second year of searching for a
|> : faculty position in Structural Mechanics and Solid Mechanics
|> : disciplines. I have a D.Sc with Six publications (Two of them
|> : are refreed journal papers and two more are on the way).
|> : I applied to 30 universities so far and in all of them I was
|> : told that I come upto second or third short listing but not in the
|> : final short list. I believe a little extra push may help to get
|> : an interview. Is anybody out there with any suggestions ?
|> 
|> There are some (more than 1 or 2) graduating students in my department
|> (usually condensed matter experimentalists) who are graduating (after 6-10
|> years!) with 10--40 publications.  No, I don't know their significance.
|> It's just a sign of the times.

There are atleast 20 people in the nation my age (18) who already have 6
publications and at least one who has 18 publications. Typically, these
papers (even ones which were published solo) are not of the highest quality.
All my work before going to college was merely creating computer programs
for theoretical physicists and mathematicians at four different schools.
While you get some interesting results, its really not the kind of research
which I would consider bursting with originality. The fact of the matter
is that except for the mathematicians, even the most published
pre-collegians haven't done any trully original work (I didn't really start
until recently). The moral of the story is that COUNTING PAPERS SUCKS AS A
CRITERION.

Jason W. Solinsky
From: duggan@cc.gatech.edu (Rick Duggan)
Subject: Re: NO MORE %$#@* E-MAIL ABOUT THE JOB SITUATION
Organization: College of Computing
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 00:26:33 GMT

In article <BrrDov.7oI@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu> england@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (julie england) writes:
>In article <1992Jul21.160130.20027@cc.gatech.edu> duggan@cc.gatech.edu (Rick Duggan) writes:
>
>(bunches of stuff deleted)
>
>I think that Joseph was originally trying to make the point that
>if you are _expecting_ to be able to pursue a research or academic
>career, the chances are quite slim.  Perhaps the conflicts in recent

He didn't say slim.  He said non-existent.  And then he got
nit-picky about what other people were saying.  He claimed
that his use of language was precise, when it wasn't.

>>You are not welcome here, sir.  Finally, your diatribes have outweighed
>>your useful postings.
>
>Flaming and personal attacks are usually not welcome anywhere, from
>anyone, either, but lets not be too quick to banish people who may
>have something usueful to say.  I have learned a few things from 
>following this discussion.

I don't consider it a flame to disagree/argue with someone in a public
forum.  I didn't say he was a jerk or an idiot.  And I'm not
banishing him from the net.  I'm stating my opinion that I don't
believe he is welcome here any more.  I fully expect him to 
post the same about me.  At any rate, I can't (won't) *stop*
him from posting here, and I believe that he will ignore me
and continue posting.

-rick

"Random acts of violence just don't do it for me anymore.  It must be
 maturity." - Cactus Jack WCW Saturday Night 07/04/92
Rick Duggan | duggan@cc.gatech.edu | CS1410 TA - Section A
Office Hours (CC 103): Tue 1:30-3:00 Thu 1:30-2:30
Newsgroups: sci.research.careers
From: doug@cos.com (Doug Whitehead)
Subject: Wackiest Interview Question
Organization: Corporation for Open Systems
Distribution: all
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 13:55:54 GMT

We have all been hit with an occasional curve ball now and then.
What is the most unusual interview question you have had to respond to.

Here's mine: I'm into AI, and this was posed to me shortly after 
my first year of grad school

"OK, you've got a mobile robot on the moon with an arm, maybe a camera
or two; now what are you going to do with it?"

After panicing internally for about 5 seconds, I decided to take the
high ground. "Well, if we want to do anything interesting, these are
the problems we will have to address: vision, sensor fusion, planning ..."

Doug Whitehead
Newsgroups: sci.research.careers
From: tqr@inel.gov  (Tom Repetti)
Subject: Re: creating new types of jobs
Organization: EG&G Idaho, Inc.
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 92 23:08:02 GMT


This is only obliquely connected to Michael Iltis' post because of the title.

Recently, my manager was talking to some OSHA auditors and it was mentioned
that there's less and less money to support the research scientists at my lab.
To which one of them replied, "Oh, don't worry - for every job you lose here,
there'll be another one opening up at OSHA."

Really, really scary. As they're saying around here, "Compliance, Not Science"


Tom Repetti
tqr@inel.gov


========== long legal disclaimer follows, press n to skip ===========

Neither the United States Government or the Idaho National Engineering
Laboratory or any of their employees, makes any warranty, whatsoever,
implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility regarding any
information, disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe
privately owned rights.  No specific reference constitutes or implies
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opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the
United States Government or the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory,
and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.
From: bwood@diva.Berkeley.EDU (Blake Philip Wood)
Newsgroups: sci.research.careers
Subject: Re: A B.S. is not enough to do research?
Date: 24 Jul 1992 13:34:46 GMT
Organization: /etc/organizaton
Distribution: world, local
NNTP-Posting-Host: diva.berkeley.edu

In article <1992Jul24.032650.16875@athena.mit.edu> solman@athena.mit.edu (Jason W Solinsky) writes:

>I think this notion that people whose formal schooling only extends up to a
>certain level are not able to do research, is dead wrong...

Certainly there are people who can do good research with a BS, but I 
think the point being made was that it's nearly impossible to get
HIRED to do research with only a BS.  Is this fair?  Yes - I'd guess
there's a pretty high correlation between having a Ph.D and being
able to do good research.  That doesn't mean there aren't exceptions,
but if you are an employer in today's market, why stick your neck out?



-- 
                 Blake P. Wood - bpw@ctxsys.lanl.gov (505) 665-6524
                 Group P-1, MS-E526, LANL, Los Alamos, NM  87545
From: debray@cs.arizona.edu (Saumya K. Debray)
Newsgroups: sci.research.careers
Subject: Re: CS: Post-doc or Visiting Faculty?
Date: 29 Jul 92 18:35:45 GMT
Organization: U of Arizona CS Dept, Tucson

kumard@sybil.cs.Buffalo.EDU (Deepak Kumar) writes:

>                                               it is imperative
> that sooner or later funding agencies in CS will also start
> granting higher percentage of funds for post-doctoral positions
[...]
> However, this will take a few more years if followed through.

NSF started a program for post-doctoral research support recently
(the document I have is dated Nov. 1, 1991) for Computational Science 
and Engineering.  Among other requirements, one needs to find a
sponsoring institution that will match the money provided by NSF.

> Compared to a post-doc (and we have already had a long discussion on
> pros and cons of that!) the visiting-faculty idea seems more
> appealing to me. 

(I've just come into this discussion, so I've missed the earlier long
discussion on the pros and cons of post-doc-ships: my apologies if
this is repetitious.)  In my opinion, if your long-term goal is to do 
good research at a good institution, you're *much* better off doing a
post-doc at a *good* place than taking a visiting position at a
not-quite-so-good place.  One reason is that the post-doc gives you the
opportunity to work with, get to know, and publish with, well-known people,
and (later) to get them to write letters of recommendation for you
(a letter from a big name can be a *huge* plus when applying for
tenure-track positions later).  Another is that teaching can be a
surprisingly large drain on one's time and energy when one starts out,
so a post-doc-ship where you're only doing research is likelier to
allow you to get a bunch of publications under your belt quickly---and
thereby improve your chances for a tenure-track position at a good
place later on---than a visiting position that involves teaching.

-- 
Saumya Debray
Dept. of Computer Science, University of Arizona, Tucson
debray@cs.arizona.edu
Newsgroups: sci.research.careers
From: mcintosh@rice.edu (Nathaniel McIntosh)
Subject: Re: An open letter to Joseph
Organization: Rice University
	<1992Jul21.232132.25772@news.acns.nwu.edu>
Distribution: world, local
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 02:13:21 GMT

In article <1992Jul21.232132.25772@news.acns.nwu.edu> drt@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Robert Toreki) writes:
|>  I just received a phone call from Joseph Dunphy in which he
|> threatened to sue me for libel in a most bellicose manner.
|> ...

This brings up an interesting legal question. The word 'slander'
refers only to speech, 'libel' only to the printed word. A newsgroup,
however, doesn't exactly fall into the category of the "printed word".
Can we even apply the word 'libel' at all?

Puzzled in Houston,

--
Nathaniel McIntosh   |    Department of Computer Science
mcintosh@rice.edu    |    Rice University, P.O. Box 1892
713-527-8101 x2731   |    Houston, Texas 77251   USA
Newsgroups: sci.research.careers
From: drt@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Robert Toreki)
Subject: STIS:  Free Online Information on the National Science Foundation
Summary: Looks like a great way to explore careers, funding etc.
Keywords:  NSF, funding, grants, STIS
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois.
Distribution: world, local
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 21:35:46 GMT

Found this info sheet I had in a pile of stuff.  It's a year old, but I think
it is still valid.  I think the publication number listed is probably
92-something now.  Here it is.  Of interest to most all:

The NSF now has an electronic publishing system called STIS -- The Science and
Technology Information System.  Anyone can use it to get fast, 24-hour data on
many NSF activities.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

	With STIS, you need only....personal computer and a modem or access to
Internet... You can electronically search keywords, topics or phrases, then
read and print out the materials you want.  They cover science, mathematics,
engineering, and technology activities supported by NSF, with new materials
added weekly.  STIS has online "help" screens, and up to 10 people can be on
the system at the same time....

WHAT KIND OF DATA DOES STIS OFFER?

	- NSF program announcements and "how-to" grants booklets
	- grant lists and summaries
	- press releases, feature stories, tipsheets for the media
	- newsletter & periodicals (e.g. NSF Bulletin, NSF Directions)
	- catalogs & directories (annual guid to programs, NSF tel. book)
	- vacancy announcements, NSF organizational information
	- news on international science & technology
	- NSF Annual Report, National Science Board special reports

WHEN IS STIS AVAILABLE?

	There are no limited hours of access, and there's no need to register
in advance or get a password.  STIS is open to all

FOR MORE INFORMATION

	Request the STIS basic instruction flyer (NSF 91-10) from pubs@nsf.gov
(internet) or pubs@nsf (Bitnet).  Log on as described below.  For additional
help, contact:

	Dr. STIS			Phone: (202) 357-7555
	National Science Foundation	FAX:   (202) 357-7663
	Rm 401 (Office of Information
	Systems)
	1800 G St. NW			TDD:   (202) 357-7492
	Washington, DC 20550

LOGGING IN:

	Bitnet : access by email

	Internet: type "telnet stis.nsf.gov" or "telnet 128.150.195.40"
		  At "login" type "public".

	Modem:  1200, 2400 or 9600 baud.  Even parity, 7 data bits, full 
		duplex, VT100 emulation. On "connect" press [enter] [.] [enter]
		At "login: type "public"

====================================================================

	Haven't tried it out yet, myself, but I will sometime in the near
future.  If you do try it out, post here and give us an opinion/review!

						Rob