Report Peter T. Kissinger R. Graham Cooks Department of Chemistry Purdue University West Lafayette, Ind. 47907
William R. Heineman Department of Chemistry University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio 45221
CONSIDER TERCHING It's Been Good to Us A V ^ V - ^t
0003-2700/86/A358-1399$01.50/0 © 1986 American Chemical Society
In recent years a decreasing percentage of new Ph.D.s in analytical chemistry have considered university teaching to be an attractive career possibility. We have seen a number of the most capable and energetic graduate students and postdoctorates opt for industrial positions, not because they were more interested in industry but because they believed they might not succeed in academia under present conditions. In some cases they've told us that professors work too hard and are constantly searching for grant funds. Others have said that they see too many unmotivated and mediocre grad students and that working with them would not be satisfying. Finally, some voice concerns because Sally X. and George Y., who are really sharp, didn't get tenure. Sometimes it's clear that their conclusion is not drawn from a very deep personal analysis. In other cases, there is a lack of understanding of what an academic career entails, especially at a researchoriented university. It wasn't that long ago that virtually all Ph.D.s in certain fields aspired to university teaching, even though relatively few could reach this goal. All Ph.D. candidates were anxious to follow their mentors and become in turn, postdocs, instructors, assistant professors, and so forth. Technology-oriented industrial firms have expressed concern that we're killing our seed corn—that no one wants to teach science and engineering. We all recognize that academia is not experiencing the growth curve characteristic of the 1960s. Salaries have not quite kept pace, research funding is tougher to obtain (there is more money, but more competition as well), and graduate enrollment is down in many institutions. Nevertheless, the situation is by no means hopeless. We don't dispute the fact that there are many excellent opportunities in industry and government laboratories. And, to be fair, we don't hear much
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 58, NO. 14, DECEMBER 1986 · 1399 A
criticism of industrial careers. There are serious concerns, such as the number of industrial Ph.D.s working in areas driven by government regulation rather than research, capricious cancellation by management of research efforts in fields that are yielding results, and the recent drive in some firms to "retire" people in their early fifties. Teaching will always be for the minority. In analytical chemistry it's a vibrant, dedicated minority with an excellent future. The purpose of this REPORT is to review the current situation and to make some suggestions that might help increase the probability of success for young faculty members. Although the article is written primarily from the point of view of someone interested in a research teaching position at a research-oriented major university, many of the points apply to all colleges and universities. Not everyone will agree with all we say here. If we increase the dialogue on this subject, however, our objective will be
achieved: Interest in an academic career will have been stimulated, and there will be more applicants for assistant professorships.
ble schedule, which simply is not available as a green recruit in a Fortune 500 company. You have access to travel, cultural opportunities, and interactions with talented people across a broad range of subjects. Professors often travel extensively overseas (usually at someone else's expense). As assistant professors, we were never limited to one major technical meeting per year as is increasingly true in industry. A campus is a nice place to work. Most chemistry faculty have offices. They're not thrown into a bullpen in a big lab, which frequently happens in industry. Long-term job security in academics is excellent. Tenured faculty rarely lose their jobs. Most job terminations (layoffs) of industrial scientists occur in mid to late career, when a career change can be most difficult. By comparison, the job security risk in academics is greatest for the untenured assistant professor, who is generally young and therefore at a stage in life when job flexibility is greatest. The money is generally less than in industry at the start, but with success it increases rapidly and can bypass industrial pay in a few years. Some of the above advantages have real if not monetary value. For many university faculty, independence and fulfillment of scientific goals are the highest priorities. Although very important, monetary remuneration is not the overriding factor. On the other hand, most faculty make good salaries, especially after promotion to the rank of professor, and for the truly outstanding the possibility exists to make even more.
What's good about teaching and university research? Being a professor is still a prestigious position within the scientific community. People call on you for advice. It is important to recognize that you are treated as a colleague, not as an apprentice, the day that you become an assistant professor. You are given extraordinary independence in comparison with almost any other profession. The job-related freedom of a successful professor at a major university rivals that of an independent entrepreneur. You can rise to the top of your field in 10 years or less. You're your own boss. You sink or swim on your own merit. It's very satisfying to help your students and postdocs develop as chemists and to watch them function independently when they leave the nest. You've got a flexi-
Table 1. Stages of professional development Industry
Level
Inexperienced employee Experienced employee Low- to mid-level ' manager Top manager
Central activities
Helping, learning, following directions Independent contributor Directing and training others Shaping direction of the organization
Primary relationships
Major psychological issues
Apprentice
Dependence
Colleagues
Independence
Mentor to others
Assuming increased responsibility Exercising power
Sponsor
1
Academia
Level
Assistant professor
Associate professor
Professor
Comparison of industry and academia
Central activities
Primary relationships
Teaching, setting up research, getting known, first grant, attending a few meetings Teaching, research. maintaining and expanding funding, traveling more Teaching, research, maintaining funding, better ideas {?), traveling throughout the world to attend meetings and give seminars
Colleagues, mentor to students
Colleagues, mentor to students and postdocs Colleagues, mentor to students, postdocs, visiting faculty, and other scientists worldwide
Major psychological Issues
High degree of independence, uncertainty regarding tenure Independence; tenure gives job security Independence, world status as a scientist
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The "1986 Employment Outlook" (Chemical & Engineering News, Oct. 28,1985, pp. 27-48) contains a table entitled "Four Distinct Stages May Mark a Professional Career" (p. 29). These four stages are mainly applicable to an industrial career. Table I contrasts these stages with those in academia. This classification scheme is not intended to be quantitative, but it provides a useful overview and basis for further discussion. The discrepancy in salaries between industrial Ph.D. chemists and academic Ph.D. chemists is often considered the major disadvantage of an academic career. Although industrial salaries traditionally have been higher than academic salaries (this situation seems to have existed since time immemorial), it is important for someone contemplating an academic position to realize the substantial variability that exists in academic salaries. A significant gap exists between starting salaries of recent Ph.D.s or
Table II. Salary survey Academic chemists
Median salary ($ thousands)*
Years since B.S. degree
5-9
10-14
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40 or more Overall
Ph.D. chemists employed full time in academia: Ph.D.-granting schools Professor
—
, „
$53.0
$54.0
$53.8
$58.4
$62.2
$64.2
Associate professor
—
$37.9
40.3
40.3
(42.2)
(39.6)
(49.5)
—
Assistant professor
$32.8
31.4
(33.5)
—
—-
_
_
—
32.4
31.3
33.0
39.1
48.4
51.2
55.4
59.9
63.0
47.7
All ranks 6
$57.4 40.3
Non-Ph.D.-granting schools
_
Professor
—
(38.7)
44.5
42.8
46.0
47.7
(51.3)
44.5
Associate professor
—
(31.6)
33.0
36.5
36.4
(42.4)
26.9
27.5
28.7
(33.0)
—
—
_ —
35.7
Assistant professor
_ —
All ranks*
26.9
27.6
32.7
39.1
40.9
45.2
47.1
44.0
39.1
28.1
a
As of March 1,1986. b Includes instructors, lecturers, research associates, and others not listed separately. Note : Where no salary data are shown, sample is too small to provide a meaningful figure; data in parentheses are from relatively small samples, as well, and should be viewed with caution. Source: ACS survey. Industrial chemists Years since B.S. degree
0-1
2-4
5-9
10-14
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
—
—
40.0
44.0
45.0
53.2
50.4
54.5
59.0
40 or more Overall
Chemists employed full time in industry Analytical chemistry Ph.D.
postdocs entering academia and those entering industry, especially when the academic salary is for only 9 or 10 months, as is usually the case. The difference closes when summer compensation in the form of grant support (usually % or % of the academic year pay) or summer school teaching is added. This summer compensation is contingent upon having sufficient grant support, which is often difficult for a starting assistant professor to obtain, or on the availability of summer teaching. Thus, research grants can be as important for the full economic compensation of an academic as for the support of his or her research activities. It is interesting to compare academic and industrial salaries in the recent ACS Salary Survey (Table II) (Chemical & Engineering News, June 30, 1986). Note that professors at Ph.D.granting schools have median salaries that are comparable to or greater than salaries of industrial Ph.D. analytical chemists with the same number of years since the B.S. degree. It is important to note that the academic salaries quoted have been prorated to a full academic year, which implicitly assumes that grant support or summer teaching is available. The data in the table suggest that university professors can make salaries comparable to their counterparts in industry. Thus, although the first 10-15 years (usually at the assistant and associate professor ranks) may not be financially rewarding, the rest
of one's career (often 25-30 years) is likely to be at a higher income level. This is where taking the long view is important. Of course, industrial chemists who move into managerial positions receive salaries in excess of those reported in Table II. On the other hand, those at the top of the academic field (chaired positions, distinguished professorships) usually receive a salary of $80,000 plus from a 12-month university salary; some receive up to $100,000 and more. This doesn't count royalties from books by successful authors, consulting (most universities permit one day per week), and patent royalties. Most universities allow a substantial amount (as much as 50%) of patent royalties to be returned to the faculty member. This is quite a bit better than the $1 sometimes paid by
1402 A · ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 58, NO. 14, DECEMBER 1986
(65.0)
45.0
industry, although many industries do have generous bonus plans that reward the inventors of successful products. Disadvantages of academia Grant pressure. External funding is very important to maintaining a strong research program. Writing proposals can get old. Getting rejections is depressing. On the other hand, proposal writing stimulates ideas, and a good proposal provides a nice blueprint for the project that graduate students and postdocs can refer to. With some exceptions, students gravitate to funded projects, which makes funding an important ingredient in building a research group. And writing a proposal probably isn't much worse than writing an annual progress report and budget justification in industry. Pressure to produce. If you aren't self-motivated to be productive, don't go into academics, especially the research-oriented schools. Long hours. Yes, the hours are long. Don't go into academics if you are unwilling to work in excess of 40-hour weeks. Successful assistant professors usually burn the midnight oil writing lecture notes, proposals, and papers. Talking with students, classroom teaching, seminars, and committee meetings can consume most of the day. It's interesting to note that established full professors are often pitching in as hard as the new assistant professors. Your success can be difficult to manage. While trav-
el and speaking invitations are a welcome reward to assistant professors, they can overwhelm those who are more established. Each of us is invited to write chapters or edit books with great regularity. It's hard to say no, but choices have to be made or there is no time left for students or family. Choice of university An important aspect of entering a career in academics is selecting the type of school that most closely matches one's interests, talents and aspirations. The range of schools is wide. This article is written primarily from the point of view of entering a major research-oriented chemistry department, of which there are less than 50. A position in a top-ranked analytical chemistry program with good financial resources, equipment, shop facilities, and staff is probably the most satisfying environment for someone intensely interested in research and with a high level of commitment and ability. The latter two factors are emphasized because schools in this category have high expectations of their junior faculty. Good research and teaching environments exist in many
departments which, although not top ranked, provide the opportunity for the development of first-class research programs. Smaller undergraduate schools are best for someone whose main interest is undergraduate teaching. It is important to know yourself and to try to find the type of school that will enable you to satisfy your career objectives. Succeeding in academia It can be tough to get started. It is important to recognize your role as a chemist in the broader context and not become narrowly focused on pieces of hardware. You will have to convince your peers that you are doing viable chemical research. You will be judged by colleagues in all areas of chemistry. If you really believe that you can't do any creative work without a $400,000 instrument on day 1, then you will clearly assume more risk for your success. You need to be resourceful and get some research done while equipment is being built or while research funds are being sought. It's good to avoid giving all your energy to a single-minded high-risk venture at any time, but the risk is espe-
The Interview: A Chance To Investigate A job interview is a two-way street. The chemistry department that you visit wants to find a person who will do well in their environment, whereas you want to find an environment in which you will succeed and be happy. So the two parties have a strong mutual interest. Be sure to ask many questions so that you find out the facts that are important to you. Ask the important questions repeatedly. Different people often have widely varying viewpoints on the same subject. Be sure you get the whole picture. Try to talk with students. Talk with junior faculty. Talk with recent graduates. Are they enthusiastic about the program? Some typical areas to investigate are: • Support facilities—machine shop, glass shop, electronics, drafting, and photographic facilities. Which are crucial to your work? • Departmental instrumentation. This can be crucial if your research demands major instruments such as NMR spectrometers, mass spectrometers, or lasers. Some departments have superb facilities that y o u c a n use; others do not. • Supply and quality of graduate students. Ultimately this is the most important factor. • Teaching loads. A r e they reasonable relative t o research expecta-
tions? Two or three classroom hours per week (one course) is typical at major research universities. • Faculty morale. Are young faculty happy? Have there been recent promotions in the department? • Student morale. Students always complain, so this can be hard to judge, but they can point to legitimate concerns. • Is the department improving or stagnating? Is it better than its reputation or worse? • The dean. How does he or she view the chemistry department relative to others in the university? Ask! • Start-up funds. Don't sell yourself short. • Funding needed to maintain research. Are there shop, stockroom, telephone, etc., charges or are these free? The situation varies tremendously. • Typical committee assignments. They can eat up your time. • Special "summer salary" programs or travel funds for assistant professors. • Secretarial support. Is this a central pool or the more desirable sharing of secretarial services located near your office? Does the university provide these services or do you have to scrape for these services from your precious grant funds?
1404 A · ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 58, NO. 14, DECEMBER 1986
cially high for assistant professors. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Have several baskets with various levels of risk. As a successful academic (or business person for that matter) you'll have to keep a lot of balls in the air at one time. Learn how to do this as soon as possible. Use your time wisely. Ensure that substantial amounts of your time are spent on those aspects of your job that will weigh most heavily when the tenure decision is made—usually research and teaching. Although committee work is important, it can consume extraordinarily large blocks of time. Don't allow this to happen—do a good job, but don't go overboard. The world of academic science works on the peer review principle whether you like it or not. You'll have to get out there and make your work visible. Make an effort to meet and get to know the leading lights in your field(s). Learn from them. Watch how others work to be successful. Adapt what seems to work and ignore what apparently does not. Some of the most successful young faculty became known even as graduate students and postdoctorates by participating early, interacting with visiting seminar speakers, and attending meetings. Postdocing. A postdoctoral appointment can be an important period of preparation for a prospective faculty member—a chance to develop and test one's skills. Skills that are invaluable to success as an assistant professor can be developed during this time. In a sense, postdocing can be the best of both worlds. The postdoc is beyond the worries of the numerous requirements to be fulfilled for the Ph.D. and is not yet encumbered by the numerous responsibilities of the faculty member—committees, teaching, maintaining funding, reviewing proposals and papers, and so forth. It can be a nice time to devote almost exclusively to research—working in the lab, searching for and developing ideas, thinking in depth and broadly about one's specialty, interacting with grad-
uate students, and picking up useful skills. Above all, the postdoctoral researcher wants to do a first-rate job on the project for which he or she was hired. The faculty member will then be able to write a strong letter of recommendation, which is important in obtaining a good faculty position. Performing research and publishing papers are nominally what the job of postdocing is all about. Postdocing can provide a great opportunity to develop scientific independence. This can be particularly useful if one's Ph.D. mentor held a tight rein on his or her graduate students. Many postdoctoral mentors have large demands on their time due to large research groups and the attendant grant management responsibilities, editorial and reviewing obligations, seminar and symposium invitations, and perhaps administrative positions within their university or scientific societies. For these people, a competent postdoctoral who can function independently and provide scientific leadership within the lab can be a very welcome colleague indeed. As a postdoc, you straddle the invisible line between student and faculty. The opportunity exists for you to function in an advisory capacity to graduate students in the absence of the faculty member. A good postdoc is usually in demand for help in teaching experimental techniques and as a scientific sounding board. Collaborative projects between students and postdocs can be valuable for both parties. New graduate students generally lack laboratory skills as well as experience in developing a project and in interpreting results. Assistance in these areas often enables the postdoc to coauthor additional publications, whereas the graduate student learns the ropes of research much more quickly by more frequent interaction with the postdoc than is possible with the adviser. Equally important to the postdoc is the experience gained in interacting with a graduate student. Like it or not, writing is a very important aspect of success in academic life. Learn to write effectively. As a postdoc, do the writing (and revising) on all of your manuscripts including cover letters and responses to reviewers' comments. Learn how to take a manuscript all the way to publication. Solicit criticism of your writing skills and pay attention to the comments. Your postdoctoral mentor must have grant support for his or her research; otherwise he or she couldn't afford you as a postdoc. Learn as much as you can about funding. If renewal or progress reports are to be written during your tenure, lend a
helping hand. The experience will pay off later when you write your own proposals. A good overall perspective of one's field can be gained through the literature, through experience, and through late-night discussions in front of a blackboard. Start now! Research funding. Starting research at a major chemistry institution isn't cheap. Securing funds is an important aspect of developing a strong research program. As part of your offer of employment at a major university you will receive startup funding, which typically ranges from $50,000-$ 100,000 but can be much more. In addition, there are often other resources available, such as apparatus from faculty who have departed, major departmental equipment resources (e.g., NMR spectrometers), time made available by instrument designers to help you build one-of-akind instrumentation, department supply allotments to help support graduate students, and secretarial support. Most institutions will bend over backward to ease your initial teaching load (i.e., classroom work) because they recognize you'll need extra time to get established. Although most institutions provide faculty with offices, labs, startup funds, and some support of students on teaching assistantships, the support usually stops there. Obtaining funds can be the most exhilarating— when notice of a funded proposal is received—or the most exasperating— when a rejection is received—aspect of academics. Funding is often needed to buy the supplies and equipment required to sustain a project and is always needed to support students on research appointments and to hire postdocs. All of these factors can have a dramatic effect on productivity. Securing major funding is now essential for promotion to the associate professor level in many universities. Many places require a record of sustained funding for promotion to full professor. Recause most universities simply
1406 A · ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 58, NO. 14, DECEMBER 1986
do not have the resources to support all of their productive faculty in the style to which they would like to become accustomed, there is an understandable reluctance to promote an individual who does not demonstrate some level of self-sufficiency. Grantsmanship, the art of getting grants, is indeed a useful skill. Most important is the idea or project that you would like to work on. The old adage that you can't turn a sow's ear into a silk purse applies. It is difficult to make a lackluster idea sparkle—good reviewers see through the veneer. On the other hand, it is very easy to torpedo a good idea by writing a poor proposal or sending it to the wrong agency. Reviewers are generally turned off by poorly organized, poorly written, rambling proposals that must be read several times to be understood. A good proposal should have the reviewer interested (hopefully excited) after a single reading. Success in funding involves a recipe of good ideas, well-written proposals (this involves some degree of salesmanship of your ideas, i.e., convincing the reviewer that this is important science; but don't overdo this, it can sound like braggadocio), knowledge about funding agencies, etc. Persistence is often important—don't let the rejections bowl you over. Learn from the reviewer's comments and write a better proposal. Many successful assistant professors had proposals for starter grants ready to submit upon arrival at their new job. Working with graduate students. There is no management style that is uniformly applied in academic research groups. One thing is clear. Graduate students must be reminded of the fact that the primary purpose of their laboratory work is to prepare them to do independent work. It's an educational process similar to that of an apprentice working with a master plumber. The student should feel a sense of independence as early as possible. The sooner a student feels like a contributor, the more enthusiasm he or she will bring to solving the day-today research problems. Some people don't handle a range of responsibilities very well. They tend to move where the pressure seems more strongly applied. As a result, young faculty are very likely to be frustrated when graduate students devote inordinate amounts of time to classroom work, seminars, and studying for the formal exam hurdles (qualifiers, prelims, eûmes). The best graduate students will take classes, teach, give literature seminars, and make research progress all at the same time. The average graduate student will do these things in series rather than in parallel.
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Some of us like to assign a specific long-range project to a new student. Some of us like to suggest that the student try one or more of a handful of possibilities, and some of us let the student join our research group and wait to see what happens. All of these procedures work, but not all of the time for all students. What happens if you don't get tenure? Loss of a position or not getting tenure is a difficult and trying time for those involved. Many capable people, however, have risen above this period and gone on to highly successful careers. You often can move to another college or university with a renewed opportunity for success, although this works only if you started at a top university. The three to five years of academic experience will also give you some advantage in industry or government service. In fact, some former assistant professors have moved on to highly responsible positions in industry. You'll be more broadly educated in chemistry than many people, you'll have honed your communication skills, and you'll have established a good network of contacts that can serve you well for years to come. Intellectual honesty
A recent analytical seminar titled "The Magic Level" was given at a major research university by the basketball coach (one often gets ahead using lateral thinking!). The speaker drew parallels between our teams (research groups) and his and emphasized the teaching that occurs in both situations. His main emphasis, however, was on honesty and well-roundedness in personal development. As you plan your life in academics, do so without shortchanging your family or your discipline. The bottom line
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1408 A · ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 58, NO. 14, DECEMBER 1986
The important reasons we recommend academics are serious ones having more to do with the life of the mind than with materialistic considerations. As a professor you take part in an intellectual tradition that is centuries old. Doctorates were being granted at the University of Padua in 1222. People wanted to understand. Professors competed for students and recognition by going deeply into their subjects. Lectures were always given simultaneously by two professors so students were free to choose. They expressed their appreciation directly, by paying the professor. As an academic analytical chemist your colleagues are philologists as well as physicists, experimental psychologists as well as theoretical astronomers. Of course, the opportunity to make a real intellectual contribution carries risks—you
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may fail. But you will be given opportunities and time—more than the oneyear appointments that were once customary for all academic staff. On the lighter side, consider other aspects of an academic position in a large university. One is showmanship. You will make personal appearances before thousands (well, hundreds at least). In doing this you will need to capture the attention of the audience before you can do your job of teaching. All the tricks that work for rock stars or Dale Carnegie can be adapted. Flair is desirable, but it's not the only style that works. Most of all, academics promises eternal life. Your ideas may be important enough to survive you. Your intellectual personality, your style, some of what you think is truly important will be communicated to your students, who will pick up the patterns and pass them on. Within a very few years, you can have several genera-
tions of progeny. And these, of course, are your real product as an academic. Your papers do not count nearly as much as your people. (Think of Socrates—he never published a thing, but he had one or two good students, including a fellow by the name of Plato.) We titled this piece "Consider Teaching" yet seem to have talked finances, fortitude, and facilities. There is another aspect to university life, even in large institutions, and that is the reward of teaching. Nurturing intellectual growth is always satisfying, and it is an experience we share with the teachers of our grade school children. This is the right time to become a professor of analytical chemistry. We've written about the risks, but the subject is full of opportunities for you. The field needs your intellectual contributions to grow stronger. And as you develop intellectually you will stay young. Go for it!
Peter T. Kissinger (left) is professor of chemistry at Purdue University and president of Bioanalytical Systems, Inc. (BAS). He has particular expertise in organic redox chemistry and determination of trace amounts of chemicals in biological materials. He has coauthored more than 120 scientific papers dealing with various topics in chemical instrumentation, electrochemistry, chromatography, drug metabolism, and monitoring neurochemicals in the brain and in body fluids. He founded BAS in 1974. The firm specializes in chromatographic and electrochemical instrumentation for chemical analysis and also provides research services in these areas. Kissinger likes enthusiasts. He has little time for those who make a career of thinking negatively.
ty. He joined the faculty of the University of Cincinnati in 1972, where he is professor and chairman of the Analytical Division. Heineman's research interests include thin-layer spectroelectrochemistry, EXAFS spectroelectrochemistry, electrochemical immunoassay, polymermodified electrodes, stripping voltammetry, and analytical chemistry of technetium radiopharmaceuticals.
William R. Heineman (center) received his B.S. degree from Texas Tech University and his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1968. He was a research chemist at the Hercules Research Center before becoming a research associate with Professor Ted Kuwana at Case Western Reserve University and Ohio State Universi-
1410 A · ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 58, NO. 14, DECEMBER 1986
R. Graham Cooks (right) is professor of chemistry and a member of the Visual Arts Committee at Purdue University. He agrees with Philip Abelson that "instruments shape research, determine what discoveries are made and perhaps even select the types of individuals likely to succeed as a scientist." He has been involved in the development of mass spectrometers of various types and is interested in ionic collision phenomena, gasphase organic reactions, and problems in natural product and biological sample characterization. He exhibits a personal resemblance to certain subjects of Picasso, painted during his blue period. He's still waiting to have a really good research idea.
