4 ms·

I don't know where you're getting 2 from. To throw one anecdote out there, my advisor, who has experience with hiring committees, has told me that for academic

I don't know where you're getting 2 from. To throw one anecdote out there, my advisor, who has experience with hiring committees, has told me that for academic positions, they're looking for a wide range of things - including demonstrated teaching ability. And for professors (even at a research facility), poor student reviews of classes you've taught can get in the way of being awarded tenure.

jessriedel 16y ago
> I don't know where you're getting 2 from. I'm in my 4th year of grad school, and I tend to pick the brains of professors and post-docs a lot. I have never once heard them (a) recommend that I get more TA experience than is strictly required ("get on a fellowship or a grant as fast as you can so you can completely absorb yourself in research"), or (b) mention that a professor was granted/denied tenure for anything besides research. Don't get me wrong, departments pay a lot of lip service to this stuff. And yes, at many places the professors have to write a (brief) essay explaining how incredible they are at inspiring young students. But as a determining factor in advancement at research universities, my strong impression is that it's practically insignificant. You'll probably think that Sean Carroll speaks with more authority than me, though. Here is how he puts it: "When was the last time Harvard made a senior tenure offer to someone because they were a world-class educator, rather than a world-class researcher? Not only is the answer 'never,' the question itself is somewhat laughable." http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/05/29/the-purpose-of-harvard-is-not-to-educate-people/ http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/05/29/...