This has been a pretty slow job season. I've put out a lot of applications for post docs, some small college teaching positions, and visiting faculty jobs, and have had very few bites. Anyway, about 2 weeks ago I had a campus interview down at James Madison University for a visiting faculty job. The interview went really well and I enjoyed the campus and the environment of the department. The campus is really beautiful (sorry, didn't take pictures). On the way down I took some pictures of the area while I was stuck in a giant accident-induced traffic jam while sitting in park on the freeway. (The back up was so bad it took two and a half hours to go the last 20 minutes of the trip. The trip that had already been almost three hours at that point!) A storm was also rolling in. (I wanted to catch some of the lightning in action out on the horizon, but that's hard.)
Pictures from my car in traffic, at sunset. Beautiful! And this gives you an idea of how rural the area is. (This place is so different from Baltimore, for so many reasons.)
This picture I took (also from my car) on my way home after the interview. This is a beautiful part of the country! I'd love to spend a lot of time outdoors here, hiking and biking.
So anyway. Long story short, a few days after my interview, they called me and offered me the position. (Love the fast turnaround.) I thought about it over the weekend, and then accepted it last week. Hurrah! I have a job!I'll be teaching general science and intro physics (algebra-based), both for non-majors. I'll also be working a few hours a week in the math and science learning center, which is like a walk-in homework lab. (Throwback to my days working in the physics tutorial lab at BYU!) Plus I'll have resources to keep working on research, which is great. So I'm pretty excited. I think it's a good fit for me, and I'm excited for a new challenge and a new change of pace. (And if it goes badly, it's only a year. ;) But seriously, I think it will be great.)
James Madison University is located in Harrisonburg, VA. It's in the Shenandoah Valley, not far from Shenandoah National Park. If you don't know where Harrisonburg is (don't worry, I didn't either before this), here's a map. It's about a 3 hour drive from Baltimore. (Unless you get stuck in a huge traffic jam, then it's closer to 6.) And two hours from DC.
So I'll be east-coasting it for at least another year. The semester starts at the end of August, so I'll probably be moving down the first week or two of August. And then after the year there....well, watch this space. In a year I'll get to do the job search thing again!
I'll keep you updated as I wrap up my time in Baltimore and prepare for the move!
