News Advice to Graduate Students
By Jane M. Kuehne, Assistant Professor of Music Education Auburn University
Like many of you, I began a new job last fall (2005). This was a long distance move (from upstate New York to Auburn, AL) but not the first one. My public school teach- ing experience was in Texas. When I decided to pursue a Ph.D., I went half way across the country to Florida State University (go Seminoles!). After FSU, I took my first job and moved to upstate New York to work at Hartwick College. Now, I have moved once again to Auburn where I hope to stay.
Now that I have the opportunity to work with graduate stu- dents, may who will be dealing with some of these same changes in the future, I thought it might be valuable to sit down and reflect a little on the stresses these kinds of changes create, and to try to provide some advice from someone who has recently made the transition from grad- uate school to faculty member.
When moving to a new city and/or state to stay for a short while (2-3 years) to obtain a graduate degree, one might have the tendency to avoid making connections since it is almost inevitable that another move, is in the near future. The typical "why bother" attitude. Let me give you my first piece of advice: make connections. When we move on after the degree is completed, it is difficult to leave who we know and our familiar surroundings. However, making connections is what we need to do as students, as musi- cians, as teachers, as humans. There is common knowl- edge we all have that we can compare and draw upon when we see each other at conferences to present together or just visit. To any student, undergraduate, masters, spe- cialist, doctoral, my advice is to make strong connections and keep them! You never know what the future can bring. Having these types of connections can provide future opportunities.
After FSU I had several interviews for jobs and decided to take a position at Hartwick College in upstate New York.
Job advice? Try to fit in, make a positive contribution, and do your job with competence and professionalism. Offer help when you feel you can actually help. Trust and treat your colleagues with respect and represent this to your stu- dents, especially since some students will travel from office to office looking for the one soul who will give them reinforcement for bad-mouthing faculty members. Remember, what goes around comes around! If the oppor- tunity affords itself, say yes to a committee invitation (although be careful - you don't want to spend your life in committee meetings!). Go to full faculty meetings and get involved with what is going on at your campus - sports, theater, music (of course!), art, faculty presentations, etc.
Understanding who you are and what kinds of things you want to do in your job is very important. While I enjoyed working at Hartwick, I had little time for research and writing. Hopefully your first job will be the job. But if not, remember there are others out there. Yes, moving again is stressful, but it also provides opportunities for change and growth, which is part of human nature. I had a wonderful professor who gave me this advice: you need to determine not only where you would be willing to work, but also the kinds of institutions in which you should work. If you pri- marily want to teach and write less, a research institution may not be the best choice for you and vice versa. During your graduate studies, learn about yourself and determine the kind of institution in which you should work. Look at maps and information online about communities where these institutions are located. I have heard colleagues say they really want to live in a certain place, or they really want to work in a certain university. I am not here to say it could not happen, because you never know the future. However, I think it is much healthier to look forward to what lies ahead and to find a place that is suitable for who you are. This could be your hometown, or it could be across the country.
features
22
August 2006
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