Staying in Phoenix?

So, as I’ve mentioned several times, Jake is really unhappy in his job and would also like to move to another city, since he grew up here and isn’t so much a fan.  I understand, as I moved to Arizona in large part to escape Florida, which I think is a humid, touristy pit of hurricanes, mosquitoes, and despair.  He was going to wait until January and then start looking, since if he doesn’t include months on his resume that’ll give him the appearance of three years.

Then I saw a job ad for an Assistant Professor position at my university that, while not exactly a laundry list of everything I’m interested in, is pretty darn close.  I forwarded it to Jake, and he e-mailed me back:

Apply. You are a shoe-in.  I have never seen (and probably never will again) a job that is so tailor-made to your skill set.  That is a fantastic opportunity, if you are interested in pursuing it.  I strongly encourage you to at least submit an application packet and see if they offer you the job.  You could always turn it down.

Besides, it will make your dissertation chair SO happy.

That said, if you really don’t want it, I don’t care.  I won’t be disappointed or upset if you do not apply.

So I thought about it some more and decided that he’s right.  While I enjoy my job and my co-workers, as a staff person I’m definitely under-utilized, not always respected as much as I’d like by the faculty, am sometimes bored, and am surrounded by people who – while smart – do not share the interests that I spent 6 years in a PhD program cultivating.

Jake and I talked more about it that night, and I said that if I got the position we’d probably be here at least three more years.  He said that he’d be willing to stay here that much longer for my career if I were making an upward move, and that if it panned out he would just try and find another job in Phoenix (which would be no problem, he gets 3+ calls a week from head hunters looking for people with his specialties).

So I’m doing it!  The position, if I got it, would entail a $10-15K pay increase and lots more flexibility in how I spend my time.  And if it doesn’t work out, then I’m practicing putting myself out there again, which I’d have to do anyway if we moved to a different city.  The deadline for applications is November 30 so there is plenty of time to request tailored letters from my recommenders and tweak my letter and curriculum vitae.  I’m sure they won’t start calling people back until mid-December if they’re aiming for conference interviews (and it doesn’t sound like they are) – so I might not hear back until after the new year, but my iron will definitely be in the fire.  Hooray!

In other news, I am making quinoa pilaf with leeks, onions, chipotle “sausage,” and dried cranberries for dinner tonight.  For dessert, we’re having bourbon spiked pumpkin bread pudding.  All made from scratch, all vegan, all delicious!  Hopefully my mouth has feeling again by then – Jake took me to the dentist this morning for the latest episode in the saga I like to call “fixing up all the accumulated damage caused by the fact that Honey was in grad school for 8 years and couldn’t afford the dentist.”  I go back next Thursday, then again 6 weeks after that, and then I should be all caught up!

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