After tenure

Thus far in this series, we've discussed clarity of tenure standards at time of offer, different universities' actual tenure standards, and the tenure process itself. I'm a bit surprised that no one else weighed in on the process at their university, but maybe people will weigh in on that at some point. In any case, in my final three posts in this series (I think), I'd like to discuss life after tenure, tenure denials, and tenure appeals. In today's post, I'd like to discuss the first: life after tenure. Specifically, I'd like to pose the following questions:

1. How did you change after tenure (e.g. in your professional life, personal life, etc.)?
2. How did your job itself change after tenure?
3. Is there anything else in particular about life after tenure that you'd like to convey to readers?

I'm really curious to hear how others answer these questions. But allow me to begin!

On (1): My initial reaction after receiving tenure was much like my initial reaction after finally getting a tenure track job (the latter of which took me seven years). Although there was an initial sense of relief, I was sort of 'numb' and nothing really changed with me psychologically for at least a year. I was still as stressed as I ever was, still felt pressure to say yes to everything, and so on and so forth. Tenure didn't seem like the 'promised land' I had always imagined it to be. Not much really felt different. After a few years, though, things have started to feel different. I feel more free to say 'no' to things, and a real consequence of this is that I don't feel like I'm drowning in so many different responsibilities as I did before (as I have taken a few things off of my plate that were very difficult to juggle). I also feel more free to speak my mind at my university, given that I don't have to worry about what a tenure committee might do later down the line--and I feel able to experiment more with teaching and worry less about student evaluations. I also don't feel nearly as much pressure to publish so quickly, and am much more patient than I was in terms of sending things to more highly-ranked journals. Because journal rankings aren't a big deal at my university, my strategy prior to tenure wasn't very patient. I might try sending a paper to a highly ranked journal--but then, if/when it was rejected, I would immediately shoot much lower, as I realized that I needed to publish consistently to get tenure. Although I've never been a fan of journal rankings and other measures of prestige, I do recognize that one's work may be more likely to get read and be taken seriously the 'better' the venue. Consequently, since getting tenure, my publication strategy has changed a bit, at least for now (though I'm always reevaluating whether that's really what I want to do). Finally, and perhaps most importantly of all (at least to me), for the first time since graduate school I have been able to attain at least some semblance of work-life balance. During my seven years on the job market and time before tenure, philosophy was more or less all I did--and I had a very difficult time detaching and enjoying personal time (with friends, family, etc.). I would more or less always be preoccupied with work. Since getting tenure, I've finally gotten back to hobbies that are important and meaningful to me (such as writing and recording music in a home studio), and finally been able to enjoy personal time, being much more 'present' with family, friends, and so on.

On (2): Given my answer to (1), readers may find my answer to the second question (how my job itself has changed) a bit surprising. The short answer is that although I have more choice over what I do (I've learned to say 'no' to things), I actually have far more responsibilities and commitments than I ever did before. For example, I'm now department chair, which although it comes with a course offload and some extra money, is a ton of work. It's not just organizing schedules and meetings, doing budgets, and whatnot. The responsibilities of a chair go far beyond that, involving keeping up with what's going on in different university committees, how their actions may affect us, engaging in university 'politics' to defend and advance the interests of our department, college, and students, etc. I also get asked to review a lot more papers for journals, which I feel a professional obligation to do (though I do say 'no' sometimes), serve on various committees (including tenure and promotion committees, which is a heck of a lot of work!). In brief, I'm actually doing more than I was before tenure--but, because I feel better able to choose what I do (in ways that suit my strengths), I feel a lot less under water, so to speak.

On (3): I'm not sure. My experience is that tenure is good if you get it, but I have had intermittent post-tenure malaise. I've gone through periods where I've felt sort of burnt out, wondering 'what's it all for' (e.g. publishing paper after paper, etc.). But I love philosophy. I love reading it, writing it, and talking about it (though I definitely don't love grading it!). I always seem to find my way back to loving what I do--but I don't think tenure gets you that. It's what got me through the tough years on the job market and my pretenure years. So, I guess that's my final message. Tenure has many benefits--but it may not the promised land you expect. I've know people who seem really happy post tenure, as well as people who still seem miserable. I suspect which of the two it is depends more upon how much you actually like the job itself (which, at universities like mine, is a lot of things: teaching a lot, researching some, and doing a lot of different kinds of service).

Anyway, these are just my thoughts. What are yours? 

Comments

[A grad student]

Well, looks like this really is a forum for early-career philosophers after all. (0 comments in 4 days...)

[Marcus Arvan]

A grad student: yeah, I guess. I’m a bit surprised no one else has chimed in to share their experiences here. Tenure is of course beyond early career, but still, this series is intended to be helpful to early career people—the aim being to give them some idea of what to expect as their careers progress.

[Pro-tenure]

1. Tenure was very liberating for me. I did some of the things you are supposed to do, when you get tenure. I spoke up against the older more senior people in the department; and I took myself off committees that I thought were ineffective and a waste of time. I also focused my research in a different way, on longer term projects, knowing I would be around for awhile!
2. I would say my job was much better after I got tenure. I even took the opportunity to get involved in initiatives outside the department (I was in a department that made it clear that the department's support was NECESSARY for tenure). In this way I had a richer campus life. And I got to avoid some assholes in my department ... at least some of the time
3. My first sabbatical was transformative for me. I was a visitor at a very active interdisciplinary department at another university. This was very liberating intellectually, and I made a strong push on a book project. This really changed my career path.

[reflecting]

Marcus,
I am curious how your relationship toward this blog and the people who read it changed once you got tenure. Perhaps you could day a bit about that.
Your perspective obviously changed. You were in the thick of it before. Now you are on the other side, behind the curtain, so to speak.

[Marcus Arvan]

reflecting: I think that's a great idea for a new series! I'll give it some thought...

[new dept chair]

I'm at a school where the bar for tenure is relatively low, and I had no real doubts about my status. Still, I was surprised how much getting through the process allowed me to relax. The first thing I did was take a month off from everything. I hadn't taken anywhere near that much time off since I started grad school. I went into the following year in a much better place as a result.

I was tenured two years ago, and I found that with it my priorities changed. I'm now a department chair. Prior to tenure, I never wanted, or even considered, such a role. Tenure was an obstacle I couldn't see beyond. With tenure, I found that I wanted to take on a more active role in shaping my department. And I had gained the confidence that I could do the job well.

Like Pro-Tenure, I've also begun more long-term research projects, knowing that I had the time to do so. And if they didn't work out, I knew I'd be okay. This has also allowed me to be more choosy about what work I focus on.