International Professorships/ Working Abroad

[lubuntu]

I know that there is a pretty constant bemoaning of how difficult it is to get faculty positions in the US. Is this situation at all different or better in other countries?

US universities often take in people from Europe how about vice versa? What sort of things could you do to get started on a career track that would eventually take you abroad?

 

[fss]

The first step is probably finishing your undergraduate studies and then getting a PhD ;-)

 

[lubuntu]

The first step is probably finishing your undergraduate studies and then getting a PhD ;-)

Naturally, but I can't help being a speculator. I actually want to leave the US so I'm more than happy to go. How do the systems in other countries even work and how might you get involved in them?

For example do they have post-docs? How does tenure work? Are there a lot of universities who will take professors that only speak English outside of the anglosphere.

I just kind of want to learn more about it in general does anyone know any resources?

 

[cgk]

In general you will be required to speak the language of whatever country you are aiming for. As for the professorships: That is very different from country to country. In Germany, for example, there is no tenure track. If you want to become a professor, you already need to be an established scientist. But becoming a professor there is most likely not simpler than in the US, as the positions are awarded for a lifetime and as basically all universities have the same level (i.e., you can't just go for a bad school, because all have more or less the same requirements). Also, you'd need to be present in the local science scene (i.e., attend the national conferences and talk to the people with influence etc.)

 

[twofish-quant]

I know that there is a pretty constant bemoaning of how difficult it is to get faculty positions in the US. Is this situation at all different or better in other countries?

The moaning is on how difficult it is to get a faculty position in general. The situation in non-US countries is either the same or worse. One thing that the US has is a lot of decent "middle class" universities, whereas most other countries structure their higher education so its either elite or nothing.

US universities often take in people from Europe how about vice versa? What sort of things could you do to get started on a career track that would eventually take you abroad?

Learn a different language. The academic stuff is mostly in English, but if you can read Chinese, then you can read stuff like Chinese newspapers that give you information about things that are going on in China.

 

[twofish-quant]

For example do they have post-docs?

Generally yes.

How does tenure work?

In Europe pretty much the same as the US. In East Asia, most places don't have anything officially like tenure, but unofficially they do.

Also US employment law in general works very differently than in most other countries. In pretty much every other countries except for the US, if you work at anything, there is a legal requirement for a labor contract, and employers can't fire you at random the way that US employers can.