Hi Tony, thanks very much for this description-I see things are quite different in the UK compared to the US, for better or worse. I appreciate your taking the time to walk through it. I guess fellowship might be the most likely path to take.
Thanks very much, and all the best, Jacob From: Antonio Ariza [mailto:antonio.ar...@path.ox.ac.uk] Sent: Friday, October 07, 2016 11:58 AM To: Keller, Jacob <kell...@janelia.hhmi.org>; CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK Subject: RE: Tenure Track Positions in UK Dear Jakob, I'm trying to do this myself. So, this is my own experience of how things work around here ... if anybody disagrees or has any further input, please let me know as I'll appreciate any help I can get. In order to find an academic opening you can search for a lecturer (this is basically equivalent to assistant professor in the US) or professor position. The best site for this is JOBS.AC.UK. You will need to wade through the ads to find those that expect/allow you to spend time on research. Generally the universities with higher ranking will expect you to do both research and teaching, while the smaller universities mainly offer only teaching positions. The terms "group leader" and "principal investigator" are rarely used in job advertisements, but when you come across them it means they are looking for somebody who will mostly run a research group with only limited or no teaching obligations. The term "tenure track" is not used in the UK as, in the strictest sense, we never get tenure (i.e. a life-long position where you basically can't be fired). Even when you're offered a "permanent" position in the UK, you are still subject to passing periodic performance tests that check if you bring in enough grant money or produce enough high level publications to bolster the REF of your institution (a point system that grades British universities and their departments). I would say that in general new group leader positions in structural biology are VERY rarely offered in the UK and most new group leaders are initially appointed via fellowships. If you do well during your fellowship, then the university will grant you a "permanent" position as a senior lecturer or assistant professor (this is a higher position than the assistant professor position in the US) at the end of it. For the fellowship route you need to contact the department where you want to do your work, tell them what your research project will be about, give them a detailed 3-5 year project plan and tell them what fellowships/grants you will apply for. If they like you and your project, they will then offer you a place in the department subject to you obtaining the money first (they will help you with the application). If you've already held a fellowship and have some grant money you can take with you and therefore don't need the university to pay for your salary, overheads and research costs, then you can also contact most university departments and tell them about it. If you are at this level, then your chances are good. I hope this helps, Tony ------------------------------------------------------ Dr. Antonio Ariza University of Oxford Sir William Dunn School of Pathology South Parks Road Oxford OX1 3RE ________________________________ From: CCP4 bulletin board [CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK] on behalf of Keller, Jacob [kell...@janelia.hhmi.org] Sent: 07 October 2016 14:34 To: CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK<mailto:CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK> Subject: [ccp4bb] Tenure Track Positions in UK Dear British Colleagues, I have been looking through the Nature/Science Jobs websites for tenure-track positions, but have seen proportionally very few notices for positions in the UK. Is there a hiring freeze due to Brexit, or is there some special way that these jobs are posted? How does one find openings in the UK? All the best, Jacob ******************************************* Jacob Pearson Keller, PhD Research Scientist HHMI Janelia Research Campus / Looger lab Phone: (571)209-4000 x3159 Email: kell...@janelia.hhmi.org<mailto:kell...@janelia.hhmi.org> *******************************************
