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You are here: Home / Balloon Juice / A Kind of Specialized Balloon Jobs Thread

A Kind of Specialized Balloon Jobs Thread

by | 40 Comments

This post is in: 

I know, I know.  I never write. I never call.

And I haven’t got anything substantive to say just now (or rather not the time to untangle thought from rage).  But I do have notices of two faculty searches in my general purview at MIT — and while they are very specific and pretty demanding in terms of qualifications, this is a big, bad, beautiful crowd here.

So I thought that I might let social media take up a little slack and alert you all — who may then alert any qualified friends as well — to the possibilities.  And all that seems like a good excuse for everyone else to put up any other suggestions they may have for gainful work for our crowd.

Here’s what’s on offer at my shop:

First up — a junior, tenure track professorship of science writing. You can see the advertisement and check out the application process here.  The deadline on this one is coming up fast — November 1, so if this is of interest to you or anyone you like, go for it.

Second:  there is a senior search for a professor of rhetoric.  Ad and applications details here.  There is a little more time available on this one — till December 1.

That’s it from my end of the patch.  (BTW — I am not on the committee for either of these positions, so there’s no point in lobbying me.  I am happy to answer questions about the nature of the science writing job, and y’all know how to reach me if necessary.)

Now you know what I got.  What do you have?

Jobs anyone?

PS — something more on the main line of Balloon Juicing coming soon.  I’ve made that promise before, and I’ve always meant it.

Image:  Frederick Stuart Church, Tiger Having Eaten Professor, 1905.

Reader Interactions

40Comments

  1. 1.

    benintn

    Have tendered my resignation and am currently training my replacement. The new giggage for me will be creating a new business, primarily a therapy and consultancy practice. What this means is I’ll need office assistance for medical billing, as well as some initial help with marketing. Not jobs yet, but gigs for those who are interested in helping me bootstrap.

    Job creation and vocational counseling will be a key focus of my work, based in Nashville but working nationally.

  2. 2.

    Amir Khalid

    Ich wohne nicht in Amerika, and I’m not looking for a job anyway, since I’m medically retired (I suffer from what doctors call bum ticker) but oh my that is an amusing painting. The prof must have been tasty.

    Juicers being such a variously talented lot, I’m sure there are some among us qualified for either — or even both — of these jobs. Good luck to whoever decides to apply.

  5. 5.

    Croll

    What a great idea, we should be working amongst ourselves help employ each other. Maybe we could have a place for all us unemployed readers to share a resume?

    Neither of the above jobs are a fit for me but maybe someone out there knows something about an open position in my field.

  6. 6.

    CaseyL

    I have found LinkedIn to be moderately useful – less for getting a job than for establishing contacts within a company that might help get a resume to the right people. LinkedIn is offering a free 1-month upgrade from the basic, always-free service. The upgrade gets you personal email privileges to people at the companies which are 1) on LinkedIn and 2) hiring; plus some other extras.

    The sign-up involves giving them your credit/debit card info, with billing set to automatically begin the day the free trial ends. I’d advise making a note of the date and the email address needed to cancel the service, otherwise you’ll be out $25/month.

    PS: I don’t know if the free trial is available to people who aren’t already on LinkedIn. It’s probably most useful to people who’ve been on LinkedIn long enough to have a few network connections already in place.

  7. 7.

    Dee Loralei

    I was on hold with AT&T the other day, trying to figure out pay per view, yea I’m that dumb, and they were advertising for jobs both outside and inside sales and customer service. Wish I could help more.

  8. 8.

    ruemara

    I’m waiting to get a call for a job I am imminently qualified for, live right next to the head offices and have copious experience with their stores and markets. They reposted the job on a wider network than their own website. I prefer to see this as hoping to have a larger pool than just my own super qualified ass.

    Is it wrong to hate our Galtian overlords who don’t give a damn about hiring or investing in America? Because I may be there.

    And if anyone knows of a graphic design opening, I have a veteran designer who’d be happy to apply.

  9. 9.

    Maude

    Waiting to hear from the supermarket.
    I did their online application and it wasn’t bad.
    I wonder if there is work for some of us telecommuting?

  10. 10.

    Lee

    Not in the market for a job, but curious as the the pay for these positions.

    They seem entry level academic jobs, is that correct?

  12. 12.

    JCT

    I wish my 3 open post-doctoral slots counted as real jobs, having a hell of a time finding good applicants.

  13. 13.

    SiubhanDuinne

    And I haven’t got anything substantive to say just now (or rather not the time to untangle thought from rage).

    Tom: I, for one, can hardly wait until you get that time. Your passes at untangling thought from rage are bound to be both thoughtful and ragey. And I expect you’ll find another amazing piece of art with which to illustrate your thoughty-rageful thoughts and rages.

  14. 14.

    imonlylurking

    I have one, kind of. It involves annuities and 100 % travel-one-year temp. The employer is based in the Northeast (Connecticut, I think?) but since it is 100% travel they don’t care where the person lives. One of the agencies my roommate was working with was begging her to take it even though her only experience was 6 months on a phone queue 15 years ago.

    The recruiter sounded pretty desperate so if you have the experience let me know and I’ll have my roommate find out if the position is still open.

  15. 15.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I don’t know of any specific openings anywhere, but anyone who has an interest in international relations or international trade, and a degree in social sciences, humanities, or business, should think of applying to the consulate or consulate general, embassy/high commission, trade office, etc. of whatever foreign countries have representation in your region. Most nations’ diplomatic and trade missions hire a fair number of local staff to supplement the (rotational) foreign service officers. Pay is generally competitive and benefits generally above average. Some knowledge of a foreign language is usually an asset but often not a requirement.

  17. 17.

    ArchTeryx

    Up in the hinterlands of northern Michigan myself, trying to figure out the sort of job a molecular virologist might have a chance at getting that isn’t a full time science job (those being rarer then teeth on a goose these days).

    Also still working on my educational card game, with a publication deadline of (I hope) the end of the year.

  18. 18.

    Brewzor

    Anyone looking for someone with degrees in Microbiology and Biochemistry? Getting my masters a little earlier then planned, and I am looking for work starting in January.

  23. 23.

    ruemara

    @slag:

    Sure. I could use a V/O project. And I just got this cool new microphone.

    But would you want it read by a female?

  25. 25.

    Tom Levenson

    @Lee: The science writing job is junior (untenured); the rhetoric job is senior (hired to tenure)

    the salary is by negotiation, always, but will fall into the broad range published for faculty in the humanities at tier one universities (which is another way of saying I can’t quote a number.)

  27. 27.

    phantomist

    @ArchTeryx:

    Alpena’s newest industrial employer is now hiring.

    Alpena Prototype Biorefinery is accepting applications for a number of positions at the plant.

    The biorefinery is currently under construction at the site of Decorative Panels International. The biorefinery will use some of DPI’s waste, turning it into ethanol, biobutanol and sodium acetate – a de-icing agent.

    Resumes and applications are being accepted through October 12 at the Michigan Works! Service Center on Chisholm Street.

    The company initially said it would need about 10 employees to operate the plant but later upped that number to as many as 20. Officials would not commit, however, to how many of those jobs would be filled locally.

    The company hopes to start producing ethanol in early 2012.

    The $23.5 million plant is a joint venture between Cobalt Technologies and American Process Inc.

  29. 29.

    handsmile

    While admittedly tangential to the worthy objective of this post, as someone who served in a senior staff position in the arts and humanities at MIT during the 1980s-1990s, I was delighted to learn that the Institute is seeking a tenured appointment for a Professor of Rhetorical Studies. I do not recall such a faculty position during my time there.

    Prompted by a link on the job listing, I was pleased to learn how expansive the Writing Program has become and to see that Alan Lightman, Ken Manning, and Rosalind Williams remain among its faculty.

    With the mounting challenges to the viability of higher education in America, I am heartened that MIT has maintained its commitment to a broad-based curriculum of science, engineering, and the liberal arts for its outstanding students.

  30. 30.

    Louise

    The University of Texas at Austin is hiring Software Developer Trainees. They put you through a 6 month training period to teach you to program in the languages used for administrative systems (currently Natural and Python). You must get an A on an aptitude test first. As far as I know, there are 4 positions like this still available. https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/hr/jobs/nlogon/110606019361

  31. 31.

    Dexter

    Does postdoc job count? If yes, then in my lab, there may be an opening as one postdoc will be leaving in a month. The research is in the area of synthetic biology.

  34. 34.

    2liberal

    Insight , a large reseller of IT equipment, is growing and hiring in various locations. HQ is in Tempe, AZ and a major second site is in the Chicago area. They are hiring for sales, technical, and support positions.

    http://jobs.insight.com/jobs/

  35. 35.

    Tom Levenson

    @Joel: Wouldn’t know — that could fall into a number of depts. at MIT — Physics, Biology, some of the Institutes with lines, even one or more of the engineering depts. That’s one your friend will want to keep an eye out to usual ad locations for those fields.

    Academic Jobs Online is the service we now use to post ads and applications procedures. By “we” I mean at least the Humanities Arts and Social Sciences side of MIT. Not sure about science and engineering. In any event, you can search over there by institution and, I think, field. Worth your friend’s while to check it out.

  37. 37.

    Tom Levenson

    @JWL: If that’s to the MIT jobs, no, there are no math skills required, though innumeracy of the McArdle sort would be a problem.

  38. 38.

    Jay S

    Group Health has jobs in Washington state that you can find by following this link.

    There are administrative, clerical and medical profession positions listed.

  39. 39.

    lovable liberal

    Too bad I’m not qualified for any academic job – even though they can be arduous too – ’cause I’m sick and fucking tired of working in the software industry. When I only had to worry about arbitrary layoffs from on high once a year, I could deal with that. Now it’s every couple of months.

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