I'll See Your "Grass is Greener" and Raise

In a recent thread, there was a lively discussion about the relative merits of tenure-line work and working as a VAP. The commenter that got the ball rolling has a fairly heavy 4-4 teaching load with the standard non-teaching duties, and was coming off a VAP with a pretty light 2-2 load. That's a lot of teaching, and the effect is probably magnified and focused by the transition.

But look. I have a 4-4 now. And I have almost no say in which four classes I teach every semester. (My chair is pretty good about keeping my preps down.) My classes are almost all at introductory level, which means they are easy to teach but which also means that my students almost all have no backgound or interest in philosophy.^* I have no administrative responsibilities, but I also have no say as to what policies are adopted by my department or my school. And although I have an above-average amount of job security^† for a VAP, I have a lot less job security than your average "unmodified" assistant professor (UAP), and as long as I stay in this position, I will never have the opportunity to apply for tenure. I also make in the neighborhood of ten thousand dollars a year less than your average UAP, and as long as I stay in this position, I will never have the opportunity to get a raise. And I have no travel budget, so I have to use my own money if I ever want to go to a conference (and I have less of my own money to start with).

I'm not trying to complain about my job.^‡ I love my job. Almost every job in the entire world would be worse, and only a few jobs could possibly be better. I'm having a great time, and I've learned a lot.

But the idea that a VAP's desire for a tenure-line job is a case of the grass is greeners is stupid. It's an objectively better job. More work and more responsibility, yes. But those meetings are a necessary evil and an all-things-considered good. Your department, college, and university could not operate without them, and you vote in those meetings. You have a say. And this having a say comes with more security, more autonomy, and more money.

--Mr. Zero

^* To be clear, I like introducing people to philosophy who have no prior interest or background in the discipline. I also like teaching advanced students, and I would like to have more opportunities to do so.

^† And most VAPs are year-to-year, which means they go on the TT market in the fall and then the temporary market in the spring. This is time-consuming and sucks.

^‡ In the earlier post, I was complaining about the aspects of my job which lead to my being on the job market every year. That complaint is completely legitimate.