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I'm curious about the impact of geographical diversity of positions (postdoctoral or junior faculty) on career prospects in academia. In my current job search I see a small number of positions at universities outside the US that potentially fit my research interests and experience. I am wondering whether pursuing these positions would be beneficial to my current long-term goal of returning to an academic position in the US.

What effect does international academic experience have on academic career prospects in the US?

JeffE
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Aleksandr Blekh
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  • a recent Ph.D. graduate with no significant research experience and publications — Sorry, what? It's (supposed to be) impossible to get a PhD without significant research experience. – JeffE May 18 '15 at 12:29
  • Maybe he's being humble. "Significant" being in the eye of the beholder. Maybe he means he doesn't have any journal publications. @AleksandrBlekh, have you thought about applying for a postdoc to build up your publications list? – aparente001 May 18 '15 at 12:40
  • @JeffE: aparente001 guessed part of it right - I meant lack of peer-reviewed journal publications. Plus, "significant research experience" meant the one beyond Ph.D. program coursework and dissertation research (that is, postdoctoral or industry research experience). – Aleksandr Blekh May 18 '15 at 19:30
  • @aparente001: Thank you for kind words :-). See my comment to JeffE. Certainly, I'm planning to apply for some postdoc positions as soon as will finalize the list. My question above mentions that (in addition to junior faculty positions), but in this case I'm curious about the value of getting additional experience abroad (hence, my focus on diversity). – Aleksandr Blekh May 18 '15 at 19:34
  • This seems much too broad a question for SE, at least ax it is currently phrased. – keshlam May 18 '15 at 21:19
  • @keshlam: I respectfully disagree. All I'm asking is to mention factors and, perhaps, brief comments in that regard (several sentences at most) and to describe potential effect of international academic experience (another several sentences). – Aleksandr Blekh May 18 '15 at 21:24
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    What kinds of factors? That word covers a huge range of information. – keshlam May 18 '15 at 21:31
  • @keshlam: I have specified what factors I'm looking for. Coverage range ("huge") is irrelevant in this case, as I'm asking about a list with some brief comments. My question could be labeled as too broad, if I was asking for a very detailed analysis of the topic (similar to book, chapter or research paper type of coverage), but that's not what I have asked for. – Aleksandr Blekh May 18 '15 at 22:06
  • @AleksandrBlekh I'm sorry, but at least in computer science, if you don't have significant research experience already as a PhD student, including multiple publications and a well-developed individual research agenda (not just "interests"), your chances of getting a useful postdoc position are remote. PhD student research is (or should be) real research, judged by the same criteria as faculty research. – JeffE May 18 '15 at 22:17
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    Also, I agree with @keshlam. The phrase "factors" and "general coverage" could mean anything. Are you specifically asking about the likely impact on your long-term academic career? Or are you also including factors related to research independence, teaching expectations, mentoring expectations, language, culture, money, travel, distance from family, dating, child care, religious tolerance, food, politics, etc., etc., etc.? – JeffE May 18 '15 at 22:22
  • @JeffE: Yes, I specifically ask only about factors and impact on long-term academic career. I believe that I was pretty clear in this regard when formulating the question. – Aleksandr Blekh May 18 '15 at 22:27
  • @JeffE: In regard to your latest comment on research experience, I think that it very much depends on institution, advisors, student's personal circumstances and other factors. For example, my family circumstances were serious enough that prevented me to perform (and publish) research beyond my dissertation research. The latter was the real research, using real data and appropriate quantitative methods. Moreover, "significant" is a relative and subjective term - just because some research is published doesn't make it significant. (to be continued) – Aleksandr Blekh May 18 '15 at 22:47
  • @JeffE: (cont'd) Similarly, if a student or researcher for some reason didn't want and didn't have an opportunity to publish their research results, it doesn't imply that their research experience lags behind one of those, who published more. Finally, indeed I do have a research agenda, not only interests. Again, your phrase "well-developed research agenda" asks for clarification (clear criteria) what a relative and subjective term well-developed actually stands for. – Aleksandr Blekh May 18 '15 at 23:12
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    I think this is related: http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/17694/is-it-more-difficult-to-score-a-tenure-track-position-in-the-us-when-applying-fr Isn't the Q really will a non-US post-doc hurt my changes for a later tenure track job in the US? – mkennedy May 18 '15 at 23:34
  • @mkennedy: Thank you for the link. That question is related, but not equivalent to mine. As for your formulation of question, it has emphasis on potential negative effects, while my question is comprehensive, as it asks about any effects, while my personal expectation is more of a positive one (due to, hopefully, appreciation of research cultural diversity in academia, in general, and in its US segment, in particular). – Aleksandr Blekh May 18 '15 at 23:49
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    I have significantly edited the question to improve clarity and to remove unnecessary personal detail (which is too specific to your personal situation to make a good question for this site). Please double-check that I have not changed the intended question. – JeffE May 19 '15 at 00:27
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    Discussion of what constitutes a "well-developed individual research agenda" is better left for a separate question. – JeffE May 19 '15 at 00:28
  • @JeffE: Some removed points might be helpful in guiding those answering the question (i.e., emphasizing factors, effects, perceptions and career advancement elements). However, in general, I'm OK with your version and thank you for your help. – Aleksandr Blekh May 19 '15 at 00:46
  • @keshlam: JeffE was kind enough to edit my question. Hopefully, this edition is clearer, match your expectations and will produce more enthusiastic feedback from more people than the original. – Aleksandr Blekh May 19 '15 at 00:48
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    @aleksanderblekh, JeffE: much clearer. Still pretty broad, but let's see what can be done with it. – keshlam May 19 '15 at 00:53

2 Answers2

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If you are just talking about the geographical role, rather than comparing things like great position at a world renowned foreign university versus a two-bit US institution, then it is true that it can be harder to get a US tenure-track position coming from foreign university. The main reasons are (i) smaller schools are often less willing to fly in overseas applicants for interviews and (ii) (for positions with teaching experience expectations) it's advantageous for candidates to have experience teaching in a system comparable to the American one. See also this recent answer from RoboKaren. Another possible concern is that you get involved in some research niche which is popular, say only in Europe or Asia, but not the US, but this can also happen at US institutions.

That said, you shouldn't take these concerns too seriously if you find a position that you like, and these concerns don't play too much of a role for research universities. However, consider the possibility that you may need to do another postdoc in the US/Canada to improve your chances of getting jobs at smaller schools where this may be an issue.

Addendum: The above was just in answer to the bold question, but not to the issue in the text about whether it is in some way beneficial to go abroad, say strictly for diversity reasons. Here there seems to be negligible benefit, all other factors being equal, as the US already has a diverse amount of resesarch, and one can still learn from and even collaborate with foreign colleagues (at least in many fields) thanks to travel and modern technology.

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Kimball
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  • I appreciate your answer (+1) - you mention interesting points. Certainly, I wouldn't think twice, if offered today a "great position at a world renowned foreign university". But, being realistic, this is very unlikely - I understand that I need to build my research reputation through quality research agenda, meaningful research, publishing and displaying external funding potential. Those are my short-term goals. Just to clarify: US is my home (citizen) and international academic exposure I've asked about is meant to be temporary to build more diverse academic portfolio and enrich experience. – Aleksandr Blekh May 19 '15 at 05:54
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    @AleksandrBlekh In that case, I don't think going abroad to specifically diversify your academic experience is that helpful. There are sufficiently many research opportunities in the US for one build an impressive portfolio without having held a position abroad, and there are plenty of opportunities to discuss ideas and learn from foreign colleagues at conferences, etc. – Kimball May 19 '15 at 06:42
  • My impression that a clarification is needed was right. Thank you for your updated advice - it makes total sense and actually matches my current preferences. I'm still curious, though, about what other people think on the subject and their rationale - I hope to receive more feedback. – Aleksandr Blekh May 19 '15 at 06:54
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Well, there are a lot of countries (and educational systems and cultures) in the world. So what I am about to say could be completely wrong for some countries.

If you want to end up doing research and teaching, watch out, as regards the teaching part. There are countries that use more of a sink-or-swim approach to university studies than we like to think we take here in the U.S. (I don't mean that to sound bitter -- there are a good number of professors in U.S. institutions who do have a real commitment to teaching.)

For the research side of things, I don't think there is any advantage or disadvantage to post-doccing overseas. The important thing is that you be in a situation that is intellectually stimulating, emotionally supportive, and collaborative, so that you can get some good publications under your belt. So it all boils down to compatibility with the group.

aparente001
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