Anyone who’s been through the academic job market — or had friends who went through it — probably knows just how challenging it is. Challenging may not even be the right word for it; I’ve thought of saying “harrowing” or “arduous” or “stressful.” But nothing quite captures the unique combination of experiences with the job market:

Stressful, because it means applying for (in my case) 25 faculty openings, knowing that there are hundreds of equally qualified applicants for every position. Unlike normal jobs, an application meant a long CV, cover letter, research statement, teaching statement, diversity statement, teaching evals, recommendation letters, and sometimes more. And because there’s only so many faculty jobs available, and most hire all around the same time (fall semester, 9 months prior to when the job would begin), you’ve only really got one shot at a job before you have to wait until the next cycle.

Camaraderie, knowing there are hundreds of fellow job market applicants going through the same experience — many of whom I know personally (and exchanged regular texts of encouragement and updates!). Many others were anonymous — in my field, there’s a massive anonymous shared Google sheet where people post about job openings, interviews, and updates. Sure, there was some competition when we applied for the same openings, but we all hoped that everyone would end up somewhere (the anonymous sheet is, in my view, 80% encouraging and 20% unpleasant).

Risky, because I had to make some difficult choices. I limited my applications to places that fit the type of school I was looking for and a location that would work for our family (including our new baby girl, Annika, pictured here!) — that meant I had fewer options to start with. I even had a situation where I had to make a decision about a job offer from a school that I liked, but didn’t love, versus waiting to hear back from other schools I preferred but had a later timeline (I ended up taking the risk and waiting for the other schools).

Invigorating, getting to meet and connect with faculty from different institutions doing amazing work. I got to visit one university where there were faculty whom I’ve heard of (and read their papers) for many years, with deep connections to my own advisors and other mentors I’ve had — anyone recognize the mascot here? It was such an honor to be invited to present at some of these schools, even more so that they would consider me to join their faculty!

Exhausting, because each in-person interview meant one or two days of back-to-back meetings, research presentations, teaching demos, meals with faculty and students, and more. Seriously, we’re talking 8am to 8pm nonstop (maybe with an hour break if you’re lucky). It’s intense, but it makes sense, since this is (for both me and the institution) a long-term decision with implications for many years. It didn’t help that Annika was just a couple of months old during all of these travels — and I was lucky enough to have several campus visits — leading to even more hard decisions on which ones to accept, which ones to decline, and when to schedule visits to minimize the impact on my family. My wife, who’s already sacrificed so much through this whole PhD, had to go through even more by solo parenting a newborn during the days I was away.

And finally, hopeful, because there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. I’m one of the lucky ones — I ended up with two amazing offers to choose from. Even then, it was a tough decision to compare a top-tier, giant research university with a top-tier, highly ranked liberal arts teaching college. It came down to a question of fit for both the type of career I wanted and the location that worked for my family.

So all of that is a long way of announcing that starting Fall 2025, I’ll be joining Claremont McKenna College as an Assistant Professor of Psychological Science! I’ll be focusing on researching and teaching topics in quantitative and organizational psychology. I’ll get to set up my own research lab, recruit students as research assistants, and teach in small 15-20 person class sizes that maximize student engagement and development. Plus, it’s near family — we were both raised in California!

Claremont’s an absolutely amazing opportunity (see some of their current rankings here, including #5 across all colleges and universities in the US, right behind the likes of Princeton, Stanford, and Yale). Even in my specific field, it’s got some well-known faculty and research centers such as the Kravis Leadership Institute.

Admittedly, we aren’t excited at the prospect of moving away from the home we’ve established here in the northern Virginia area, but life takes us in unknown directions all the time. If anyone wants to know more about my experiences, and if I can help with anything — including sharing my materials and other resources — please feel free to reach out! I was fortunate to have plenty of mentors guiding me through this process (no fewer than ten frantic phone calls in the final stages of decision-making!), and I’d love to do anything I can to pass on that knowledge to others.

Thank you all for following along with this journey. Excited for all there is to come in 2025!