Historically, my big life decisions have not required me to select from just one of two choices; I have not met many proverbial forks in the road... more like sporks. For example, when I decided to go to graduate school, I knew I had the option of many disciplines. I also knew that I could easily change my mind at any point and leave. If LargeU ended up not being a good fit, I could (with minimal pain), pull up roots and switch to another program or school.
Likewise, when I decided to accept the Visiting Ass faculty position at TempColleg, I knew that I wasn't risking much: visiting positions are becoming more and more common (woohoo! Teaching postdoc, anyone?), so I wasn't worried about the job becoming a black mark on my CV. If I hated it, it was only nine months. If I liked it, bonus points.
So in recent months, I've been exploring new territory. I had to decide whether to go back on the active job market or continue on for another year at TempCollege. I chose to not put out any applications. The Boss was terribly disappointed that I was closing the door on all potential opportunities. The argument was made that I could leverage any tenure-track offers to try to gain a position at N.A.'s institution.
Now, a door has opened at N.A.'s institution. Would I still have this option if I had put out applications in September? No. In November? Maybe, but it would have been very interesting when it came time to do interviews.
So I guess in my case, it appear that by closing the door to other tenure-track possibilities, I have opened a (teeny, tiny) door to a potential position that would put me in the same city as N.A. Stay tuned for updates on my two-body situation!
scientiae-carnival
