Academia options - TT, soft-money, anything else

[fallen625]

I am on the TT at an R2 university. I have been struggling with enjoying my job because it feels that I am doing not as much as research as I would like. I still manage to be productive/get grants, but find that I only have time for research 5-10 hours per week and spend most of time during the academic year teaching, mentoring, doing service, attending meetings, etc. Have a 2/1 load which is not terrible, will be teaching less in the next few years most likely due to grant funding.

I am wondering if I should move somewhere else. Specifically, try to find an R1 institution? consider a soft-money position (would that be a terrible idea)? I am not willing to move currently which makes it hard, but do have a good amount of grant funding which should make it easier (I think?) to go on the job market. Would it also be better anywhere else? I probably spend 4-6 hours per week teaching, 2-3 attending meetings, 2-3 mentoring, 2-5 doing service, 5 admin, and the rest research.

One thing that plays into this - I started a side private practice (1-2 days a week). Private practice has done very well and makes over 2x as much as my TT job (making close to 100k on TT and 200k-250k in private practice), and whatever new setup I find needs to be cool with my private practice and not take any cuts. My institution is fine with it. My friends outside of academia do not understand why I am still on the TT if I can just do my private practice

Can anyone think anything I am not considering? I basically am wondering if there a way to do more research. I know soft money may be the best option, but it feels high-risk and stressful.

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[fallen625]

Also want to add that lifestyle is important to me and having a good tradeoff of money vs. time. I have zero interest in killing myself working 60 hour weeks to get tenure somewhere or survive on soft money. Which is why I ended up in the situation I am in!

 

[AbnormalPsych]

Also want to add that lifestyle is important to me and having a good tradeoff of money vs. time. I have zero interest in killing myself working 60 hour weeks to get tenure somewhere or survive on soft money. Which is why I ended up in the situation I am in!

If I were you then I would defintely avoid soft money at all costs. Unless I felt solid in that 200k PP income stream. Soft money emplyment is stressful.

 

[fallen625]

If I were you then I would defintely avoid soft money at all costs. Unless I felt solid in that 200k PP income stream. Soft money emplyment is stressful.

I feel pretty good about my private practice. I also actually would be fine and prefer to make 50% of my TT salary if it meant I could work part-time (e.g., have one R01, and not do all the BS of a psych department job), but not sure if such option exists. But I worry the type A part in me would be stressed, which is why I have avoided soft-money opportunities down when I took my current job.

 

[Ollie123]

My read as a 100% research academic is that you have a pretty astounding deal right now. You actually have far more time for research than most academics, you are just opting to use that for clinical practice rather than research (understandable, given how much money it is apparently bringing in). A 2-1 load is a very light teaching load for an R2 and even lower than many R1s (though obviously not all courses are created equal). 1-1 is the lowest I've heard of in psychology.

I don't think what you want is likely to exist in an out-of-the-box kinda way, but that doesn't mean it can't. If you currently have one or more R01s you likely have some ability to dictate your terms. If you just email colleagues in local departments and explain your situation and what you want, they may find ways to "create" something for you. I imagine AMCs are more likely to do this than psychology departments, but anything is possible. Consider other departments too depending on your exact research topics (e.g., public health). Issues you are likely to run into:
1) AMCs may want non-competes on the clinical side
2) Both AMCs and psych may only be willing to give you specific "Research faculty" appointments. This can interfere with your ability to get future grants.

I'm assuming you have explored options to reduce your load with your current department? That is the direction I'd try first. If they want to see "Research growth" (most R2s do) and you have funding, they might let you bow out of some committee and admin activities to keep you happy.

Curious to hear more about the specifics if you are open to PMing them.

 

[iliketohelppeople]

I am on the TT at an R2 university. I have been struggling with enjoying my job because it feels that I am doing not as much as research as I would like. I still manage to be productive/get grants, but find that I only have time for research 5-10 hours per week and spend most of time during the academic year teaching, mentoring, doing service, attending meetings, etc. Have a 2/1 load which is not terrible, will be teaching less in the next few years most likely due to grant funding.

I am wondering if I should move somewhere else. Specifically, try to find an R1 institution? consider a soft-money position (would that be a terrible idea)? I am not willing to move currently which makes it hard, but do have a good amount of grant funding which should make it easier (I think?) to go on the job market. Would it also be better anywhere else? I probably spend 4-6 hours per week teaching, 2-3 attending meetings, 2-3 mentoring, 2-5 doing service, 5 admin, and the rest research.

One thing that plays into this - I started a side private practice (1-2 days a week). Private practice has done very well and makes over 2x as much as my TT job (making close to 100k on TT and 200k-250k in private practice), and whatever new setup I find needs to be cool with my private practice and not take any cuts. My institution is fine with it. My friends outside of academia do not understand why I am still on the TT if I can just do my private practice

Can anyone think anything I am not considering? I basically am wondering if there a way to do more research. I know soft money may be the best option, but it feels high-risk and stressful.

Would be quite curious about a bit more info about your pp as a fellow academic thinking about doing a day or two of pp if you might be willing to share (via pm). At that income, I can imagine a few possibilities...

 

[erg923]

One thing that plays into this - I started a side private practice (1-2 days a week). Private practice has done very well and makes over 2x as much as my TT job (making close to 100k on TT and 200k-250k in private practice), and whatever new setup I find needs to be cool with my private practice and not take any cuts. My institution is fine with it. My friends outside of academia do not understand why I am still on the TT if I can just do my private practice

Can anyone think anything I am not considering? I basically am wondering if there a way to do more research. I know soft money may be the best option, but it feels high-risk and stressful.

Let me get this straight? You make 200K doing a 16 hour/week private practice? This sounds nuts! This is almost twice the average salary for a full-time psychologist in this country doing clinical work. Whatever this is...do it more! Do research on the side. You and your children will actually use your Florida vacation home and subsequent inheritance. In 30-40 years, no one, I repeat no one... will care about the journal articles that several dozen people may have read.

 

[fallen625]

Let me get this straight? You make 200K doing a 16 hour/week private practice? This sounds nuts! This is almost twice the average salary for a full-time psychologist in this country doing clinical work. Whatever this is...do it more! Do research on the side. You and your children will actually use your Florida vacation home and subsequent inheritance. In 30-40 years, no one, I repeat no one... will care about the journal articles that several dozen people may have read.

I know, it’s insane. I was shocked myself. Live in a very wealthy area where people have trust funds and are willing to pay $350+ per session.

 

[Justanothergrad]

2/1 teaching
200k PP
10hours of research a week


Sounds like a great deal. Enjoy. You wont find a better one elsewhere without FAR more hours.