Job Search I
by Jimmy Mopecha

We started the meeting by looking through a couple of copies of the Notices of the AMS that our PI, Dr. Matthias Kawski brought, trying to see how many job openings were posted in which month. Finally we observed that many open positions were posted in the months November to January, and closing dates for the receipt of application files were as early as November 15. The PI recommended that it is advisable to have application packages ready by January 1 so that latest by December 1 they have been send to the appropriate destinations. These packages should comprise:

  1. Cover Letter
  2. Curriculum Vitae
  3. Teaching Statement/Philosophy
  4. Research Plan
  5. AMS Cover Letter if you are a member.

We also noticed that about 1200 Ph.D.s were granted every year in Mathematics, most of them in Applied Mathematics, Number Theory and Statistics. The least number of Ph.D.s per year were granted in Mathematics Educations. We learnt that Universities are divided into three groups, and ASU was in the top group, Group I. We read through some the ads trying to locate the words in them that tell one whether or not one’s fits the job description. We also learnt that Universities do not hire their own graduates. Our homework for April 13th was the following:

  1. Try to get a teaching statement from a recently hired.
  2. Bring a CV identifying gaps yet to complete.
  3. Spend at least one hour trying to write a teaching statement.
  4. Read RISHEL’s Notes.