And Now the Story...

First-Choice U (FCU) is in a time zone two hours behind my own, so when the phone hadn't rung by 7 p.m. on Wednesday (5 p.m. in their time zone), I concluded that the soonest that I would hear anything would be on Thursday.

As I normally do, I was working in my office into the late evening and was surprised to hear my phone ring at 8:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. in FCU-land). I must confess that my heart stopped for a moment: Could it be that FCU was calling? But if they were, then it would mean that they were going to offer me the job. (Note: in the academy, good news comes by phone, neutral news by email, and bad news by letter mail.) But I was sure that they would hire the inside candidate, so who could be calling?

I picked up the phone on the second ring. The search committee chair is male, so I was momentarily disappointed to hear a female voice until that voice identified herself as the department chair (I was on speakerphone and the other members of the search committee were also present).

"SW, I'm calling to ask if you're still interested in our position here because we would like to invite you to join us."

My internal reaction was, "Really??? Did I mishear you? Are you actually offering me the job?!?"

In a very strangled voice (because my heart was in my throat), I managed to reply, "I would love to join your department."

After some congratulatory comments, we discussed the details of the contract and concluded with some words of welcome into the department.

After announcing the happy news to parents, Advisor, friends, and blogosphere, I actually tried to finish grading some papers, but gave up and went home to bed.

FCU was ready to send out the paperwork during our phone call, but I asked for a night to "sleep on it" (which everyone understands is simply time to consult with others to determine if the contract needs to be negotiated). After consulting with Advisor and a colleague at SLAC, I've decided not to negotiate any points of the contract. As I understand it, they are offering a relatively high entry salary, along with standard benefits and a small benefit to support my research (Advisor thinks that this is because FCU couldn't defer my start date to accommodate the post-doc).

I thought that hearing news from FCU would end the emotional roller coaster, but it hasn't.

Of course, I'm relieved to be off the job market. I hadn't realized what a physical toll being on the job market had been until I felt a huge knot in my stomach unclench and I found myself being able to take a deep breath (probably for the first time since August 2008).

I'm sad for FCU's inside candidate (whom I'll see at a very small conference in two weeks' time). S/he needs a job as much as I do and I hope that there will be no hard feelings.

I'm quite disappointed that I won't be going back to TLWTMS because I've missed my life there immensely. A TT job must be my priority at this time and there will be opportunities to go in the distant future, I'm sure, but I'm disappointed, nonetheless.

I'm surprised at what a difference a year has made. A year ago today, I had no prospects for any job and hadn't even applied to SLAC yet. As SLAC and FCU were founded within the same tradition, however, I suspect that my current appointment contributed to the strength of my application, so I'm thankful that I landed a one-year sabbatical replacement that opened a door for something that I couldn't have predicted a year ago.

Mostly, though, I'm thankful to have landed a TT position so quickly. Many scholar-wannabes with their doctorate in hand, teaching experience, and publications spend a much longer time on the market than I did. And I was lucky enough to have choices: if it had turned out that I didn't like FCU, I had the luxury of declining them and accepting the post-doc.

It's hard for me to realize that I actually landed a TT job at an institution at which I would be happy to spend my career. I'm trying to enjoy this moment, so I'm not yet thinking about logistics of moving or my research agenda ("man, I need to publish faster, otherwise I'll never get tenure!").

Many thanks to everyone for ALL of the support over these long years. I wouldn't have made it this far without you.