Have you tried teaching as an adjunct at a community college? I got some of my first teaching experience (although I had TA'ed a little before that) doing an evening class at Mesa Community College in Arizona. It didn't pay all that much, but it did give me real classroom experience. Many community colleges do hire adjuncts, so you might check in your area.
I wouldn't think that not teaching would hurt your chances for research-based postdocs. If you are able to land a postdoc position, you could look into doing some teaching on a volunteer basis or as a part-time instructor. One good way to gain a little more experience is to see if your major professor can let you do some guest lectures in his/her class or perhaps lead some kind of activity in lab. Anyway, just some ideas. Perhaps you've already tried these. Mark D. -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Brian Bodah Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 1:04 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Searching for Tips for Teaching Assistant Professorship or Post Doc ECOLOGers, I am a graduating Ph.D candidate who had the misfortune of earning my degree through a research assistantship. I say this because my career goals involve a teaching appointment. I've been applying for teaching positions and post docs for several months now, but there's not a single one who will consider someone without actual college level teaching experience. Before attending graduate school I taught science in both the Massachusetts and Minnesota state school systems, I have quite a bit of experience teaching students from kindergarten - adult/continuing education level, but I have never taught a college level course as I simply didn't have a teaching assistantship. If even post doc teaching positions will only consider former TAs, how is someone supposed to overcome their lack thereof? I hold a master's level certificate in environmental education and have taught in 2 different states, yet this means nothing - that was simply wasted, irrelevant time/experience? I don't think my case is extremely rare, there are many students who earn their PhDs through RAs. I'm a very good teacher, but my PhD was paid for through research. I've become quite disheartened in the search for a remedy to this quandry. Any help, suggestions, or guidance from the greater ECOLOG community regarding a way to overcome this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Brian Bodah, Ph.D. Candidate Department of Biosystems Engineering Washington State University
