I was very pleased with this purchase. Reis gives a great overview of academia and the US university system. He make lots of points I hadn't thought of as well as some very sage comments on how education should be approached. The main drawback of the book is that it is a little outdated - for example he suggests the new idea of looking for job postings on a thing called the World Wide Web!

I was very pleased with this purchase. Reis gives a great overview of academia and the US university system. He make lots of points I hadn't thought of as well as some very sage comments on how education should be approached. The main drawback of the book is that it is a little outdated - for example he suggests the new idea of looking for job postings on a thing called the World Wide Web!

I was extremely disappointed with this book. The auther attempts to appear clever and sly, but ends up sounding verbose and grandiloquent. Blast!

This is an excellent book. I used it extensively as I prepared to apply for a faculty position in a science department. I strongly recommend it to anyone who would want to become a university professor in the future.

This is an excellent overview of Ph.D. program goals, career options for Ph.D.s, and job search strategies. There's even a section on what to do in your early career on the tenure track. I'm in a position that gives me particular knowledge of the process, and still, this book is extremely useful. It provides multiple perspectives on the profession and addresses not only high-end research universities, but also liberal arts colleges with science programs and everything in-between.

The book is designed as a guide for graduate students, post-docs, and non-tenured faculty looking for careers in academic science and engineering.

The book has four parts: the first gives an exposition of the world of academia, the second discusses preparation for academic careers for graduate students and post-docs, the third discusses strategies for looking for and applying to academic positions, and the fourth discusses life as junior faculty and the tenure application process.

While the book is well-written and well-organized, it does not provide any helpful information or insight. All information in the book should be well-known to any graduate student or post-doc who is even slightly serious about a career in academic science and engineering.

For example, every graduate student and post-doc should know full well that teaching experience and grant-writing skills are indispensable when applying for an academic position. Every non-tenured faculty should know what tenure is all about and what is necessary in order to achieve it. The book discusses these issues as if these are helpful pointers for success in academia.

The book provides advice on how to write teaching portfolios, how to handle campus tours, how to negotiate salaries, etc. However, there are many excellent books and websites discussing these issues in greater detail. This book is thus superfluous and unnecessary.

A detailed description of what it is like being a professor. Many case studies to learn from.

I put this book on my wish list and received it as a gift, but ended up being sorely disappointed with it. As I read through the book I started to become disillusioned when I realized how poorly written the whole thing was -- the chapters are all structured in the "here's what I'm going to tell you, here I'm telling you, here's what I just told you" way that is implimented so as to remind me of an 8th grade essay. Why should I take any paper-writing advice from a guy that can't get me interested and excited about my own career?

If you're really interested in an interesting and valuble book for aspiring scientists read Peter J. Feibelman's _A_PhD_is_not_Enough_ instead.

This book gives you both statistics and information, as well as excellent analysis. I read several books from National Academy Press ... but this book not only summarizes it for you but analyzes it as well. Topic to topic, chapter to chapter are well organized and very enjoy to read. Don't be surprised to see 5 stars from any reader! Strongly recommend for any Postdoc, Ph.D. student, prospective Ph.D. student or even a Ph.D.

Reading this book brought back vivid memories of my own job hunt just a few years ago; of the time, energy, and preparation needed to get an academic position. The author mentions today's tight job market, and recommends that job seekers keep a broad view by not ruling out jobs in government or industry. The book is, however, a primer on obtaining a position in academe, and the preparation needed to succeed once you are there. Tomorrow's Professor is thoroughly researched, and covers just about every imaginable base in preparing someone for an academic career. It is well written and easily read. The first part of the book details the peculiar culture of a university, including its teaching, research, and service missions; its governing structure; and tenure. It confirms much of the anecdotal evidence about universities that I thought were particular to the schools that I was familiar with. In Part Two the author outlines the foundation necessary for gaining an academic position. Any student seriously considering a future career in academe must begin early on developing the research and teaching portfolio necessary to gain a coveted position. In research, it is important to begin publishing research papers, presenting results and making contacts at conference, and helping to obtain external support. For teaching, one must go beyond working as a teaching assistant, and start teaching one's own classes. For the current job seeker, the heart of the book is Part Three, where Reis outlines job identification and application strategies. The time and energy required to find out about a particular position and tailor one's application to fit the requirements is well worth the effort, he writes. This section also covers most of the steps necessary in preparing an excellent application, and it is often the inclusion of these details that can make or break an application. In today's tough job market, where hundreds of people often apply for a single position, following the steps outlined in this book could give applicants the edge they need to be noticed. Tomorrow's Professor: Preparing for Academic Careers in Science and Engineering is an extremely invaluable read.

(John Crepeau is an assistant professor in the mechanical engineering department at the University of Idaho.)

Two weeks ago I read my first issue of the Prism magazine and I was lucky enough to read your article "The Tenure Journey." In that article, I realized that you have a 1997 book Tomorrow's Professor. At a recent IEEE International Conference, I found your book on the first day of the conference and without hesitation, I bought it! I was 100% sure that this was a valuable "unique" book. It fit my interests and love of education (both engineering and science). Thus, it is a good investment. As I read more chapters from your book, I really love it more and more. Every chapter contains information that we really need as students and future professors. I wish I had enough money to give this book as a gift to every PhD student, starting professor, advisor, and university administrator. I am currently promoting this book to my friends at the university. For all of this, congratulations, and thanks a million for taking the time to collect the information and experiences, and to write this wonderful book. Let me now introduce myself: My name is Khaled EL-Maleh, a PhD graduate student (last quarter of my PhD) at McGill University, in Montreal, Canada. I am in the EE Department. I hold two B.S. degrees (EE and Applied Math) and a M.Eng. (Biomedical Engineering) from McGill. My PhD is in the area of signal processing for telecommunications. I really love education (learning and teaching)! I have been a tutor for both electrical engineering and mathematics courses for many years. I have recently joined the ASEE as a student member and I strongly recommend this society and your book for every grad. student. One of the interesting parts of your book is the examples you bring from real-life experiences. Also, it is nice that you are giving in each chapter some references for further reading in each topic. It is my dream and goal to join a university that values education and makes research parts of education and vice versa. I am now enjoying reading your book and I feel that I need always to read it again and again as it is a time-independent book. Well done job Professor Reis. I hope to meet you in the near future. Khaled EL-Maleh Dept. of Electrical Engineering McGill University Montreal, Canada