17 ms·

I'd bet someone just wanted to teach a course for fun and without compensation, but they had to formalize it and pose an actual job listing online for a month.

by Mr_P 5y ago

I'd bet someone just wanted to teach a course for fun and without compensation, but they had to formalize it and pose an actual job listing online for a month. Probably explains why the "Open date" & "Final date" are just 30 days apart.

idonthaveanacc 5y ago
Yeah. This is likely for a researcher (i.e. Staff) already in the department who needs (or wants) to teach a class for some reason, but isn’t faculty. Source: I’m not in this department, but I’ve worked at UCLA for ~10 years
- jonnycomputer 5y ago
  I'm not sure not compensating someone is legal though.
  - idonthaveanacc 5y ago
    I’m not sure what they’re doing is legal either (not a lawyer), but I suspect it’s impossible to figure out from a job posting; not enough information.
mrintellectual 5y ago
Is this common in academia? Not a snarky question, just genuinely curious.
- idonthaveanacc 5y ago
  If you mean jobs created with a specific candidate in mind, yes. It’s how I got hired… at UCLA.
  - jonnycomputer 5y ago
    But with no compensation?
    - lthornberry 5y ago
      No, that part is very unusual, and every academic on Twitter is talking about this ad right now.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- fivea 5y ago
  > Is this common in academia? This is extremely common in academia. This is typically used to ensure exceptional long time researchers and PhD students, who already have all the context they need to have, have a shot at staying in the institution as a reward for their work. The standard application process doesn't allow this because you have literally the whole world to compete with for a position, evaluation processes can be gamed and exploited, and in some cases you also have unscrupulous individuals who falsify their credentials in a way that can't be corroborated in a timely manner.
  - mziru 5y ago
    Not exactly. At least at UC, there are non-salaried "Researcher" titles for this purpose. This posting described teaching duties (though it's been taken down now.)
version_five 5y ago
How would that arise, that someone is connected enough to get them to post a course but not pay them to teach it? You can't just walk into a department and volunteer to teach a course.
- yoyopa 5y ago
  why not?
ssl232 5y ago
And everyone else has to waste their time applying for a job for which the successful applicant is predetermined in order for the university to be able to tick the box that it was awarded fairly.
- Aeolun 5y ago
  Chances are nobody is going to apply for a job that doesn’t compensate them? How desperate are they? Working for Mc Donalds would be a better source of income…
  - the_arun 5y ago
    On top of that they are looking for Ph.D candidate.
    - KatePhD 5y ago
      No, you're not reading that right. It states "Qualified candidates will have a Ph.D. in chemistry, biochemistry, or equivalent discipline and have significant experience and strong record in teaching chemistry or biochemistry at the college level."
  - idonthaveanacc 5y ago
    The people who apply to this aren’t just looking for a paycheck.
  - fivea 5y ago
    > Chances are nobody is going to apply for a job that doesn’t compensate them? Having "UCLA professor of X" on a CV looks way better than having nothing. Keep things in perspective: there are people who pay large sums of money to go on boot camps so that they can have a line on their CV that can open doors.
  - dekhn 5y ago
    postretirement I'd be more than happy to have a non-tenure track position with an office on campus and access to some campus resources at one of my neighboring universities. I would not ask for compensation.
tgv 5y ago
That doesn't make sense. All universities I've seen allow guest lecturers.
- idonthaveanacc 5y ago
  Guest lecturers don’t teach full courses at UCLA. Maybe for a class or two, but not for a full quarter.
WheelsAtLarge 5y ago
In some places managers regularly post job openings for jobs they have candidates for. They even go as far as interviewing a few people and not let them know that they have no chance. They have rules that say that all jobs have to be posted. Interesting how a rule that was meant to curve corrupted hiring practices get so easily circumvented.
- sys_64738 5y ago
  They do this especially if there’s a diversity clause for interviews. They already have an internal candidate but need to interview at least one person of color or other diversity qualification. It wastes everybody’ time.

by Mr_P 5y ago

idonthaveanacc 5y ago

Yeah. This is likely for a researcher (i.e. Staff) already in the department who needs (or wants) to teach a class for some reason, but isn’t faculty. Source: I’m not in this department, but I’ve worked at UCLA for ~10 years

jonnycomputer 5y ago
I'm not sure not compensating someone is legal though.
- idonthaveanacc 5y ago
  I’m not sure what they’re doing is legal either (not a lawyer), but I suspect it’s impossible to figure out from a job posting; not enough information.

mrintellectual 5y ago

Is this common in academia? Not a snarky question, just genuinely curious.

idonthaveanacc 5y ago
If you mean jobs created with a specific candidate in mind, yes. It’s how I got hired… at UCLA.
- jonnycomputer 5y ago
  But with no compensation?
  - lthornberry 5y ago
    No, that part is very unusual, and every academic on Twitter is talking about this ad right now.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
fivea 5y ago
> Is this common in academia? This is extremely common in academia. This is typically used to ensure exceptional long time researchers and PhD students, who already have all the context they need to have, have a shot at staying in the institution as a reward for their work. The standard application process doesn't allow this because you have literally the whole world to compete with for a position, evaluation processes can be gamed and exploited, and in some cases you also have unscrupulous individuals who falsify their credentials in a way that can't be corroborated in a timely manner.
- mziru 5y ago
  Not exactly. At least at UC, there are non-salaried "Researcher" titles for this purpose. This posting described teaching duties (though it's been taken down now.)

version_five 5y ago

How would that arise, that someone is connected enough to get them to post a course but not pay them to teach it? You can't just walk into a department and volunteer to teach a course.

yoyopa 5y ago
why not?

ssl232 5y ago

And everyone else has to waste their time applying for a job for which the successful applicant is predetermined in order for the university to be able to tick the box that it was awarded fairly.

Aeolun 5y ago
Chances are nobody is going to apply for a job that doesn’t compensate them? How desperate are they? Working for Mc Donalds would be a better source of income…
- the_arun 5y ago
  On top of that they are looking for Ph.D candidate.
  - KatePhD 5y ago
    No, you're not reading that right. It states "Qualified candidates will have a Ph.D. in chemistry, biochemistry, or equivalent discipline and have significant experience and strong record in teaching chemistry or biochemistry at the college level."
- idonthaveanacc 5y ago
  The people who apply to this aren’t just looking for a paycheck.
- fivea 5y ago
  > Chances are nobody is going to apply for a job that doesn’t compensate them? Having "UCLA professor of X" on a CV looks way better than having nothing. Keep things in perspective: there are people who pay large sums of money to go on boot camps so that they can have a line on their CV that can open doors.
- dekhn 5y ago
  postretirement I'd be more than happy to have a non-tenure track position with an office on campus and access to some campus resources at one of my neighboring universities. I would not ask for compensation.

tgv 5y ago

That doesn't make sense. All universities I've seen allow guest lecturers.

idonthaveanacc 5y ago
Guest lecturers don’t teach full courses at UCLA. Maybe for a class or two, but not for a full quarter.

WheelsAtLarge 5y ago

In some places managers regularly post job openings for jobs they have candidates for. They even go as far as interviewing a few people and not let them know that they have no chance. They have rules that say that all jobs have to be posted. Interesting how a rule that was meant to curve corrupted hiring practices get so easily circumvented.

sys_64738 5y ago
They do this especially if there’s a diversity clause for interviews. They already have an internal candidate but need to interview at least one person of color or other diversity qualification. It wastes everybody’ time.