I would really, really value any input that academic dopers/other SDers who know the ins and outs of the academic job market can offer.
I’m in the first year of my first TT job and know, for a variety of reasons both professional and personal, that this position won’t work out in the long run. I went from an R1 to a regional campus, which has generated some of the “not staying” realizations, but it is mostly due to location.
My instincts tell me to put in at least two years at this job, which means going on the job market this fall in anticipation of moving the following summer. Is this, in your opinion, a good length of time to stay if I feel a responsibility to the campus but know that I don’t want tenure?
Most colleges and universities are accustomed to a lot of turnover in junior faculty. Unless you can use those years to do a fair amount of writing and collect good evaluations, there’s no reason to stay just out of loyalty. Also, academic job searches, as you probably know, can take a lot more time than those in the corporate world.
I’m an 8th year faculty member so I have been through the hoops and have been through a few departmental hires, one non-tenure decision, and one pre-tenure dismissal.
There is really no bad time to leave your setting, unless you are in your 5th or 6th year when it looks as though you will not get tenure. As it is, you are already getting late into the hiring season (we already completed a search, interviewed 3 candidates and hired one for the fall), so you may be looking at 10-11 months from now for applications/interviewing.
You may consider talking to your chair and/or dean, depending on your current cilmate, as you would want their support and letters, esp if you are leaving for a setting more appropriate for you.
Good luck and keep us dopers posted on what should be an interesting process.