# Talk me out of applying to JET! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 11, 2007, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-out-of-applying-to-jet/403629 "2007-05-11T00:38:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-out-of-applying-to-jet/403629/21 "2007-05-11T20:17:03Z")
[QUOTE=Omi no Kami] Thanks for mentioning that, but I’m actually finishing my PhD, not my b.sc. 🙂 [/QUOTE] :smack: My bad. Well, that’s pointless advice! What do you want to do next? Will doing JET derail you from getting on track with the next phase of your career? (I’m taking a faculty position, because I want to teach, but probably more importantly because I’ve been advised that if I want to go the faculty route, I need to start there… rather than do something else, then apply for a t-t position.) ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-out-of-applying-to-jet/403629/22 "2007-05-11T20:24:16Z")
[QUOTE=Hippy Hollow] :smack: My bad. Well, that’s pointless advice! What do you want to do next? Will doing JET derail you from getting on track with the next phase of your career? (I’m taking a faculty position, because I want to teach, but probably more importantly because I’ve been advised that if I want to go the faculty route, I need to start there… rather than do something else, then apply for a t-t position.) [/QUOTE] Well I do a lot of experimental work, so although I’d like to grab a tenure-track position the moment it becomes available, my fallback would just be taking a research position at Haskins Laboratories; that’d put me in a position to keep publishing while waiting for an attractive posting. I guess I was looking at JET like a particularly fun postdoctoral gig, and since the hours aren’t exausting I’d be able to continue publishing even while in-country. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-out-of-applying-to-jet/403629/23 "2007-05-12T00:22:26Z")
[QUOTE=Omi no Kami] Well I do a lot of experimental work, so although I’d like to grab a tenure-track position the moment it becomes available, my fallback would just be taking a research position at Haskins Laboratories; that’d put me in a position to keep publishing while waiting for an attractive posting. I guess I was looking at JET like a particularly fun postdoctoral gig, and since the hours aren’t exausting I’d be able to continue publishing even while in-country. [/QUOTE] I guess I’d ask what your advisor, as well as other members of your dissertation committee think. Presumably, they’re in the field, they can give you the straight dope on how this plan will affect your future goals. And I’d ask questions like, “Would you still be able to write me a strong letter of recommendation if I did this?” If they hesitate or hem and haw, then it’s time to ask them why they feel that way. If they’re down for you doing this, and you feel more secure in the decision… sounds like this could work out well for you. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-out-of-applying-to-jet/403629/24 "2007-05-12T01:00:16Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] No, that’s “JET”. This, apparently, is “JET!” [/QUOTE] Was your father as bold as a sergeant major? ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-out-of-applying-to-jet/403629/25 "2007-05-12T05:38:12Z")
[QUOTE=Hippy Hollow] I guess I’d ask what your advisor, as well as other members of your dissertation committee think. Presumably, they’re in the field, they can give you the straight dope on how this plan will affect your future goals. And I’d ask questions like, “Would you still be able to write me a strong letter of recommendation if I did this?” If they hesitate or hem and haw, then it’s time to ask them why they feel that way. If they’re down for you doing this, and you feel more secure in the decision… sounds like this could work out well for you. [/QUOTE] Well thanks for your advice. I have the professional angle covered, which is why I was asking specifically about JET stuff. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-out-of-applying-to-jet/403629/26 "2007-05-12T05:56:35Z")
I did JET for a year. It was great. I’d recommend it to anyone. But I’d recommend it mostly for people who just earned an undergraduate degree. You’ve got a PhD man!\* Among other things, I’d worry that if you don’t start looking for clinical or academic positions right now, people will later wonder why not, and may pass over you… -FrL- \*Or woman. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-out-of-applying-to-jet/403629/27 "2007-05-14T22:27:34Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] Was your father as bold as a sergeant major? [/QUOTE] 🆒 THAT’S what they’re saying?! Thanks, **Archive Guy**! Another mystery solved. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-out-of-applying-to-jet/403629.md?page=1)