Applying to faculty jobs: how close to research area should I be? I am applying to faculty jobs in computer science. Let's say I am in field A.
I found a job ad for an assistant professor position. The ad says something along the lines of &quot;the department is seeking applicants whose expertise is in the area of Field B&quot; and &quot;A focus in (subfield of B) is preferred.&quot; The ad also reads &quot;the applicant should have interests that complement existing departmental strengths,&quot; which I interpreted to mean that you could apply if you do similar research to existing faculty.
Field B is essentially disparate from Field A, but there are fewer people in general studying in Field A than in Field B. (Speaking statistically of data sets like the Taulbee report.)
Would it be appropriate for me to submit an application for this job, even though I don't work in Field B? Or would the department hiring committee get mad that I submitted an application, effectively wasting their time?
You want a job? So apply. That’s all there is to it.
The academic job market is not some kind of neighborhood bonding event or support group where people try to be as nice as possible to each other and avoid hurting each other’s feelings. No one will be mad at you — in fact, the very notion that someone getting mad at you is a consideration you should take into account when deciding whether to apply for a job is, from my point of view as someone who in a typical year looks at anywhere between a couple of dozen and a couple of hundred job applications, completely absurd.
You might not get the job, but there’s nothing inappropriate about applying, unless there are formal requirements listed in the job application that you don’t satisfy.
Good luck with the job search!