two-body problem (career) - wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Twobody problem (career) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The twobody problem is a dilemma for spouses (or any other couple) working in typically academia (or sometimes other fields) that describes the difficulty of both spouses obtaining jobs at the same university or within a reasonable commuting distance from each other. The central dilemma is thus a no win situation in which if the couple wishes to stay together one of them may be forced to abandon an academic career, or if both wish to pursue academic careers the relationship may falter due to the spouses being constantly separated. [1] The term "two body problem" has been used in the context of working couples since at least the mid1990s. [1][2] It alludes to the insoluble threebody problem in classical mechanics. More than 70 percent of academic faculty have a working partner, while more than third of faculty have an academic partner. [3] Contents 1 Solutions 2 See also 3 References 4 External links Solutions Typical solutions include: two tenuretrack positions at the same university two tenuretrack positions at two nearby universities (daily commutes possible) two tenuretrack positions with one or both partners commuting between two geographically separate institutions (daily commutes impossible because of distance; partners may be separated weekly or for semesters at a time, depending on their circumstances) one tenuretrack position shared (if they are in the same field) one tenuretrack position and one instructor position one tenuretrack position and one industry position one tenuretrack position and one administration position at a same university Although it is not an ideal solution, a possible outcome is a breakup of the relationship. Long distance commuting certainly places a strain on relationships, especially when maintained over long periods (years or even decades). Many academic institutes recognize the twobody problem is a challenging issue when they hire a new faculty member, and prepare policies to help dualcareer academic couples to settle down at their institutions. An institution in a small, rural state such as Wyoming may be under increased pressure to hire a spouse than in a large metropolitan area with many colleges and universities such as Boston. More proactive institutions may establish funds and procedures to assist with this situation. Frequently a university will seek to hire one person in a couple, thereby making the other the "trailing spouse." One approach is for a tenuretrack position to be funded for the trailing spouse be a combination of funds

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Two-body Problem (Career) - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

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  • 5/17/2015 Twobodyproblem(career)Wikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twobody_problem_(career) 1/2

    Twobodyproblem(career)FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

    Thetwobodyproblemisadilemmaforspouses(oranyothercouple)workingintypicallyacademia(orsometimesotherfields)thatdescribesthedifficultyofbothspousesobtainingjobsatthesameuniversityorwithinareasonablecommutingdistancefromeachother.Thecentraldilemmaisthusanowinsituationinwhichifthecouplewishestostaytogetheroneofthemmaybeforcedtoabandonanacademiccareer,orifbothwishtopursueacademiccareerstherelationshipmayfalterduetothespousesbeingconstantlyseparated.[1]Theterm"twobodyproblem"hasbeenusedinthecontextofworkingcouplessinceatleastthemid1990s.[1][2]Italludestotheinsolublethreebodyprobleminclassicalmechanics.

    Morethan70percentofacademicfacultyhaveaworkingpartner,whilemorethanthirdoffacultyhaveanacademicpartner.[3]

    Contents

    1Solutions2Seealso3References4Externallinks

    Solutions

    Typicalsolutionsinclude:

    twotenuretrackpositionsatthesameuniversitytwotenuretrackpositionsattwonearbyuniversities(dailycommutespossible)twotenuretrackpositionswithoneorbothpartnerscommutingbetweentwogeographicallyseparateinstitutions(dailycommutesimpossiblebecauseofdistancepartnersmaybeseparatedweeklyorforsemestersatatime,dependingontheircircumstances)onetenuretrackpositionshared(iftheyareinthesamefield)onetenuretrackpositionandoneinstructorpositiononetenuretrackpositionandoneindustrypositiononetenuretrackpositionandoneadministrationpositionatasameuniversity

    Althoughitisnotanidealsolution,apossibleoutcomeisabreakupoftherelationship.Longdistancecommutingcertainlyplacesastrainonrelationships,especiallywhenmaintainedoverlongperiods(yearsorevendecades).

    Manyacademicinstitutesrecognizethetwobodyproblemisachallengingissuewhentheyhireanewfacultymember,andpreparepoliciestohelpdualcareeracademiccouplestosettledownattheirinstitutions.Aninstitutioninasmall,ruralstatesuchasWyomingmaybeunderincreasedpressuretohireaspousethaninalargemetropolitanareawithmanycollegesanduniversitiessuchasBoston.

    Moreproactiveinstitutionsmayestablishfundsandprocedurestoassistwiththissituation.Frequentlyauniversitywillseektohireonepersoninacouple,therebymakingtheotherthe"trailingspouse."Oneapproachisforatenuretrackpositiontobefundedforthetrailingspousebeacombinationoffunds

  • 5/17/2015 Twobodyproblem(career)Wikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twobody_problem_(career) 2/2

    frombothacademicdepartmentsinvolvedwithadditionalfundsfromthedeanand/orprovost.Substantialresourcesmustbeofferedexternaltothedepartmentthatwouldacceptthetrailingspouse,asthisdepartmentwouldnottypicallybeinthepositiontohiresaidpersonnorwouldthatparticularpersonnecessarilyrankhighlyifasearchweretobeconducted.Forthisreason,itisnotunusualfordepartmentstorejectthetrailingspouseevenifsubstantialexternalfundsaremadeavailable.Thismakestheproblemparticularlyintractable,asqualifiedpersonsmayremainunemployedsimplybecausetheyarenotanidealfitforthetrailingdepartment.Morecommonly,institutionsdonothavesuchproactiveprogramsinplace.

    Seealso

    AcademiaAcademicmobilityHighereducationOpportunitytrapDualcareercommutercouples

    References1. Benton,ThomasH.(pennameofWilliamPannapacker)(2009)."JustDon'tGo,Part2

    (http://chronicle.com/article/JustDontGoPart2/44786/)".TheChronicleofHigherEducation,13March2009,accessed21June2012.

    2. McNeil,Laurie."REPORTONTHEDUALCAREERCOUPLESURVEY"(http://www.physics.wm.edu/~sher/survey.html).

    3. LondaSchiebinger,AndreaDaviesHenderson,ShannonK.Gilmartin."DualCareerAcademicCouples:WhatUniversitiesNeedtoKnow"(http://gender.stanford.edu/dualcareeracademiccoupleswhatuniversitiesneedknow).TheClaymanInstituteforGenderResearch.Retrieved19March2012.

    ExternallinksSpousalHiringPolicies(http://www.historians.org/grads/Spousal_Hiring_Policies.doc)bytheAmericanHistoricalAssociation

    Retrievedfrom"http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Twobody_problem_(career)&oldid=640151182"

    Categories: Academia Highereducation Educationeconomics Academicculture

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