Experiences at Duke University

Currently, I'm in a cubicle space in the lower level of the Library. The space is shared with the systems support and other "technology focused" units of the Library.

I live in a little town about a half hour away from Duke University; I just hop on the interstate and go east.

The salaries and benefits are competitive. There are some good arts and cultural events to take advantage of, if you have the time.

Do as much research as you can about other similar units on campus or people you will work with. Duke has a very loose administrative structure with many overlapping responsibilities in different areas. It may take some doing to find out who you need to talk with to get things done.

I've had wonderful experiences being on committees and working groups with members of the Library staff at Duke. It gives us an opportunity to share some different perspectives, since I'm coming from the faculty teaching and technology area at the university.

Advancement at Duke University can be difficult. Individual units and divisions are usually fairly small, so it's difficult to "move up" within the organization; typically, one would seek a move to a different unit or division for a more challenging or advanced mid-level position. Management and administrative positions are typically filled by outside hires from similar research institutions....

The Library, where I work, has a participatory process - candidates for professional positions will typically do a presentation that's open to the entire Library staff and interested faculty and will have a full slate of meetings over a day with members of various units within the Library. Some higher-level positions at the university might have a similar interview process that goes on for two days with the candidate meeting with representatives of administrative and faculty groups on campus. In many job searches, candidates in early rounds are given a telephone interview and that pool is narrowed down to those that will interview on campus....