People working as assistant professors, can you share your experience with the job. How did u land that job, whats your work environment like, how much do u get paid, also any tips on how to get a job while doing phd with net already cleared. And also what to expect from the job.

Thanks

I teach at a good NLU I feel. I applied 5 times here for the post of Assistant Professor and got it 5th time. I have worked as a Research Fellow at a different NLU gor 3 years, joined PhD and then worked at this NLU for about 1.5 years at a different role. While I was in that role, I failed twice to land the role of AP. Went to a different uni for an year and then got the role. Honestly don't know what changed except a little more publications.

I like my job. I get to teach one batch only, which helps me focus on teaching. You get ample time to research and publish. The pay is as per UGC standards, so it will never be equal to even a Senior Associate at a law firm.

How to land this role- keep publishing while you're doing a PhD. If you're doing Masters or Bachelors, keep publishing. Try to make connections as well. Apart from all this, I don't really know what to say.

No. It was from a state law University. Going from an NLU to this law uni never felt like a downgrade though, the academic rigour was higher at this uni when compared to our Tier 3 NLU. Secured a job at a good NLU right after LLM as a Research Fellow.

One thing I'd advise is to go for your PhD as early as possible. I cleared JRF my but it lapsed. I should have joined somewhere for PhD, even at a tier 3 or tier 4 college I feel.

I have joined Ph.d and am actively looking for job of assistant professor. Before joining Ph.d i applied for some colleges but i was shocked at how much they were offering, it was very low. So i decided to take admission in Ph.d. Now i am again in the need of a job but cant figure out how to go about it. Is there amy suggestions you would share to get a job with a decent pay.

I do have some research papers too. But am not from an NLU background.

Any suggestions would be very useful to me.

Thanks

Apply at your old schools. Like wherever you did your grad or postgrad from. They would definitely let you in. And after 3-5 years you may switch after building a good CV. Academia doesn't care about internship and work experience. It's more about connections and research publications. Work on that.

Why would it be a downgrade? NLUs themselves are state universities. Just because they have a "national" tag doesn't mean they are. A downgrade would be if you went from a central university like JNU, IITkgp, DU, BHU to a state university. Even certain private universities like Jindal and symbiosis are better than tier 3 NLUs.

I think you aren't from the profession , otherwise you wouldn't be saying nobody cares. Buddy, there's something called "connections" and politics. How many NLU alumni are working in central universities ? Zero. None in IITs, IIMs, JNU, BHU, DU. Do you know why ? The Central University lobby will never allow it. You maybe from the worst unknown central university in India, yet you will be preferred over an NLU alumni. That's the politics. Look at JNU law and governance centre or Centre for international legal studies centre, none of them are from NLU, not even one.

On the other hand a central University alumni is easily accepted to any NLU, as long as they have teaching and research experience.

You don't believe me ? Go to any NLU faculty page and you will find plenty of central and even state university alumni. Go to a central university website and show me an nlu alumni. That's the whole politics of education.

None are working in IITKgp. Also majority NLUs who are working in IIMs and IITs have a ug from NLU not a PG or PhD. Their PG or PhD is either from central Universities like IIT and IIM itself or from foreign universities. None have done their last degree, which is usually a PhD from an NLU.

They wouldn't go into BHU since they won't get selected. That's the reality. Many of my seniors, batchmates and juniors have tried. It's pure politics to retain only central university. And who cares about syllabus or practices when you're being paid the 7th commission equivalent, a permanent job and immense power in the state through the judiciary and other competitive exams.

Hey man. I am 35. Starting a PhD at a private university. Due to financial and health issues I did my LL.M quite late from an NLU, and subsequently have published 2 papers in Scopus Q2. Is ageism a huge factor joining so late ? What should I do during my Ph.D to ensure a somewhat decent chance at a job ? Publications, connections, TA experience ? Also does NLU tag matter for a PhD ? I am afraid since I am pivoting to academia so late in life.

Join any university and complete your phd. The success ratio for a PhD is less than 50%. So they're not a lot of people who actually go on to complete their PhD. They usually pivot. So if you have a PhD you have a better chance. Don't worry about age, especially if you have publications and a PhD.

No they don't. I know plenty of people who dropped out at the middle 3 year mark. People burnout and lose passion or they have a lousy advisor. Majority who drop out get a job someplace else, since almost everyone is giving some sort of competitive exams here and there. Especially in law where pcsj, apo etc is till 35-40.

Please don't misguide for the sake of it. A friend did his PhD from JNU and yet he's not being hired as an AP anywhere because his supervisor refuses to actually write a letter of recommendation. I know you like to ragebait with "central universities" but places like AMU are a hotbed of petty politics and nothing else.

You don't need a letter of recommendation or reference to be an AP. You can easily apply through the state exam that is a written+interview+merit, which has nothing to do even with a PhD. Similarly, many universities only ask you for a CV and interview. You can easily write your supervisors name in the CV and they won't ask your for the recommendation. Your friend doesn't understand how interview works. I have personally met people who became APs with just an LLM and NET. The only place where "recommendation" works is when your advisor actually recommends you backdoor to another university.

Repeat after me very slowly, very quietly, with 100% focus, please: brand of the PhD supervisor is the only "brand" thing about a PhD that matters on a CV. Institutional brand is important in the sense of how much does a particular university support you, how good that support is, how good are the research facilities, are you made to feel isolated or a part of a research community or isolated as a PhD student, but these considerations are for you, not for your prospective employer.

But how does the brand of the phd supervise matter when you don't even get to choose your phd supervisor?? Majority NLUs don't allow you to choose and they are chosen for you. I have many batchmates and seniors doing their PhDs in both NLUs and central universities, and none of them got to choose their PhD advisors. They were just forced upon them, hence getting shitty advisors. In this case, doesn't the brand of the universities and the publication record matter more ??

There is, in india, central university or Central jobs will always have more advantages especially when it comes to politics, power and leverage. We dream of Harvard, a private university, but cringe at actual good private universities in India. That's the mentality. Government is better than private for Indians. Even if the private is better for opportunities and reach

It is a little more strict now but there are easy ways to do it. If you separate social privilege from what is required then it is not that hard. Fancy degree types get extra benefits for sure but on the whole nothing special. Just find the UGC list, make sure you meet the requirements and network the VCs and senior profs and be pleasant to everyone. Most of the work is outside the classroom. Be smart and make sure those who make promotion decisions rely on you and know how much you do.

The problem is that there are very few APs here. But to reiterate, there's no checklist or things like that which can ensure you a job. But ideally, if you have PhD and a couple of research publications, you should be able to land a job. Some places ask for experience as well.

It's a hit or miss. I know people who are APs from the following route:

1. Only LL.M.

2. LL.M. + NET

3. LL.M. + M.Phil

4. LL.M. + NET + M.Phil

5. LL.M. + M.Phil + Ph.D

6. LL.M. + Ph.D

7. LL.M. + Ph.D + Postdoc

In short, no one has any idea what works. The minimum is an LL.M. After which a NET, m.phil, PhD or none is desirable. Some have zero publications, some have ten. Some have zero work experience, some have more. Some have connections, some don't. Some are alumni, some are not. Some are experts, some are not.

Unfortunately the entire process in this country is messed up when it comes to education.

Now when you look abroad. A PhD is mandatory to be an assistant professor. The most you can be without one is a lecturer/reader. Still they would expect you to be a PhD pursuing soon.

The only advice I can give is get your LLM. Apply immediate for a PhD. And apply everywhere. Your pursuing PhD is more important than your NET or your publications. Work experience depends totally in the university. Some value it, some feel since theory and practice is different it doesn't matter. The proper format would be LLM-Phd-Publications.

Now everything else is based on how you get in, your salary is determined by your position and you leverage through that process. A PhD scholar can demand the 7th pay commission equivalent salary. A LLM with NET may not. My two batchmates one with a LLM and another with an LLM and JRF got selected together in the same university. One got 25k per month to teach, the other got 40k per month. That's the difference.

The leverage is based on your connections, you profile and your luck.