Friday, January 11, 2013

Personal News

I rarely discuss my personal life on this blog, mainly because I want to keep it focused on investing, but I have some relevant personal news that I would like to share with you.

For the past few years I have been working as a postdoctoral research fellow at a well-known university, with the ultimate career goal of becoming a professor. Despite being successful in my work, I have struggled to obtain a tenure-track faculty position, especially after the academic job market tanked in 2008-09. The job market has gradually improved over time, but there is an overabundance of highly qualified candidates for a small number of positions, resulting in fierce competition.

To give you some context, I applied to about 20 positions at various universities around the country in my current search, and each position received anywhere from 150 to 200+ applications (with only 3-6 people typically being invited for interviews). This put my base-level probability of getting a job at less than 1%, which was rather discouraging. Moreover, this is the final year I can remain in my current position (due to funding and other constraints), so the pressure was higher than ever.

In my previous two searches, I had zero interviews out of a combined total of 45 applications -- how's that for disappointing? Fortunately, this time around I was invited for five interviews. I did some of the interviews back in November and December; they were the important "work-related trips" I mentioned in previous posts. I thought I did fairly well at all the interviews, but I had to wait until other candidates were interviewed before I would find out the decisions of the search committees.

A few days before Christmas I received a very special gift by e-mail: A job offer! And it was from my favorite of all the places where I interviewed! Over the next two weeks I engaged in negotiations regarding the offer, which wrapped up last week. I received the formal offer in the mail this week, which I promptly signed and returned, so it is now a done deal! Starting this upcoming summer, I will be a professor at a good university, working in a department that is a great fit for my research program.

What is the relevance of all this to my investing? It has to do with saving new capital for investment. The salary at my new job will be 62% higher than what I am getting at my current job. While I anticipate some moving expenses (my new job is in a different state) and a moderate increase in my cost of living, they will be more than offset by my higher salary. Thus, starting in the second half of 2013, I expect to save much more new capital for investment than before. I will not know just how much until I get settled, but I am definitely looking forward to increased savings.

Given the difficulty in estimating how much I will be saving later this year, and how much those invested savings might reap in dividends, I have decided not to set specific saving and dividend goals for 2013. However, I will still keep track of my savings and dividends on a monthly basis, monitoring my progress throughout the year.

The main implication of having more new capital for investment is that I will be able to accelerate the growth of my dividend income stream. Earlier this week I posted a dividend income projection that involved a savings assumption based on what I achieved in 2012. I anticipate that I will be able to revise that assumption upward in the future.

What a great way to start off the new year!

32 comments:

  1. Very good news. Congratulations in the new offer. Please keep the updates on the Div growth for years to come. I am sure lots of regular visitors will appreciate the same, and needless to say be motivated to stay on track.

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    1. Anonymous: Thanks! I plan to keep this blog updated on a regular basis for the foreseeable future. Once I am a few months into my new job I will have a better sense of how much "free time" will be available for blogging.

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  2. Congratulations DG!

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  3. DGM,

    Excellent news! Congratulations.

    This is great news on so many levels: something you're clearly excited to do, getting paid well to do it and also being able to supercharge your long-term investment goals. Now you're a professor and an investor. How cool!

    Good luck with the new position. Keep us updated. I hope the move goes well. I was just mentioning on my blog today about an idea of dabbling into real estate...but being a renter allowed you the flexibility to take this opportunity. Great stuff!

    Best wishes.

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    1. DM: Thank you! It is indeed great news on the various levels you mentioned. I am looking forward to seeing how much I will be able to supercharge the growth of my dividend income stream.

      On your comment about being a renter: After I finished my undergraduate degree, I knew that my career path would likely take me to different places, each for a few years at a time. First there was graduate school, then my postdoc, and soon my professorship -- each of which is in a different state. It was advantageous to be highly mobile and not restricted to any geographic area, which is why I've been a renter for the past 10 years. Of course, a disadvantage was being far away from family and longtime friends, as well as having to make the occasional move. That said, once I start my new job I will finally be in a position where I can "settle down," which will be a great feeling.

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  4. I am super pumped for you DGM!! This is a great way to go into a new year and even better that it is something you have been wanting for so long.

    Enjoy!!

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    1. Stoic: Thanks! Oddly enough, given that I've wanted this for so long (and experienced many rejections and frustrations in my previous job searches), it has not fully sunk in yet that I've actually done it. However, I'm sure it will sink in once I start preparations for the move and the job.

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  5. Congratulations, always good to hear. Hope your new location is somewhere sunny and warm all year...like the South:}!!. Wherever it is, Im sure you will prosper.

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    1. HYS: Thank you! My new job is not in a place that is warm and sunny year-round, but that is okay with me. That said, I previously lived in the South for about 5 years and I would be happy to do so again.

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  6. Congratulations!

    Enjoy the new challenges ahead and hope it's a state with long summers and plenty of sunshine (none of that here in Helsinki, Finland).

    Hopefully this gives you an added boost to update your blog. It's a very good read!

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    1. Jack: Thanks! I think they have a decent summer where I'll be living -- probably similar to where I am now. I appreciate your kind words about my blog.

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  7. Congrats on the new position and finally getting some clarity out of the situation. That's awesome that you'll be getting compensated that much more. And it's even better that you found this out to kick off the new year right!

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    1. PIP: Thank you! Clarity is one of the most positive aspects of the whole situation. For over a year now I've been wrestling with uncertainty about my future -- whether I would ever get a faculty position or if I would have to leave academia and do who knows what. I'm glad that I don't have to deal with that uncertainty anymore.

      The extra compensation is definitely awesome. The offer was more generous than I anticipated, so I am very pleased with it.

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  8. Congratulations DGM, I've been very impressed by the quality of some of the research articles that I've seen you put together on Seeking Alpha. Ball & Brown would be impressed!. I had suspected that you must have been in academia somewhere.

    Best of luck for the new position.

    Integrator

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    1. Integrator: Thank you! I have no doubt that some of my academic writing experience is reflected in my articles on Seeking Alpha. Hopefully it has helped raise the quality of my articles.

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  9. That's super good news. I'm being transferred later this year, leaving a city with a population of 150,000 and moving to a city of 6 million. The kids are really looking forward to it. But unlike you, I get no salary increase. Hope it turns out the way you expect.

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    1. ADY: Thanks! I'm doing the reverse move, going from a city of about 2 million to one with a population of around 200,000. However, I am actually looking forward to living in a smaller locale.

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  10. Congratulations on the new job! As an employer I see first hand how tough the labor market still is. Employers can be extremely picky but the market is starting to improve.

    The increased savings will make a huge impact on your dividends long-term. I look forward to watching your dividends grow and at a faster pace now.

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    1. AAI: Thank you! I agree that the labor market is tough but gradually improving. That is certainly the case for academia, but I really wish some changes were made to the system to balance supply and demand. There are simply too many PhDs being churned out and too few faculty positions for those who want academic jobs. I doubt the situation will change anytime soon, unless we finally get the wave of baby-boomer retirements that I've been told is coming for 10 years now.

      I am excited about the prospective changes in my dividend income due to increased savings. I am really curious to know where things will stand a year or two from now.

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  11. This is awesome! Congrats! I am happy for you, mainly when knowing how difficult it could be these days to get a job. It is great for you to have more income and be able to save it all. I am trying to do similar thing. Whenever I get a raise, I immediately save that raise (change my automatic transfer amount) and save/invest it. I am really happy for you!

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    1. Martin: Thanks, I appreciate your kind words! I like your strategy of automatically transferring a raise into savings -- it's a great way to be disciplined about saving and investing.

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  12. Wow congratulations! Way to start off 2013, this is going to be a great year. I'm excited to see what the future holds for your dividend stream.

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    1. CI: Thanks! I'm also excited about what my dividend income will look like in the future.

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  13. DGM - that is great news. I only recently discovered your blog and just today added you to my blog's Reading List.
    Having the extra income to invest will be fun. I left a very well paying job about three years ago, and while I guess by most measures my new job still pays me quite well, it is a far cry from my previous salary/bonus. I enjoy the freedom (and don't miss the stress), but I do miss the extra cash to invest. I suppose if I were a glass half-full guy I could say it has forced be to be more circumspect with my investing!!
    Enjoy the new job and the associated perks - sounds like you have earned it!

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    1. Dining: Thanks for stopping by! My new job will bring me more freedom but also more work to do, though I suppose the higher salary will be compensation for that. It will be interesting to see how things go.

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  14. DGM,

    Congrats on this awesome news! Wow, 60%+ more ammunition to invest with! You'll be like that kid in the candy store ;)

    Glad 2013 is getting off to a fabulous start for you.

    Best wishes!

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    1. FI Fighter: Thanks! The higher salary is definitely nice -- I look forward to seeing bigger paychecks. Best wishes to you as well in 2013!

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  15. This is great news, congratulations! Thanks you for sharing your DGI experiences.

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