10 Years Later
This year marks 10 years since I was on the job market for my first academic job. I am now a tenured Associate Professor, and have started to feel settled in the profession. I have had a lot of support from mentors, especially from my advisor and faculty at the University of Kentucky. If you are considering a Ph.D, I highly recommend Kentucky.
As I reflect on the past 10 years and plan my next 10 years, I find myself wanting to help the future generation of economists avoid some of the hard lessons and mistakes that I commonly see in the market. Specifically, I am interested in helping students that share my background. As an Arab, from the Gulf region, I find that our participation in the profession is limited. My path has been slightly different than the average international student from the Gulf region, but the challenges we face remain the same.
The issue arises because most Gulf students are sponsored by organizations in their home country. While this reduces the cost to U.S institutions, it also means that Gulf students are not included in Teaching Assistantships (TA) or Research Assistantships (RA). My career benefited from the connections I developed through TA and RA relationships.
Since most students are focusing on completing their dissertation, and the expectation is that they will go home when done, there is an underrepresentation of graduate and professional Gulf economists at conferences. Similarly, undergraduate students majoring in economics under-invest in out-of-class professional development. Therefore, their graduate applications are not as strong as other applicants, making it harder for them to get accepted in higher ranked programs.
I believe this can be solved with mentorship and an organization that supports the professional development of students from the Gulf region. As a student, and now as a mentor, I have sought an organization that would understand the challenges or one that encourages students of the Gulf region to effectively participate in the profession. I have not found one.
Therefore, I am creating the Association of Gulf Economists. Dr. Amira Alghumgham (Dr. Amira is on the job market) and I are working to get this organization started. We are in the early stages of development. Currently, we are in need of establishing a board. We have received funding to allow the association to provide free 1-year memberships. If you are an economist from the Gulf region, or if your research is concerned with the economics of the Arabian Peninsula, I encourage you to become a member. If you are interested in a leadership position, please reach out to me.
Once you register please make sure to check your junk email for your password. Members get access to the members director and forum. Also, as we grow and we begin hosting workshops, organize sessions at conferences, and provide networking opportunities we will make those available to members first. Membership is open to all economic students, and professional economists across the world.
