Dr. Valerio Baćak (SAS ’15, W ’14)
Ph.D. Sociology; A.M. Statistics
My name is Valerio Baćak, originally from Croatia. I graduated with three degrees from Penn—an MA and PhD in Sociology, and an AM in Statistics from Wharton. I enrolled in 2010 and graduated in 2015.
I was fortunate to get a tenure-track position in the School of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University on my first attempt at the academic job market. I have been at Rutgers ever since, almost ten years now. Since I wanted to be a professor, I didn’t apply to any other types of positions.
By the time I applied for jobs, I already had a green card, so I did not have to contend with the visa process. I was able to complete all my immigration paperwork on my own, without attorneys, and did not experience any challenges in the process, thankfully.
The support I received on the job market was kind and very helpful. I am especially grateful to Professor Grace Kao from the Sociology Department and Dr. Fatimah Williams from Penn Career Services who carefully helped me understand and navigate the academic job market.
My advisor Jason Schnittker was exceptionally helpful, too, as were my fellow cohort members and the causal inference group in the biostatistics and epidemiology department who provided feedback on my job talk.
Words of Wisdom:
The lesson here is that many people at Penn wanted me to succeed, which helped me get the job and career I wanted—and enabled me to successfully negotiate the conditions of my contract. A related lesson is to make connections with folks on campus because many people will want you to succeed and will be there for you when you need them.