job offers

[Gerhard Haszprunar]

Our job offers (3 in the last two years) regularly are responded by more than 30 applicants, and there are always some "outstanding" systematists among them.
Nevertheless I agree entirely that increase of funding of "post-doc-systematists" ist badly needed.

Gerhard Haszprunar

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Prof. Dr. Gerhard HASZPRUNAR
Director 
Zoologische Staatssammlung Muenchen
Muenchhausenstrasse 21
D-81247 Muenchen, GERMANY
e-mail: haszi at zi.biologie.uni-muenchen.de

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From: Prof. Dov Por <dovpor at netvision.net.il>
To: taxacom at usobi.com <taxacom at usobi.com>
Date: 04 October 1999 15:48
>Dear Taxacomers,
>I am commenting on  the announcement of a position for  an insect
>systematist, by Ebbe Nielsen from CSIRO.
>
>This is a situation which repeats itself again and again : An institute or
>department with many aging and retired taxonomists , decides  after many
>years to open a position, looking for an "outstanding systematist who can
>demonstrate leadership in modern systematics, etc.,etc. ".  Do anybody
>really think that there are  outstanding  taxonomists , (not more than 40
>years old since  nobody will hire an elder one )   on the  market
somewhere,
>looking for employment ?
>This type of people does not exist anymore. Such job announcements ,as a
>rule,  go unanswerded and this is the end of the story . I experienced this
>at my own university  over and over again. In  the end the new position is
>closed or   at best , filled-in by a brilliant  young molecular biologist
>who  declares to have some interest in  "modern"  systematics, but despises
>the "descriptive" people.
>Instead of waiting till all your institute  reaches the average age of 60 ,
>it would be much better to find funds for doctorial and post-doctorial
>students  who will step into the positions opened up by their retiring
>teachers.
>No outstanding taxonomist emerges like Athena, fully armed from the head of
>Zeus. There is no spontaneous generation of taxonomists.
>Dov Por