A data-based guide to the North American ecology faculty job market

Every year for three years (2016 to 2018), I tried to identify every single person hired as a tenure track prof in ecology or an allied field (e.g., fish & wildlife) in N. America. I identified a total of 566 hires. I used public sources to compile various data on the new hires and the institutions that hired them (e.g., number of publications, teaching experience, hiring institution Carnegie class). I also compiled data provided by anonymous ecology faculty job seekers on ecoevojobs.net (e.g., number of positions applied for, number of publications, numbers of interviews and offers). And I polled readers of the Dynamic Ecology blog to get information about applicant and search committee behavior (e.g., regarding customization of applications to the hiring institution). These data address some widespread anxieties and misunderstandings about the ecology faculty job market, and also speak to gender diversity and equity in recent ecology faculty hiring. They complement, and in some cases improve on, other sources of information, such as anecdotal personal experiences.