You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.
What does House Hunters International tell us about navigating an academic career?
This HGTV show, where singles and couples and families search for homes to rent or buy outside the U.S., has become must-see viewing in the dual-academic Kim household.
Yes, we know that the show is mostly fake. That the apartments and houses featured in the show as "potentials" are frequently the ones where the renters/buyers are already living. That sometimes, the properties shown are not really for sale or rent. And that the conflicts between the couples are amplified, staged and edited for dramatic effect.
This knowledge does not stop us from compulsively watching,
Why is House Hunters International so compelling for one academic couple (us), and what might our viewing predilections say about academia?
I have some theories.
You Are Maybe More Than Your (Alternative) Academic Job
Academic jobs, including alt-ac gigs, are all consuming. As academics, our identities seem to be tightly wrapped up into what we do. In House Hunters International, the house hunters are refreshingly relaxed about their careers. Many have put the desire to live in a foreign country ahead of their career aspirations. The people we see on House Hunters International are defining their lives less on what they do and instead where they choose to live.
Maybe I Can Do My (Alternative) Academic Job From Anywhere
The show offers a glimpse of a fantasy life where work is not so consuming and all encompassing. Where the place one lives is prioritized over what one does. Successfully navigating academic careers usually means letting the job dictate where one lives. You go where the gig is.
What if it didn't have to be that way? What if we could choose the big city or small town where we wanted to live -- anywhere in the world -- and do our academic jobs from that destination?
Where would you live?
I am starting to see weak signals of remote work arrangements among academics. Professors who teach exclusively online can live anywhere. For that matter, those who work with online faculty to develop and run courses can also be remote. Platforms such as Zoom and Slack make distributed alternative academic employment more feasible. House Hunters International might spur other traditional and alternative academics to ask if they could do their jobs from around the world.
Could I Get An (Alternative) Academic Job Anywhere in the World?
Often on House Hunters International, the move is precipitated by a job change. A single individual or a family member gets transferred overseas or is starting a new job in a new country.
A few universities have overseas campuses. I know a bunch of colleagues who have moved their families to work on campuses in Asia and the Middle East.
Other examples of academics living and working outside the U.S. include stints leading study abroad semesters. And of course, the lucky few professors who still get sabbaticals may choose to live abroad.
For most academics, however, opportunities for living abroad while maintaining employment at their current institution are limited. The job is where the campus is located.
How one would go about getting a traditional or alternative academic gig outside the U.S. is, for me, a complete unknown. House Hunters International contains a large proportion of Americans teaching in English at K-12 schools. We seldom see folks taking up jobs at universities.
Finding work for alternative and traditional academics is not like the job-search process in other industries. If you work in academia, you mostly work for a college or university. Good academic jobs are few and far between.
For traditional and alternative academics, House Hunters International represents an appealing fantasy world. One where career navigation is less stressful and the location is more flexible.
As of now, the closest that my wife and I can get to an international academic career is to stay at home and watch House Hunters International.
What do the TV shows that you like to watch say about your academic career? Have you had better luck than us in figuring out how to be international academics?
What are you watching?
