[Mr_P]

I'd bet someone just wanted to teach a course for fun and without compensation, but they had to formalize it and pose an actual job listing online for a month.

Probably explains why the "Open date" & "Final date" are just 30 days apart.

[ssl232]

And everyone else has to waste their time applying for a job for which the successful applicant is predetermined in order for the university to be able to tick the box that it was awarded fairly.

[oliwarner]

I've seen roles designed for specific people that have actually ended up filled by a better applicant.

If somebody better wants to come and teach for free, this is how they'll find them.

[Aeolun]

Chances are nobody is going to apply for a job that doesn’t compensate them? How desperate are they? Working for Mc Donalds would be a better source of income…

[fivea]

> Chances are nobody is going to apply for a job that doesn’t compensate them?

Having "UCLA professor of X" on a CV looks way better than having nothing.

Keep things in perspective: there are people who pay large sums of money to go on boot camps so that they can have a line on their CV that can open doors.

[idonthaveanacc]

The people who apply to this aren’t just looking for a paycheck.

[dekhn]

postretirement I'd be more than happy to have a non-tenure track position with an office on campus and access to some campus resources at one of my neighboring universities. I would not ask for compensation.

[the_arun]

On top of that they are looking for Ph.D candidate.

[KatePhD]

No, you're not reading that right. It states "Qualified candidates will have a Ph.D. in chemistry, biochemistry, or equivalent discipline and have significant experience and strong record in teaching chemistry or biochemistry at the college level."

[hackernewds]

Well, wait until you find out about the Labor Certification process that all H1Bs to Green card applicants need to go through.

[WheelsAtLarge]

In some places managers regularly post job openings for jobs they have candidates for. They even go as far as interviewing a few people and not let them know that they have no chance. They have rules that say that all jobs have to be posted.

Interesting how a rule that was meant to curve corrupted hiring practices get so easily circumvented.

[sys_64738]

They do this especially if there’s a diversity clause for interviews. They already have an internal candidate but need to interview at least one person of color or other diversity qualification. It wastes everybody’ time.

[tgv]

That doesn't make sense. All universities I've seen allow guest lecturers.

[idonthaveanacc]

Guest lecturers don’t teach full courses at UCLA. Maybe for a class or two, but not for a full quarter.

[idonthaveanacc]

Yeah. This is likely for a researcher (i.e. Staff) already in the department who needs (or wants) to teach a class for some reason, but isn’t faculty.

Source: I’m not in this department, but I’ve worked at UCLA for ~10 years

[jonnycomputer]

I'm not sure not compensating someone is legal though.

[idonthaveanacc]

I’m not sure what they’re doing is legal either (not a lawyer), but I suspect it’s impossible to figure out from a job posting; not enough information.

[mrintellectual]

Is this common in academia? Not a snarky question, just genuinely curious.

[fivea]

> Is this common in academia?

This is extremely common in academia. This is typically used to ensure exceptional long time researchers and PhD students, who already have all the context they need to have, have a shot at staying in the institution as a reward for their work.

The standard application process doesn't allow this because you have literally the whole world to compete with for a position, evaluation processes can be gamed and exploited, and in some cases you also have unscrupulous individuals who falsify their credentials in a way that can't be corroborated in a timely manner.

[mziru]

Not exactly. At least at UC, there are non-salaried "Researcher" titles for this purpose. This posting described teaching duties (though it's been taken down now.)

[idonthaveanacc]

If you mean jobs created with a specific candidate in mind, yes. It’s how I got hired… at UCLA.

[jonnycomputer]

But with no compensation?

[lthornberry]

No, that part is very unusual, and every academic on Twitter is talking about this ad right now.

[version_five]

How would that arise, that someone is connected enough to get them to post a course but not pay them to teach it? You can't just walk into a department and volunteer to teach a course.

[yoyopa]

why not?