I am a PhD student and have accepted a position to be a faculty member this coming fall. I am filing itemized deductions.
This past year, I attended several academic conferences related to my field. Conferences are an important of academia, particularly when one is on the job market, because so much of one's success depends on networking and having name recognition. At some of the conferences I interviewed, at others I presented, and at others I simply networked and attended sessions. I am wondering if I can deduct the expenses for some or all of the conferences, even though technically I was not strictly required to attend the conferences. Would it be more appropriate to claim these expenses as job-related overnight travel expenses, or as job search expenses? Does the fact that I am currently a graduate student and soon to be a professor mean that my occupation is changing, and thus the expenses are not deductible as job search expenses, or is my "occupation" broadly defined for tax purposes as an academic/educator?