tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post4347599536735745682..comments2023-06-11T02:19:27.429-07:00Comments on Academic Cog: And how were _your_ MLA interviews?Sisyphushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09880634753539329199noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-25539700826521610592008-12-30T23:40:00.000-08:002008-12-30T23:40:00.000-08:00One of the schools I interviewed with already aske...One of the schools I interviewed with already asked someone for a flyback, but not me (according to the wiki). They did ask for a writing sample, though, which I'm guessing means I'm not totally out of it. But who knows? I think the job market is 90% luck, 9 percent charisma, and 1% your actual ability to teach and/or research. And hey, if you're in the Bay Area, Berkeley recently posted an ad for lecturers to teach comp next fall. Minimum pay is about 43K -- not much for SF bay area, but a hell of a lot better than teaching 4-5 classes for 3K a piece. Plus, it's renewable for 3 years or something along those lines. You might just check it out if you're interested in teaching comp. Deadline is Feb. 6 I think. I'm considering applying though Berkeley is about 45 minutes from my house.Fie upon this quiet life!https://www.blogger.com/profile/12047096700049201873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-71734789512906060692008-01-13T12:17:00.000-08:002008-01-13T12:17:00.000-08:00Thanks for the sympathy everyone; really, writing ...Thanks for the sympathy everyone; really, writing it all out made me feel better immediately, like lancing a boil and all the yucky pus came out or whatever.<BR/><BR/>letters: yeah, Prof I has not seen the letters and as far as I know does not have any information on 'em. But I may ask this prof to read them and see if anything's up. (Crazy, if I can figure out a way for the letters to get from you to Prof I this may work.) Really, it's the fact I picked a stupid diss topic in an overly-glutted field that hanging me up, according to Prof. I. But, whatever. I wouldn't want to be here at all if I were working on a "marketable" topic I wasn't interested in.<BR/><BR/>D, this is it, man ... this is your average day, not even a bad one ... you're at a school with more reputation, I think, but still you should sift through its placement rates ... and think about your field carefully. My "marketability" comment above aside, the job market really _does_ look different depending on what field and what approach you're in. <BR/><BR/>I don't know that the pubs comments are making me feel any better cause now I'm going, "but people _can_ get jobs ABD with no pubs! Why, then, did I not get any interviews!?!?"<BR/><BR/>But you know what? Fuck em. I'm going to go eat lunch.Sisyphushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09880634753539329199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-33181514666030340962008-01-12T16:28:00.000-08:002008-01-12T16:28:00.000-08:00Sigh...this makes me dread the return to school ev...Sigh...this makes me dread the return to school even more (I return next week). My MLA wasn't as spectacular as many of my advisor's students on the market this year and in the past. I don't know about the publications part of the equation - I've seen plenty of people get jobs the first year on the market with 0 publications. <BR/><BR/>So much of the job market is out of our hands - it isn't entirely about us. But then, it is so easy to obsess about what we think we could do, isn't it?k8https://www.blogger.com/profile/07547334819703279971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-76310358515890375452008-01-11T19:37:00.000-08:002008-01-11T19:37:00.000-08:00Seriously, Sis--don't let the market's total sucki...Seriously, Sis--don't let the market's total suckiness on all fronts discourage you. Yeah, it wouldn't hurt to have an external person review the letters to make sure there aren't any unknown bombs or offhand weirdnesses. But on the topic of the "slow publication record": I hadn't published crap in my field when I went on the market, and it didn't hurt me. Moreover, from the other side of the hiring process: of the folks we MLA interviewed/ asked for flybacks this year, some have no publications, while others w/ lots got passed by. It was more about potential and vision. Don't beat yourself up over publications.Renaissance Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06243095907452011303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-25525191678354728052008-01-11T08:02:00.000-08:002008-01-11T08:02:00.000-08:00argh. all i can say is argh.i want you to tell th...argh. all i can say is argh.<BR/><BR/>i want you to tell them all to go stick fingers in sockets, but i know this isn't a reasonable approach.<BR/><BR/>thinking of you.gwoertendykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00542058287462910446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-26235619685113111022008-01-11T05:50:00.000-08:002008-01-11T05:50:00.000-08:00I've probably mentioned this but I have been told ...I've probably mentioned this but I have been told I will interview at the school where I currently adjunct for my dream-ish job. But I still haven't gotten an email scheduling it, and I am NOT freaking out till sometime next week after classes start, but I am soo uncomfortable in the hallways. My letters of recommendation writers all said "wow you're very qualified" and "it almost looks like they wrote the post with you in mind" (I wish, but they didn't-- they didn't know I did this particular field, I think). <BR/><BR/>So it's just an all around weird time of year in any university that is hiring. I imagine last year, the guy whose position I am now trying to fill, who had gone to MLA privately and interviewed when no one else know, must have felt very weird at this time of the year, too. It was just that no one knew it yet.<BR/><BR/>Most of the stats I've seen have suggested that most jobs are being gotten by people who have been several years out of grad school already. Either having had postdoc work or adjuncted. I think it's very rare to go ABD nowadays. Yes, yes, if you're at a ver big fancy school, maybe. But at my school, I think that's actually a bad thing for anyone applying-- they want someone who is going to stay here in Little Tiny Town at the small branch SLAC. Not someone who sees this as the "First job". They really do not want to interview again in two years, and if an applicant is from Some Big City Prestigious school, I suspect they figure that's what will happen.<BR/><BR/>Anyway. You're fine. I didn't even THINK about getting a job as an ABD. And people are very weird about it, too. Just keep working. You'll find a position. And the baby boomers have to retire SOMEday. :)zombieswanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16526552785759161988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-319052855635291922008-01-10T22:05:00.000-08:002008-01-10T22:05:00.000-08:00ay sisyphus, i am normally a lurker, but this reso...ay sisyphus, i am normally a lurker, but this resonated with me so hard on two counts: my mom chides me for waiting around for a job to pop open up at stanford (although cal would be alright too, as long as i'm near home in sf)--if i make a strong case for myself, they'll open a position for me. oy. but moreso, the questions! i don't know if you have gotten this, but after i responded to their market queries by saying that it had really not been a fabulous success this year, a bunch of people then nodded wisely and proceeded to inform me that it had been impossibly stupid of me to go on the market while i was still abd. grr. the hindsight advice is really not the most helpful.<BR/>all my best to you in tuning it out and having productive chats with your advisor.ms. babyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07147786791335054355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-17490833223069532812008-01-10T21:01:00.000-08:002008-01-10T21:01:00.000-08:00I thought what the prof was suggesting was that th...I thought what the prof was suggesting was that there was a problem with the letters of reference. (Got that impression by the "outside person" comment) If that's the case, have them sent to me and I'll be happy to look at them, Sis.Dr. Crazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12457967076373916629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-59572066456864756062008-01-10T18:24:00.000-08:002008-01-10T18:24:00.000-08:00Oh, the horror, the horror! If you have a placemen...Oh, the horror, the horror! If you have a placement office, and haven't already done it, do have them look at your letters. Or next time Prof I says something like that, ask her/him to look at them. If s/he agrees, do it. If not, it'll make 'em shut up.<BR/><BR/>And there's the refrain (true, but hard to take): it's not about you. It's about their department and that job.Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10849272391043604637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-89341901359900800932008-01-10T17:43:00.000-08:002008-01-10T17:43:00.000-08:00Give it to me straight, doc... should I just get t...Give it to me straight, doc... should I just get the fuck out of grad school now? Should I wait until I get my masters and parlay it into a middle management position at an uptown Blockbuster? What's a boy to do?<BR/><BR/>Good luck. I'm pulling for you.Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18261973621703572980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-61544267948132355902008-01-10T17:09:00.000-08:002008-01-10T17:09:00.000-08:00"Maybe something is wrong with your letters"?Is Pr..."Maybe something is wrong with your letters"?<BR/><BR/>Is Prof I. kidding? I would have responded with, "Do you think there was a problem when I said in my letters that I will only accept a 2/1 teaching load (graduate-level courses only), a salary no less than $70K, and the rank of Associate with tenure?"<BR/><BR/>Just a thought.The Mortgage Slayerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05728595730663874822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-67594970327232001262008-01-10T17:06:00.000-08:002008-01-10T17:06:00.000-08:00You ought to be tired, after a day like that!You ought to be tired, after a day like that!undinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05589384016564587214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-61597353720946504202008-01-10T16:51:00.000-08:002008-01-10T16:51:00.000-08:00/comfortI sympathize with the misery of the job ma.../comfort<BR/><BR/>I sympathize with the misery of the job market. Just reading this makes my stomach go sour, even after a number of years. Ugh.Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com