tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post4663263653742347338..comments2023-06-11T02:19:27.429-07:00Comments on Academic Cog: Academia and the Rule of FourSisyphushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09880634753539329199noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-23895943618547280902009-12-16T06:18:01.046-08:002009-12-16T06:18:01.046-08:00I'm intrigued by the Rule of Four -- although ...I'm intrigued by the Rule of Four -- although I think it's dangerous to use the 4 undergraduate years as a measure for *anything* else in life.<br /><br />I also think that while the Rule of Four may be the right choice for you (i.e., only hit the job market 4 years), it isn't necessarily the right one for others. I know of one person who finally landed an amazing tenure track job on her SIXTH year on the market. I'm not relating this as encouragement for staying on the market -- I think it's really risky, especially in this economy. Plan B is probably the much wiser choice -- but just to say, it's different for everybody. Just as the "Get a PhD, Land a Great Job" model rarely works out for anyone -- so too do you have to craft your own new direction.<br /><br />I've got my fingers crossed for you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-17177854932454029482009-12-14T11:16:35.922-08:002009-12-14T11:16:35.922-08:00Delurking to say: one industry to hire PhDs is tex...Delurking to say: one industry to hire PhDs is textbook publishing (Bedford/St Martins, Pearson, Cengage, and McGraw Hill are the biggies. I think Bedford is especially inclined to hire PhDs.)<br /><br />That being said, I very much hope that this is, indeed your year. Sorry that this is such a painful process.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-43174592903583060362009-12-10T19:07:04.974-08:002009-12-10T19:07:04.974-08:00Hmm...well, it took a friend of mine 5 years on th...Hmm...well, it took a friend of mine 5 years on the market to get a t-t job. I'm not saying it *should* take that long or that anyone should hang in there that long, but it does happen. I think it's totally good and rational to consider this one of the last years you do this - if not the very last. You do need to have an income and something to DO rather than marketing - I understand this time of malaise.<br /><br />I know the thought of more school must make you cringe, but what about law school - or even cooking school? Something with job placement at the end of it! I've often thought that if I couldn't find a position in academia that I'd go to a culinary institute somewhere...<br /><br />I, too, hope it's your year, Sis - but it's such a shitty market that I can't in good conscience tell you not to try again next year as well - you could get a job working for the man and just check out the job listings next year and see if you want to give it another go...<br /><br />All I can do is give a bloggy-hug and beg you to keep us updated when anything develops.<br /><br />((Sis))medieval womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00457130525946143002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-6702926320439026632009-12-10T07:16:19.354-08:002009-12-10T07:16:19.354-08:00Be sure to check out the book So What Are You Goin...Be sure to check out the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Are-You-Going-That/dp/0374526214" rel="nofollow">So What Are You Going to Do With That</a>, which is very helpful on remaking the CV and redirecting your skills and giving a sense of the big landscape of possibilities, and the <a href="http://www.leavingacademia.com/" rel="nofollow"> Leaving Academia blog</a>.<br /><br />I am sporadically blogging about this under the category Transition, but not very usefully.dancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05560093455630610783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-33249750390334293172009-12-09T15:47:04.340-08:002009-12-09T15:47:04.340-08:00I hope this is your year Cog. I have had my finger...I hope this is your year Cog. I have had my fingers crossed for you.<br /><br />Sometimes I wish I would get hired based on my blog. That my bloggy friends would hire me and keep my identity secret forever ;)Psycgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13476028853857792495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-34640414207103532102009-12-09T05:12:25.770-08:002009-12-09T05:12:25.770-08:00You know, I have no idea how to get into anything ...You know, I have no idea how to get into anything like this, but I hear writing instruction manuals is supposed to be a good job lol.... if you find some secret company that likes to hire displaced PhDs, please let me know!canuck_gradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09450635786450351649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-26906375892435693872009-12-08T22:51:28.897-08:002009-12-08T22:51:28.897-08:00Two things:
1) Do you know WRK4US? The job posti...Two things:<br /><br />1) Do you know <a href="http://career.studentaffairs.duke.edu/graduate/wrk4us/index.html" rel="nofollow">WRK4US</a>? The job postings seem mostly to be for historians/people with quant skills, I think, but there's occasionally something interesting. And a network. And it's free.<br /><br />2) The career center at either your doctoral or undergrad university might have staff (often PhDs who left academia) who counsel grad students about how to transition out of academia. I have this fantasy that they have job leads too; this might just be a fantasy. Maybe you've tried them already?<br /><br />But I hope you get lucky this year and none of this is necessary... fingers crossed.<br /><br />Also (in light of comment #1, which is now visible): I think about leaving constantly, and one of the biggest reasons is the profession's massive failure to take care of its members, on so many levels. However, close friends have assured me that the whole world works this way and at least I like what I do. I assume my response to that would be crushing despair, if it weren't for these <a href="http://mnftiu.cc/blog/images/war.046.gif" rel="nofollow">powerful antidepressants</a>...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366909960546184927.post-53317398801188364582009-12-08T22:26:54.873-08:002009-12-08T22:26:54.873-08:00I am thoroughly with you. This is only my third ye...I am thoroughly with you. This is only my third year on the market, but still... I can't live like this forever. It makes me crazy. <br /><br />Maybe a week or so ago, I had a dream that I was driving my car in a parking lot. I found a convenient space, pulled in, and turned off the car. I turned around to look at my 3-year-old son behind me, and he pointed to the front of the car and said, "Look, a truck!" I turned around to see a monster truck driving up over our car. And as the truck was smashing my car and killing us, all I could think of was my husband, my son, and my yet-to-be-born son. I didn't have a single thought about Shakespeare, about my job, about the market, about friends... nada. I woke up thinking that perhaps my priorities have been a little out of whack. <br /><br />Now, we need me to have an income. That's becoming more and more clear as time goes on. But I wonder if giving my life to this market has made me neglect the things that 9-5 workers tend to prioritize: family, friends, having a life outside of work, vacation, being able to leave work AT work (not being a slave to prep, reading, grading, committees, student emails...). <br /><br />I don't know, Sis. When I'm on my death bed, I don't think I'll have a menagerie of student faces flashing before my eyes. Likely, I'll be more concerned with who is holding my hand right there at the end. <br /><br />Morbid? Morose? Wistful? True.Fie upon this quiet life!https://www.blogger.com/profile/12047096700049201873noreply@blogger.com