Comments | academics_anon: MFA Job Conumdrum

ship2shore in academics_anon

MFA Job Conumdrum

Dec 08, 2008 13:37

Hi I looked through the tags and didn't find anything that matched my question (just some spirited debated about MA vs. MFA vs. Ph.D ( Read more... )

job applications

Comments 4

owl_of_minerva December 8 2008, 19:52:14 UTC

You never know. I don't have an MFA myself, but my sense from my artist friends, some of whom are on the job market this year and some of whom are teaching, is that it's probably best not to put all your eggs in one basket. You may as well apply to teaching jobs this year -- you may not get any, but some of the work you do in preparing for those applications you can then turn around & use in arts grant applications. It would make sense not to count on being able to get an academic gig this year, but it can't really hurt you to try.

I have one friend who didn't apply for an attractive 1-year gig (sabbatical replacement) because she thought she wasn't qualified -- she later found out that the person they DID hire had even less experience than she did. So who knows?

rabswom December 8 2008, 20:07:09 UTC

Why wouldn't you apply? Worst case scenario, you don't get a job. Best case, you do? Either way, you get some experience with the application process.

ship2shore December 9 2008, 03:14:09 UTC

I think I just get really nervous about references.

Some job listings just want names of references, others want letters.

I get completely anxious about asking for letters and hate doing it, and don't want to seem like a bother. So when I do start applying I want to be selective so I'm not bugging anyone.

Neurotic? Yes, very.

eriktrips December 11 2008, 06:13:26 UTC

writing letters of reference is part of the job of being a college instructor/professor. especially in the case of those who like your work and would write good letters for you, they will in fact want to do so, even if on the surface of things they seem very busy and/or find letters of reference to be an annoyance. beneath that annoyance is a genuine desire to see you succeed, and writing letters of reference is one way in which they can help you to do that. even if the actual doing of it is not the most fun thing in the world, they want you to do well and will be glad you asked them for assistance ( ... )