job issues

[i_broke_it_]

I've been reading a few academic blogs lately, and one issue everyone brings up is how hard it is to get a job after grad school, especially for humanities people (see http://academiccog.blogspot.com/ as an example). Basically, most people seem to say "Don't go to grad school, if you

Comments

[kahlan_amnell]

It's worth it because I'm studying something that I enjoy. I am somewhat concerned about the job market, but I'll deal with that when I get there.

[saralinds]

That's my attitude too :)

[hallow000]

i double this notion. the idea that i'm studying something and still in school gives me a sick psychology thrill.

if i wasn't in school and working a crappy job, i'd be working at a crappy job and looking for another better job and probaly be unsuccessful at finding one. its either one or other.

worry about the job market when it comes i guess is the only comfort i can give myself cause there is no gurantee of happiness elsewhere.

[mechanyx]

If you are going to grad school to get a job "in the field", you've probably got it backwards

[obsoletechild]

Or all three!!!

I completely agree with this comment.

[mechanyx]

lol

Well, 1 and 3 would be mutually exclusive unless 3 is your backup plan if 1 doesn't pan out :) lol

[curlgirl510]

"2) It's your purpose in life to study/understand what you're going for (this was my reason) and don't care AT ALL what the costs or consequences of grad school are because there wouldn't be much point to your life without the knowledge it imparts upon you

[evil_admiral]

I'm in grad school for Finance, so with the large number of boomers who will be retiring soon, so I won't have to worry about that as much. But I still will. Plus while I'd be earning only meager aid in a Ph.D. program (I'm doing a MS right now while working), once I have the Ph.D. I'd be able to earn possibly a very nice six figure salary for a job with flexible hours, whose duties include talking to students about stuff I am pretty damn good at

[tylik]

I'm in a pretty different point in my career than most of you. I'm an ex-computer geek, and did reasonably well during the tech boom, even including the tech bust. I'm not independently wealthy, but I am, well, independently frugal. (I could probably take the equivalent of a grad school stipend out of my investments more or less forever. If I were careful. Instead, since I am funded, I am leaving my investments alone and letting them do that lovely compound interest thing

[bafooz]

Yes, I worry about the job market. I think it's silly to go into grad school with lofty ideas about what you'll be doing (unless you're independently wealthy) when you get out if you ignore the reality of the situation, which is that the job market is flooded with PhDs in a lot of fields. What's your fallback? Are you going to be an adjunct forever, or bounce from temporary position to temporary position every year? Some people NEVER get to that TT position and never will. I don't want to have to sacrifice the entirety of my life to academia - I've sacrificed a lot to get to grad school, and everyone has their limits & when they say 'Enough is enough.' I watched professors get stuck in that adjunct-temporary-limbo hell and finally have to go into an entirely different direction because at a certain point, they just couldn't take the uncertainty any longer. I don't want that to be me

[dragondaisy10]

if you wouldn't mind sharing, what specifically is your fallback plan beyond academia? i am very interested to know for my own future plans.

[bafooz]

I'm in history (modern China). I will run screaming for civil service (just like my mother, who is also a historian) & a government job if it's a choice between that or being an adjunct for the rest of my life.

I had long discussions prior to applying to grad school with a family friend who is in a field related to mine - she has done just about -everything- (private foundations, non-profits, think tanks, government appointments, and now she's teaching at a very, very good university) & was adamant that (a) I needed a PhD no matter what I want to do and (b) if academia doesn't pan out, there ARE options. I know that's not the case for every field ... but it's one reason I tilted towards the side of my (broad) field I did. I probably would've been very happy studying lit in an EALC department, but was worried about what I'd do afterAgain, total sacrilege to mention such a thing, but my mom has gotten do more history on a professional level than some of my history profs who bounced from adjunct position to adjunct position. It's a

[dragondaisy10]

this is both encouraging and reassuring. i also want an academic job, but then again, i'm trying to be realistic, especially since i'm shooting for a literature phd. thanks for your reply and the infos!