Ok, so year-three academic job search has come to nothing. So over the next year I’ll adjunct a couple of classes, maybe, but mostly try to write and publish my way out of this hole (I think the lack of many publications is the big problem, in addition to bad luck and a horrendous market) and be a stronger candidate next round yaddah yaddah. But really we’ve been counting on me bringing home the bacon-- my SO has a (stalled, because of constant moving) career he loves but it doesn’t pay much and he needs to settle down in a spot to really do what he wants to do, and he’s sacrificed years so I can get the degree and try to do this, so this nomadic slavery shit can’t continue long. So I’m starting to think that if next year a solid teaching job doesn’t pan out I need to head into the non-academic world (gasp!). I WANT an academic career, but I don’t know how long I can deal with depending on the market, so I at least need something to do to FEED MYSELF while I’m flogging my CV.
However, having gone through the grad school brainwashing machine, I can’t imagine what I can do. I’m told that my qualifications and degree are highly valuable, but I can’t imagine to whom. I’m having major tunnel vision. Facts: PhD in the arts/humanities. Skills garnered along the way: um. . . research and writing. Don’t care for the idea of teaching anyone under 18. I’m unfortunately one of those born nerds who really loves the academic scene and belongs at a university-- it’s just not working out.
So ideas for directions to head if it comes to it? The one that comes to mind is the publishing business-- editing or something like that. Anyone know anything about private sector research in humanities? Any other thoughts for a humanities dweeb with an aesthetically-trained eye and an interest in cultural studies/ travel/ creative arts/ academic writing/research?
I switched gears away from academia 20 years ago, and lived to tell the tale – the difference was I left with the intention of not going back. I ended up in magazines, which I adore – it’s all about communication. My excellent aesthetic sense helps quite a bit (we regularly run my photos in the magazine I now edit – despite the fact that I have zero training, I’m actually a pretty good photographer), but my job is mostly about putting together words and communicating information as clearly as possible.
The ability to write coherent English prose is actually a pretty rare skill, and more so every day. You should definitely look into publishing – books, periodicals, newspapers, etc. Writing and editing are both skills that are totally saleable. Depending on where you end up on the food chain, “teaching” doesn’t entirely go away – I’ve done a lot of mentoring of young uns over the years and really enjoy that.
Unfortunately, I have no “e-z guide to getting into publishing” tips – my own path thence was kind of random and fortuitous – my first job after leaving academia was three years as an assistant to a rare book dealer (writing and research skills coming in handy there).
Go find a good “looking for a job” book (there’s a couple of shelves of them in every bookstore). Find one that covers resumes, interviewing, etc. Most of them cover pretty much the same info. (I just spent 20 minutes looking for the one I used when I looked for a job last year, which I liked, but have no frigging idea where it is and less idea what the author or title was oh well). It doesn’t really matter which one – they all tell you to inventory your skills and network, and provide tips for both. One book is enough – don’t research this process into the ground.
If you’d like feedback on your resume, feel free to email me – as someone who’s made the transition and someone who’s done a fair amount of hiring, plus as a professional editor, I’m a pretty good resource on this and I’m happy to help.
Have you considered student services jobs at colleges/ universities? These can include coordinating study abroad or international students, running a tutoring or writing program, or more straightforward stuff like registration.
Believe it or not, there might be some possibilities with software design…even if you don’t know how to do it.
They need people with advanced degrees to help create “intelligent” interaction with software…worth a shot - contact some software design companies.
BTW, Monster dot com is not a horrible place to start - gives you an insight as to what jobs are in demand and might help you “tweak” your skills to fit.
I was about to suggest the same thing. In an alternate universe, I’d have my PhD in history. I love research, writing and teaching. However, I wasn’t willing to put up with getting stuck in the adjunct cycle and moving every two years for the sake of a job. I work in an administrative position at a college and, while it’s not the most intellectually satisfying job ever, I enjoy it. I have a lot of interaction with students and faculty; I do a lot of writing as part of my job; and I like working in an academic setting. The pay is lower than it would be for a comparable job in the private sector, but the benefits are good: decent health insurance and retirement plan and 5 weeks paid vacation a year. And, frankly, I’d have to work really, really hard to get fired. Many of the staff at my college have graduate degrees in liberal arts fields totally unrelated to their current jobs, so it’s not an uncommon transition to make.
Be patient Capy the jobs will come. Many of you know I used ot teach at my alma mater after receiving a Phd. A lot of good that did me with no publications and limited desire to be a career academic. So I switched fields to non-profit and am now an executive director of a large environmental non-profit. I love it. I’m young, [mid-30’s] no kids, a lovely wife and am having the time of my life. There were several big bumps along the way. Depression over not publishing, moving from New England to AZ and back again, and deciding to hold of on starting a family so my wife and I could enjoy our careers a little. All of those have had different circumstances, but in the end I would not have changed a thing.
Keep abreast of the latest and greatest in your field, remember you are as expendable as anyone, and stay humble. Things will happen soon.
The toughest part of job hunting with a Phd is that in some of todays markets big business would rather pay an M.A half for the same job a Phd candidate would demand more for. What they don’t know is that not all Phd’s would be demanding more for a certain job just because they have a doctorate. This is a sad but true reality.
Well, how good are you with various MS Office software. Short term at least, there are toms of administrative jobs open for that. Longer term, maybe desktop publishing, newsletter design, or something alsong those lines?
I am in a similar boat, with a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology. Post-docs in science are available, but pay almost less than grad school in most cases and require even more hours (which won’t provide for my wife/son). After 6 months of job searching I threw in the towel. So like you I’m teaching adjunct at a small college but went one step further and have decided to teach at the high school level. I hear it is a very rewarding profession, and now would be the time to apply. You can get a temporary certification easily but don’t usually need one to teach at a private school.
You could investigate policy analyst jobs in the public sector. You might also want to drop the PhD from your resume. I’ve dumbed down my resume to get jobs. Some employers/hr people are very fond of the idea that if you are overeducated for a job you won’t do the job justice so they won’t even consider you.
You should also either talk to a career counsellor or do some research on career and resume sites to restructure your resume. Resumes that academia likes won’t usually fly for other jobs. Another tip is to call the organization you are applying to and see which sort of resume they prefer. Some are stuck on chronological, some want results-based, others are ok with functional, and many dislike more than a couple of pages.
And hang in there; what I’ve heard is that there should be a fairly hefty wave of faculty retirements in the next few years as boomers begin to drop out of the working world.
Every state has a humanities councils and an arts council that administer grant money from the NEH and the NEA. More populous states have pretty large staffs. My first job out of grad school was with a state arts council and I really enjoyed it. Large cultural organizations – museums, symphony orchestras – might be another source of jobs.
I assume you’re checking out the Chronicle of Higher Ed, which does list some non-academia jobs?
Hi Capy: you were incredibly supportive in a thread I started in November re: humanities job market. I’ve been fortunate to land an excellent job about the moment I was going to give it all up in despair; I encourage you to try one more job season before you give up your academic dream.
Jennshark-- congratulations! It’s very cool to see people getting something. A pal of mine who was one year ahead of me finally turned up a great job on his fourth year on the market, so there’s hope. (art history, by the way. Could be worse, like straightup history, or English. I’d throw myself off a bridge, seriously).
I started out in publishing, and I concur, but with a caveat: publishing, especially at entry level jobs (i.e. indexers, assistants, and suchlike), does not pay terribly well. But I still miss the level of office chitchat that I had at my indexing job, just out of library school. One day we’d be discussing the origins of human language, the next music, and after that the virtues of affirmative action. If you brought up such topics at any other kind of office people would ask you if you’re feeling all right.