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Thinking about applying to a MA/PHD program - Page 5

post #61 of 66
5/21/10 at 1:07pm
Touché!

But my point is that I'm as obscure as the next guy. It's not like my career options were English Ph.D. or movie star.

Quote:
Originally Posted by why View Post
by erictheobscure

- No, I don't work for minimum wage. I do work in relative poverty (relative only to the level of education I have). But relative obscurity? In contrast to what? The public adoration that lawyers and accountants receive? Sure, I wish I earned as much as my peers who went into law or business. But I'd never want to switch places with them--I like my job, and I like my lifestyle.

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post #62 of 66
5/21/10 at 2:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by erictheobscure View Post
- No, I don't work for minimum wage. I do work in relative poverty (relative only to the level of education I have). But relative obscurity? In contrast to what? The public adoration that lawyers and accountants receive? Sure, I wish I earned as much as my peers who went into law or business. But I'd never want to switch places with them--I like my job, and I like my lifestyle. - The humanities do suffer from funding issues (just as universities in general do). But English remains one of the most popular majors for undergraduates, and English departments play prominent roles in universities and colleges in part because of writing programs. No, English does not offer a direct path to a career. But neither do lots of other non-humanities majors. - Ph.D. stipends have gone up in the last few years. They should range from about $14k - $22k. - If the OP is serious about graduate school, s/he should go talk to professors and listen carefully to what they say. If they don't think s/he has what it takes, they'll either say so explicitly or give ample clues.
I agree with all of that except the last bit. It's critical to talk to professors, but it's also important to keep in mind that many profs -- not just in the humanities, but in all disciplines -- underestimate the improbability of their own career success (i.e., forget all the equally or more qualified classmates who never got TT jobs). When I see a bright young undergrad who loves research, it's hard for me to temper my encouragement of his continuing in that path with my knowledge of the market conditions touched upon in the Chronicle articles linked earlier in this thread.
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post #63 of 66
5/21/10 at 3:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Asch View Post
It's critical to talk to professors, but it's also important to keep in mind that many profs -- not just in the humanities, but in all disciplines -- underestimate the improbability of their own career success (i.e., forget all the equally or more qualified classmates who never got TT jobs)

This is exactly right. I expressed ample doubt to my mentors in undergrad about the availability of TT jobs if I got a PhD (and I'm in a field that has access to both NIH and NSF funding), and they always told me the same thing: "there will always be jobs for good people". Despite this, my mentor was the only person from her cohort (from literally the top program in the country in this discipline) who got a TT job, and that was after a two year postdoc, AND it was at a SLAC, not an R1 university.

My stipend is pretty small compared to other programs, but as a point of reference, I'm making $12.5k this year (125 $100 bills) and a pay cut the next two years to be the instructor of record for two separate lecture courses.
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post #64 of 66
5/21/10 at 3:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by erictheobscure View Post
I don't necessarily advise undergraduates to go to graduate school
Quote:
Originally Posted by erictheobscure View Post
it's no secret that jobs in the humanities are hard to come by
Quote:
Originally Posted by erictheobscure View Post
I do work in relative poverty (relative only to the level of education I have).
Quote:
Originally Posted by erictheobscure View Post
The humanities do suffer from funding issues (just as universities in general do).
Quote:
Originally Posted by erictheobscure View Post
No, English does not offer a direct path to a career. But neither do lots of other non-humanities majors.

It seems to me that your experience confirms the warnings that people here have been giving. Yes you like your life and that's great but the points above stand and their discovery is an important part of this thread for the OP. So thanks for adding your voice.

When people ask me about my profession, I try to warn them about all the things that suck about it. Which doesn't mean I don't like my job.
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post #65 of 66
5/21/10 at 6:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Piobaire View Post
I have found these standardized tests for specialty programs are useful yet irrelevant. For instance, I think the LSAT is a pretty good predictor of who will do well in law school. The only problem is, I don't think who does well in law school is a good predictor for who will be a good lawyer.

In my experience, this is often very true. Not necessarily the norm, but I know lots of great law students who have become very average attorneys. I fall in the most common category in the legal field: below average law students who have become below average attorneys.
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post #66 of 66
5/21/10 at 6:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Piobaire View Post
I have found these standardized tests for specialty programs are useful yet irrelevant. For instance, I think the LSAT is a pretty good predictor of who will do well in law school. The only problem is, I don't think who does well in law school is a good predictor for who will be a good lawyer.

There is an argument posted online today that the LSAT is also a great predictor of being wealthy enough to afford expensive prep classes (some of them over $9,000 and over 300 hours long).
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