How plausible is it to become a college professor?

[apocalypse later]

I know this sounds like a dumb question, but if one aspires to become a college professor in a liberal arts field (eg history, anthropology, english, etc), how difficult is it to actually get hired?

Someone told me today "getting hired as a professor is harder than graduating from med school".

 

[Dewey]

http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2009/01/2009013001c.htm

 

[AntiHero84]

Work a real job for a few years and see if you still have the same ambitions.

 

[MetroStyles]

Originally Posted by AntiHero84

Work a real job for a few years and see if you still have the same ambitions.

Not sure what you meant by this. I'm pretty sure anyone who's worked a real job (including me) for a few years will idealize the academic world even more. That being said, it's not really a reliable way of making money or having job security, so despite its attractiveness, for most of us it's not plausible.

 

[Gradstudent78]

Originally Posted by apocalypse later

I know this sounds like a dumb question, but if one aspires to become a college professor in a liberal arts field (eg history, anthropology, english, etc), how difficult is it to actually get hired?

Someone told me today "getting hired as a professor is harder than graduating from med school".

Right now it's pretty competitive and a lot of the jobs are getting pulled because of funding issues. Of course it also depends on what you mean by college professor. If you want a tenure track position it's hard, if you just want to get hired to teach some classes it's not that difficult.

 

[MrG]

It's become relatively implausible, and it's only getting worse.

My experience: I'm in a terminal master's program at a school ranked in the top five for what I do. During my studies I've had the opportunity to befriend a number of PhD students/candidates who are studying toward the PhD in my chosen topic. When they complete their PhDs and enter the job market most of these people are getting jobs at regional universities. This is from a best-of-the-best program in a field that actually generates grant money for the university (i.e. not the humanities/liberal arts).

When I started grad school I had a professor from undergrad who spent most of our meetings trying to talk me out of pursuing a PhD. I did a year in a research master's with intent to pursue a PhD before I became so disillusioned that I switched to a professional master's degree. During the year I spent studying for my MA I had a political philosophy professor who was one of the smartest human beings I've ever met. He held a JD from Columbia, an MPP from Harvard, and a PhD from Chicago (the guy studied under Rawls for crying out loud). Even with those credentials he was working at a state school for less than 70k a year.

My experiences are admittedly anecdotal, but they are uniformly negative. Now that there's a recession it's getting even worse - schools are cutting funding for both grad students and professors. You also have to consider the sacrifices you'll end up making even if you do get a job: you can't pick where you live, you'll end up moving a fair bit to follow better jobs, and a lot of colleges are in little rathole towns in which no one wants to live, and the pay generally sucks in the humanities.

 

[AntiHero84]

Originally Posted by MetroStyles

Not sure what you meant by this. I'm pretty sure anyone who's worked a real job (including me) for a few years will idealize the academic world even more. That being said, it's not really a reliable way of making money or having job security, so despite its attractiveness, for most of us it's not plausible.

Perhaps it is just based on my own perceptions leaving undergrad. I know that with myself, as with some others, academia is often a place to pursue various interests, especially when you are unsure exactly where you want be or what you want to be doing. I think had I worked for a couple years, I would have realized a boring 9-5 job really isn't all that bad. Just remember, your life as a grad student doesn't change all that much once you do land a job.

Perhaps you're right. Had I not pursued grad school, I might have been stuck thinking about the path not taken. Maybe the OP could audit some classes and see what he thinks.

 

[ChiliPalmer]

I know a guy who has nothing but an Ivy League pedigree in the Sciences and the most ridiculous work ethic I've ever seen, bar none.

He tells me that same thing that's been mentioned above.

Funding has all but dried up and his advisors spend the majority of their time writing research grants, trying to justify their existence.

I always assumed my friend would have a stack of job offers a mile high. Seems that isn't the case.

You might keep in mind that as you pursue a PhD, you specialize in something. Some of these people are so specialized, I think the number of people elsewhere in the world who can relate to them can be counted on one hand. In the real world, that kind of specialization can work against you.

From what I can tell, it is just as bureaucratic as the private sector, if not more so.

I can't advise you one way or the other, but I would implore you to seek out someone who will try to convince you not to do it. Taking that approach has helped me in various situations.

 

[EL72]

You can have my job if you want it. Being a prof sucks.

 

[dubcbadass]

Originally Posted by EL72

You can have my job if you want it. Being a prof sucks.

Soon-to-be college grad from a "highly selective" US liberal arts university. Thinking of doing some teaching (don't know on what level or when or for how long). Can you expound on your negative comment?

 

[Gradstudent78]

Originally Posted by dubcbadass

Soon-to-be college grad from a "highly selective" US liberal arts university. Thinking of doing some teaching (don't know on what level or when or for how long). Can you expound on your negative comment?

I think any teaching experience you have will vary greatly depending on where your doing it and what level your doing it at.

 

[bluemagic]

Based on my experiences, I think if you are highly motivated, and have a diverse skill set that includes not just book smarts and research skills, but also the social skills of making friends with powerful and influential professors in your field, it is not that hard to find a decent job, except perhaps in the most saturated fields.

But even if you are just an impractical nerd who who just wants to be able to continue to play video games and take it easy all day (I know several at Top 5 funded PhD programs in their fields), graduate school seem like an ok idea. Even if you don't have a tenure-track job afterwards, and you might not, it seems like an enjoyable, easy way to spend your twenties, especially considering the alternatives.

It's also even better if you really do love your subject and/or have something real to contribute to the field.

P.S. The one thing you really have to be is intelligent, at least in some capacity. A bad writer can be a mathematics professor I would say, and vice versa, but you really must be sharp in at least some things.

 

[Connemara]

Bad idea, particularly in the humanities.

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by EL72

You can have my job if you want it. Being a prof sucks.

Versus a private sector, "real" job, does it really suck? I'm talking full time, tenure track/tenured position. What, vs. the private sector, sucks about it? Just wondering, as I'm aware people (me included) probably idealize the academic life. However, I recently had a physician friend take a job teaching at med school, and he's about 1000x happier than he was in private practice.

Also, I'm thinking...it's not like you end up on the office on Thanksgiving, you get time off over Xmas and NYE, etc. I'm sure the job is not perfect, but what about it could suck harder than the private sector?

 

[philosophe]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Versus a private sector, "real" job, does it really suck? I'm talking full time, tenure track/tenured position. What, vs. the private sector, sucks about it? Just wondering, as I'm aware people (me included) probably idealize the academic life. However, I recently had a physician friend take a job teaching at med school, and he's about 1000x happier than he was in private practice.

Also, I'm thinking...it's not like you end up on the office on Thanksgiving, you get time off over Xmas and NYE, etc. I'm sure the job is not perfect, but what about it could suck harder than the private sector?

Tenure provides exceptional stability and freedom. It's hard to put a price on that. My friends outside academia envy tenure enormously right now. My physician friends aren't having trouble finding work, but the working conditions for doctors these days, especially doctors in cognitive and less procedure-driven fields, are rough.

That said, it is a terrible time to enter most academic fields. It's not just the financial crisis. More generally, the model of higher education we've developed in this country is simply too expensive to survive on a large scale.