Why I went back to school in Higher Ed
As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve recently gone back to school for an M.Ed in Higher Education. Regular readers may know that I already have a humanities PhD, which raises a pretty obvious question: “What the hell Dan? Aren’t you done with school? Why collect yet another degree? Seriously what is …
On the Market VII: Job Candidates Are People Too
Another year, another job season. Sigh. I’ve been on the market for several years now, and regular readers may remember that in that time I have applied to many, many, many jobs. The positions I’ve applied for since finishing my PhD have represented a generous sampling of nearly all that our …
Inexhaustive List of Jobs not Received with a Humanities PhD
Inexhaustive List of Jobs not Received with a Humanities PhD from a “World Class” University Assistant Professor at a University (37) One-Year Visiting Professor at a University (6) Adjunct Lecturer at a University (4) Post-doctoral Researcher at a University (5) (6)* Acquisitions Editor for a University Press Associate Editor for a …
Universities should be employing surplus PhDs–as administrative staff.
Of the many criticisms I hear levelled at the current state of higher education, I would say that the following four are among the most frequent: The current reliance on contingent faculty rather than full-time professors is both undermining educational quality and creating a permanent academic underclass of PhDs working …
Top Ten Ways Academia and Stand-Up Comedy are Secretly the Same Job
10. You basically have to take any paid gig you can get (beggars can’t be choosers!) 9. Unusually high rates of anxiety and depression among your peers 8. Constant pressure to write new material 7. Sometimes you take a long trip just to end up talking to an empty room 6. Audiences are …
On the Market VI: Excellence in Teaching and Student Evaluations
This year’s academic job application season is drawing to a close, and, as ever, I find the compilation of the last few packets to be tinged with the kind of grim urgency that accompanies the knowledge that all of the searches I applied to earlier in the year have already …
On the Market V: Diversity Statements
One of the (least) fun things about the academic job market is that every application asks for a different constellation of documents. This is especially onerous when putting together your first few applications, which can take several hours of (unpaid) labour to piece together. As time goes on, though, you …
God and Dan at BYU: (Discriminatingly) On the Market III
Dan refuses to honor Brigham Young University with his application for a position because of its required policy for faculty to be hostile to non-monogamous, non-heterosexual life choices. How ineffectual! Here’s what he should do instead. Apply to BYU. Get himself interviewed. Wow the entire faculty and get the job …
On the Market II: Digital Footprints
In the course of my usual social media browsing I came across this article in the Chronicle, which encourages (nay, demands!) that academics take control of their online presence through the creation of a personal website that links to and integrates all of their social media accounts and professional activities. …
On the Market I: Brown M&M’s
Dan is doing an amazing service by documenting his process (to hopefully a well-deserved and intellectually stimulating tenure-track position). So, I thought I would add a counter-point to his. The view from across the table, as it were. What is it that a job search committee is looking for when …