dr. t

I really need to pitch my TV show Merovingians: LOL you thought GoT was Bloody and Confusing

For a long time, this paralleled my thoughts on the matter. But, as an adviser pointed out, a guaranteed 5-7 years making $30k with excellent health insurance coverage isn't nothing in this prepostapocalyptic hellscape. So I'm not so sure anymore.

I think it's unwise to go to a program you're not absolutely sure you're enthusiastic about, particularly if you are currently in a decent job.

Depends on the year, but low.

Some more thoughts on recruitment and the job market in history: https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/march-2022/march-madness-the-recruitment-arms-race
@psstein

Some more thoughts on recruitment and the job market in history: https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/march-2022/march-madness-the-recruitment-arms-race
@psstein

MA decisions usually lag PhD decisions significantly. 
"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone." - Blaise Pascal 

I've also heard of cases where someone had an unaccredited or unrecognized BA.

Ok, putting on the mod hat.
First: people will talk about what they want to talk about, and threads will drift over time. I'm not enforcing subject discipline or splitting threads. I don't get paid for that. Heck, after the recent sale of this site, I don't even get an amazon gift card and a thank you at Christmas anymore. If you find people talking about stuff you're not interested in, I encourage you not to read it.
Second: Application threads have never been a place just for results and vibes. They have always been a place where new members could post questions and old members could offer what advice and wisdom they had. And that includes this thread, even before this past weekend.

Third: Bullying and negativity. I let these comments, some of which were aimed at me, slide, because my initial response—if this is bullying, I'm interested to see what you make of seminar—was uncharitable, counter-productive, and one of those snide remarks that @charmsprof rightly objects to above. But I'm also not going to let this thread descend into the weaponization of safe space and inclusivity language to silence those speaking uncomfortable ideas; I'm already having to pull apart that mess in the MFA application thread. At least the post-reporting wars haven't started here, I guess?

Anyway, this is all to say: this thread is not simply a place for comfort, congratulations, and commiseration. I suppose that makes it not a "safe space", though spaces are never in a binary of safe and unsafe. That's not to say that such spaces can't or shouldn't exist on this forum, but that one should not expect the general thread to be one.

This is a good moment to inquire about the hidden curriculum of your program. For example, you can ask about the typical time of completion, the expectations in each year (including service/TAing/RAing expectations), any new developments that the program is thinking about (maybe they will start offering a certificate or maybe the grad studies committee is changing comps format). You can also ask about library resources, digital scholarship, conferences that faculty usually attend (and might bring you with), research funds available in and outside the department, etc. 
For example, in my program, students working under a prof were more or less expected to get a major research grant. For US Americanists it was a given that they will do another language even if it wasn't required. In another program that I know, grad students often worked at the rare books library or the museum. And so on. 
There are many things that faculty won't know (and it's not their job). Eg: health insurance, visa stuff, student fees, etc. 
Congratulations!

The poster there is a bit of an idiot and not the best historian I've come across. They (and other "experts") posted enough wrong information that I got frustrated and then banned from that sub for calling them out on it... almost a decade ago now? There's a lot of hyperbole, and they don't consider that, if you apply to the right program, you can spend 5-7 years doing what you love with comp'd trips to Europe, as I did, which isn't a bad thing. 
But there is a kernel of truth there: there are no academic jobs, there will not be academic jobs, you will not get an academic job, and you are not special. The quality of your dissertation, number of publications, or prestige of your institution will not change that. 

This is, quite simply, a lie. Your account had no warnings or restrictions before you tried trolling. It now requires a mod approval on all posts until April, as everyone can see here:


 
 
The second account has been banned as trolling and abuse, as has this account. If you have difficulty logging into your original account, please follow the steps outlined there, rather than creating a new one.
In any case, none of this stands up to the supposed story of a longtime lurker who hadn't spoken up sooner, and I'm not interested in debating the point. Further accounts will simply be deleted as spam.

Sorry to the rest of the forum for clogging the thread with these, but this is my attempt to be absolutely transparent about mod actions.

You have suggested several times now that your reasons to get a PhD mean that the advice given here does not apply to you.
Again, if you could specify what you are referring to?
Of course. But that does not limit me to discussing only my own experiences. Again, I don't know you, so take what advice you find useful. 
Classic.

The solution to what? Having a BA in history? 
 
I don't know you. No one here knows you, no should they. Since that's the case, at best, what you get here is advice based on probabilities, not tailored to your individual experience and ability. And some people are actually special, and go immediately to a TT job after a 5 year PhD. One of my cohort-mates did last year. I'm certainly at least very lucky. But for anyone on a forum to suggest that you might be special, to give you hope, is quite simply academic malpractice. 

I'm honestly not sure what post you're talking about, but GC is the opposite of a good old boys' club. The good old boys aren't here. They don't need to go on the internet for advice on how to do a PhD, they already know. Most people on this forum are first generation (PhD, if not college), and/or have taken unusual paths to get where they are. 

If you're a longtime lurker, you have been around long enough to hear three or four PhD-seekers state that they know what they're in for, push on through the advice they get, and then slowly become bitter, regretful, and burnt out. It's hard not to see a repeating pattern of people doing the second meme and thinking they're special.

It's usually how the close-out process works. No one noticed in the era before the internet. FYI it's how job searches work, too.

Or it's to enculturate you to expect the dispassionate disdain with which university administrations view graduate students. 

This is, quite simply, a lie. Your account had no warnings or restrictions before you tried trolling. It now requires a mod approval on all posts until April, as everyone can see here:


 
 
The second account has been banned as trolling and abuse, as has this account. If you have difficulty logging into your original account, please follow the steps outlined there, rather than creating a new one.
In any case, none of this stands up to the supposed story of a longtime lurker who hadn't spoken up sooner, and I'm not interested in debating the point. Further accounts will simply be deleted as spam.

Sorry to the rest of the forum for clogging the thread with these, but this is my attempt to be absolutely transparent about mod actions.

The solution to what? Having a BA in history? 
 
I don't know you. No one here knows you, no should they. Since that's the case, at best, what you get here is advice based on probabilities, not tailored to your individual experience and ability. And some people are actually special, and go immediately to a TT job after a 5 year PhD. One of my cohort-mates did last year. I'm certainly at least very lucky. But for anyone on a forum to suggest that you might be special, to give you hope, is quite simply academic malpractice. 

I'm honestly not sure what post you're talking about, but GC is the opposite of a good old boys' club. The good old boys aren't here. They don't need to go on the internet for advice on how to do a PhD, they already know. Most people on this forum are first generation (PhD, if not college), and/or have taken unusual paths to get where they are. 

Ok, putting on the mod hat.
First: people will talk about what they want to talk about, and threads will drift over time. I'm not enforcing subject discipline or splitting threads. I don't get paid for that. Heck, after the recent sale of this site, I don't even get an amazon gift card and a thank you at Christmas anymore. If you find people talking about stuff you're not interested in, I encourage you not to read it.
Second: Application threads have never been a place just for results and vibes. They have always been a place where new members could post questions and old members could offer what advice and wisdom they had. And that includes this thread, even before this past weekend.

Third: Bullying and negativity. I let these comments, some of which were aimed at me, slide, because my initial response—if this is bullying, I'm interested to see what you make of seminar—was uncharitable, counter-productive, and one of those snide remarks that @charmsprof rightly objects to above. But I'm also not going to let this thread descend into the weaponization of safe space and inclusivity language to silence those speaking uncomfortable ideas; I'm already having to pull apart that mess in the MFA application thread. At least the post-reporting wars haven't started here, I guess?

Anyway, this is all to say: this thread is not simply a place for comfort, congratulations, and commiseration. I suppose that makes it not a "safe space", though spaces are never in a binary of safe and unsafe. That's not to say that such spaces can't or shouldn't exist on this forum, but that one should not expect the general thread to be one.

This is, quite simply, a lie. Your account had no warnings or restrictions before you tried trolling. It now requires a mod approval on all posts until April, as everyone can see here:


 
 
The second account has been banned as trolling and abuse, as has this account. If you have difficulty logging into your original account, please follow the steps outlined there, rather than creating a new one.
In any case, none of this stands up to the supposed story of a longtime lurker who hadn't spoken up sooner, and I'm not interested in debating the point. Further accounts will simply be deleted as spam.

Sorry to the rest of the forum for clogging the thread with these, but this is my attempt to be absolutely transparent about mod actions.

In my view, it's desirable for institutions to limit the range of bad decisions that people can make. Your logic appears to me to be the same as those who argue, e.g., for limiting the regulation of consumer products, or allowing retirement plan managers to offer bad investment plans so long as they also offer good ones. I would prefer unsafe products to be taken off the market than to rely on consumers to make informed decisions about whether they want to buy a death trap of a car or baby toy. 

Ok, putting on the mod hat.
First: people will talk about what they want to talk about, and threads will drift over time. I'm not enforcing subject discipline or splitting threads. I don't get paid for that. Heck, after the recent sale of this site, I don't even get an amazon gift card and a thank you at Christmas anymore. If you find people talking about stuff you're not interested in, I encourage you not to read it.
Second: Application threads have never been a place just for results and vibes. They have always been a place where new members could post questions and old members could offer what advice and wisdom they had. And that includes this thread, even before this past weekend.

Third: Bullying and negativity. I let these comments, some of which were aimed at me, slide, because my initial response—if this is bullying, I'm interested to see what you make of seminar—was uncharitable, counter-productive, and one of those snide remarks that @charmsprof rightly objects to above. But I'm also not going to let this thread descend into the weaponization of safe space and inclusivity language to silence those speaking uncomfortable ideas; I'm already having to pull apart that mess in the MFA application thread. At least the post-reporting wars haven't started here, I guess?

Anyway, this is all to say: this thread is not simply a place for comfort, congratulations, and commiseration. I suppose that makes it not a "safe space", though spaces are never in a binary of safe and unsafe. That's not to say that such spaces can't or shouldn't exist on this forum, but that one should not expect the general thread to be one.

Ok, putting on the mod hat.
First: people will talk about what they want to talk about, and threads will drift over time. I'm not enforcing subject discipline or splitting threads. I don't get paid for that. Heck, after the recent sale of this site, I don't even get an amazon gift card and a thank you at Christmas anymore. If you find people talking about stuff you're not interested in, I encourage you not to read it.
Second: Application threads have never been a place just for results and vibes. They have always been a place where new members could post questions and old members could offer what advice and wisdom they had. And that includes this thread, even before this past weekend.

Third: Bullying and negativity. I let these comments, some of which were aimed at me, slide, because my initial response—if this is bullying, I'm interested to see what you make of seminar—was uncharitable, counter-productive, and one of those snide remarks that @charmsprof rightly objects to above. But I'm also not going to let this thread descend into the weaponization of safe space and inclusivity language to silence those speaking uncomfortable ideas; I'm already having to pull apart that mess in the MFA application thread. At least the post-reporting wars haven't started here, I guess?

Anyway, this is all to say: this thread is not simply a place for comfort, congratulations, and commiseration. I suppose that makes it not a "safe space", though spaces are never in a binary of safe and unsafe. That's not to say that such spaces can't or shouldn't exist on this forum, but that one should not expect the general thread to be one.

It's usually how the close-out process works. No one noticed in the era before the internet. FYI it's how job searches work, too.

Or it's to enculturate you to expect the dispassionate disdain with which university administrations view graduate students. 

The solution to what? Having a BA in history? 
 
I don't know you. No one here knows you, no should they. Since that's the case, at best, what you get here is advice based on probabilities, not tailored to your individual experience and ability. And some people are actually special, and go immediately to a TT job after a 5 year PhD. One of my cohort-mates did last year. I'm certainly at least very lucky. But for anyone on a forum to suggest that you might be special, to give you hope, is quite simply academic malpractice. 

I'm honestly not sure what post you're talking about, but GC is the opposite of a good old boys' club. The good old boys aren't here. They don't need to go on the internet for advice on how to do a PhD, they already know. Most people on this forum are first generation (PhD, if not college), and/or have taken unusual paths to get where they are.