tabletop25

Hey guys, I am currently a grad student in Germanics at a top 20 state Uni, so maybe I can give some advice. What I've seen from this post is that everyone is applying to Ivy league (or Ivy league-esque) unis. This is incredibly important. Indeed, the only real possibility you have of getting a decent position post-graduation is if you have attended one of these universities. This is quite unfortunate since there are very good scholars being produced from state schools; but na ja. I am not going to advise anyone not to pursue it because it has been an excellent experience for me. However, I would like to take this moment to share my two cents as far as academia is concerned. I had a professor who had done everything right: he went to JHU, then Yale, put his time in working at some smaller colleges, and eventually got a tenure track position at a top state research university in the country (the university happens to also be in one of the best cities on the west coast). On paper everything looks great. Yet, in reality, at least to me, it didn't seem to be worth it. On a hot summer day, our seminar, which consisted of only 5 students (make sure to ask how much cross-listing there is!!), we met to discuss a Lessing text. Unfortunately, I had not had time to finish the reading. But I wasn't the only one. Indeed, 2 other students hadn't read the material. So, out of 5 students, 3 hadn't read (we were all TAing and had exams coming up). The professor struggled to fill the time, and had to let us go early. It was at this moment where I thought to myself, "is this really what I want to do for the rest of my life; discuss a book with a bunch of 18-25 year olds that haven't read it, and that seem more bothered by real world issues." I am not saying this experience is representative of academia as a whole. Nonetheless, it is definitely pervasive enough to warrant introspection. Furthermore, be careful of budgetary cuts (even Yale is facing some serious money issues). Hope this helps. Also, I have been starting a blog that details my experiences trying to figure out if I should continue grad school or not. Check it out if you're interested please http://exgrade.wordpress.com Übrigens, wenn jemand in NRW ist, sag mal Bescheid. Wir können uns bestimmt beim Kaffee oder so treffen. Ich bin derzeit in Ddorf.

I recently got my Masters in German literature, and am not too sure if I want to pursue a career in academia. I have been working on re-careering by doing unpaid internships that focus on online community management, social media marketing, and community outreach via social networks. I have learned a lot, and have even had some interviews with some decent sized start ups. I was wondering if any of you have had similar situations, are thinking about doing the same, have done it, and what you have experienced. I know it's terrible to plug, but I've also started a little blog about the journey I've had trying to find a job outside of academia, how I've gone about doing it, as well as small pieces of advice. Thanks

sorry, I'm new ton this and don't quite exactly know what you mean by that sorry. Thank you for the advice also.

Thank you.

I'm not sure if this is the exact place I should post this, but I thought maybe you guys could help.I was accepted to UC Irvine's and University of Washington's German PhD programs and received funding for 5 years, as well as a fellowship for my first year at both universities. I am very interested in theory, and am aware of Irvine's concentration thereof, but wanted to hear some other opinions.

Thanks. But yea, at this point it's mostly just dependent on the departments. Both cities look amazing--I actually am a fan of Seattle's weather ha

I was accepted to both PhD programs and received funding for 5 years, as well as a fellowship for my first year at both universities. Any opinions welcome.