alexanderhamilton

Ugh yeah, that's gross. At my institution there was a lot of that attitude, but as I went on I think there was more of a split between the pragmatists and the ones who'd consider themselves a failure if they didn't get a TT job. I knew a woman who, from her first year, made very clear that she wanted to work at a non-profit; and another who, like you, had a goal of teaching at community college. I think some of the old guard profs definitely didn't know what to make of that, but I made sure to surround myself with advisors and friends who valued other paths and motivations, too. 

While writing my dissertation I got a job offer to work at an edtech startup. I defended a week after starting and have been there almost a year now. The amount of control I have over my own work, the advancement opportunities, and value and trust that others put in me has been extremely refreshing coming from academia. Not to mention it pays at least 2x better than I could hope to make in the nonprofit sector or adjuncting, and I get unlimited vacation and can work remotely. It’s cool to see non-academic organizations and companies valuing the skills we have (most of which the world considers “soft”), which is something I despaired of in the months leading to my job offer. 

While writing my dissertation I got a job offer to work at an edtech startup. I defended a week after starting and have been there almost a year now. The amount of control I have over my own work, the advancement opportunities, and value and trust that others put in me has been extremely refreshing coming from academia. Not to mention it pays at least 2x better than I could hope to make in the nonprofit sector or adjuncting, and I get unlimited vacation and can work remotely. It’s cool to see non-academic organizations and companies valuing the skills we have (most of which the world considers “soft”), which is something I despaired of in the months leading to my job offer. 

Northwestern is definitely fully funded for at least 5 years. They have recently been cracking down on granting funding beyond the fifth year, however. For the first 5 years, though, you can expect a minimum of $30,500, full tuition remission, and excellent health insurance without a premium. In Evanston/Chicago, this is enough to live quite comfortably. I was actually able to buy a home off of savings from the graduate stipend.

Doll Tearsheet,
You can certainly apply with a B.A. in English. I hardly know anyone in Comp Lit who has a degree in Comp Lit, and some have come from very different fields, like law. If your background is in a national literature or philosophy, you shouldn't have any trouble. As for language competency, each school will have its own measure, so follow those. For example, Stanford requires the OPI, while others may require an interview in the target languages (I had one Skype interview in three languages!) or a simple transcript review.