Mr. Crankypants

The complete idiocy of lifealive’s comment made me create a profile just so I could comment on the sheer stupidity of such reasoning. If you can’t balance graduate level research with a 2-2 load then you have no business going into this profession. Get out now. Because guess what—when (and if) you get a tenure-track position, what are you going to do when you have the probable 3-3 load (if not a 4-4 which is much more common at smaller public universities these days), plus committee work, plus your research? Whining about a 1-2 (hell, even a 2-2) load? You live in an alternate academic universe. Haven’t your undergrad professors slapped you silly yet with the realities of the job market? Let me introduce you to the reality of the academic work that awaits most of you, because about 2% (if even that) are going to get a position at an R1 and have the nice cushion of a 1-1 or 1-2 load. I currently teach at a community college and have a 6-6-4 load (yeah, that’s right, four in the summer), not to mention I’m sitting on 4 different committees. Four of those courses are composition. My friends at other schools who were in my M.A. program have roughly the same teaching load. I’ve been doing this for four years. In that same time I’ve managed to compile a decent, but not spectacular research resume: presentations at six national conferences, several literary publications, and a completed creative manuscript (which probably should have been done two years ago…I digress). I also have three kids under the age of five. The other junior faculty colleagues in my department have much more impressive resumes for the similar time frame and similar circumstances. I’m sure the naysayer critics will read that previous paragraph and think I’m an egotistical prick that just wants a pat on the back. Screw that. Yeah, I want someone to give me a 3-3 load. But that isn’t reality. Based on the previous posts, lifealive must have no clue about the reality of the job market, or simply enjoys the prestige of an elite university. Sad, really. Can’t handle a 2-2 load? “A little concerned about a 2-2 load.” You’re doomed. Snappysorbet: Teaching is good for you. It forces you to budget your time. It forces you to focus. It is the reality of our profession (except for the delusional few). If you ask me, any Ph.D. program that doesn’t have you teach substantially is doing you a complete disservice for the job market. I say teach as much as you can. For most of you, your only chance at getting a full-time job comes with a heavy teaching load. When push comes to shove, outside of an R1 nobody on a search committee really cares about your research focus—they want to know if you’re willing to do the grunt work because 400+ other applicants are willing to do it. Teaching, not research, is how you distinguish yourself. For all practical purposes, the rest of your academic life is going to depend mostly on your ability to teach and your willingness to teach classes others don't want to touch…unless you think you’re so special that you’re going to get that elusive R1. I can understand being hesitant toward teaching a 2-2 load for the first time, snappysorbet, especially if you’ve never taught before. But you have to get over that anxiety quick. Adapt, or find a nice 9-5 you can tolerate. After the first semester of a 2-2, it's a relative cake walk. For those entering the humanities: quit living in a fantasy world where someone is going to pay you sit in your office while you “think.” Those days are at an end. Get used to teaching—if not, you will crack within your first two years on the job (I’ve seen it happen where I’m currently at, multiple times). The sooner you learn how to get more work done on less time, the easier your future academic life will be.