chances to be TT professor?

[paprica_lm]

I graduated SAIC a few years ago and plan to apply for RISD (film/video) this year. My ultimate goal is to become a professor (don't care many years of adjuncting), but i just heard a lot of shitty things about TT positions. *No jobs and huge pool of cadidates* Are there anyone who wants to be tt jobs after graduation and have any insights on this? should i try hard to get adjunct or visiting stuff or invest in residency, fellowship, solo/group exhibits? i know one person who are adjuncting 4 years at the institution he graduated from and landed on tt job in small art school. do you think it happens alot?

[SpillToBuilt]

10 hours ago, paprica_lm said:

I graduated SAIC a few years ago and plan to apply for RISD (film/video) this year. My ultimate goal is to become a professor (don't care many years of adjuncting), but i just heard a lot of shitty things about TT positions. *No jobs and huge pool of cadidates* Are there anyone who wants to be tt jobs after graduation and have any insights on this? should i try hard to get adjunct or visiting stuff or invest in residency, fellowship, solo/group exhibits? i know one person who are adjuncting 4 years at the institution he graduated from and landed on tt job in small art school. do you think it happens alot?

Yes.

[MFA Troll]

On 10/22/2021 at 11:42 AM, paprica_lm said:

I graduated SAIC a few years ago and plan to apply for RISD (film/video) this year. My ultimate goal is to become a professor (don't care many years of adjuncting), but i just heard a lot of shitty things about TT positions. *No jobs and huge pool of cadidates* Are there anyone who wants to be tt jobs after graduation and have any insights on this? should i try hard to get adjunct or visiting stuff or invest in residency, fellowship, solo/group exhibits? i know one person who are adjuncting 4 years at the institution he graduated from and landed on tt job in small art school. do you think it happens alot?

Hi, I made this account because I know many young artists get MFAs because they want to become TT professors. Being a TT professor is an amazing job, its easy, pays well and is very fulfilling. Most TT professors lucked into their jobs 20+ years ago and it is their primary source of income. They are very comfortable and are clueless about how much the art market and art labor has changed.  They have had very steady incomes for a long time. In 2005 congress passed the Grad Plus Loan allowing borrowers to take out as many loans as the universities asked for. MFA programs became a cash cow for schools. Now, there are thousands of qualified, talented, and indebted candidates. Getting an mfa will enable you to get adjunct positions, but most hiring committees aren't searching from the adjunct pool. Like your friend, it's not impossible to luck into a position, but it is rare. Residencies, and shows are not 'investments.' They are part of your life as an artist, the pay off is your practice and your relationships. A residency is sort like a vacation or a club, as is grad school. Recreation shouldn't be a pejorative, but it should be more accessible to the working class. Figure out a way to make a living, live cheaply, make art and apply for teaching positions. Don't rely on adjunct jobs as your primary source of income. 

[thepictureisstill]

Being a TT professor is not easy, nor is it an easy path to employment. I got lucky. I'm responding as a 2017 MFA Grad who accepted a TT job in Video Art in 2020. Please feel free to message me.