Is it ok to say your goal is to teach at a community college in an SOP? (and other questions from a philosophy gal)

[The Penguin and Podiatrist]

Hello Everyone!

I am making the switch from philosophy to lit and I'd love some advice please! 

I have a master's in philosophy and since getting my master's I've been teaching English abroad in a few different countries and I worked for a nonprofit (in a job I hated). I'd like to get an MA in English (I'm only applying to funded programs--- just as I did with my Master's in philosophy) and then either apply to PhD programs (if the spirit moves me) or find a job teaching at a community college or at a high school. I, of course, did research in my philosophy program and I enjoyed it, but I would say that my real loves are teaching and community activism.  I am applying to a few MA/PhD programs that are great fits and for those programs I plan to speak primarily about my research interests, but for the MA programs would it hurt my application (or potentially help it) if I say that my goal is to teach at a community college? Would saying that make it seem like I would not be serious in my research?  

Also, we all know how abysmal the humanities job market it (I dare say the philosophy job market even more so than English), but when people say that there are "no jobs" are they including community colleges? And are community colleges more likely to hire someone with a PhD than a masters? Or does having the Masters and not PhD indicate that community colleges are the goal and not the last resort option? I've seen many listings for community college jobs in English, but I wasn't sure if the lack of jobs meant that all the PhDs were taking those jobs even if those jobs aren't their first choice jobs (it often means that in Philosophy).

Also, how specific should I be about my intended research? I have a research project in mind (I plan to talk about it for MA/PhD programs), but will it hurt me to be too specific in my interests applying to MA programs? I don't want them to think that I am too set on a specific project, but I don't want them to think I haven't thought about it either. Should I just say broadly I am interested in, for example, queer representations in 20th century American literature and film or critical race theory?

And does it seem like I am "bashing philosophy" too much if I say that I think philosophy has done a poor job of addressing social justice issues, and that English seems to be better in this regard and thus is better for my work? 

Thank you! 

Edit: One more question, I am planning to submit a piece of writing I wrote during grad school that related directly to my research interests in lit, but it is a philosophy paper. Would it be better to take  a lit paper I wrote in undergrad and fix it up as a writing sample, or to submit the philosophy paper that better shows my writing chops and relates to my research interests?

Edited February 15, 2023 by The Penguin and Podiatrist

[Rootbound]

I can't answer all of your questions, but to the ones I can:

If teaching and community activism are your passion, you can and should say that in a SoP--even better if you can explicitly connect that passion to your research interests. I don't think it would necessarily help your case to say that you (only?) want to do that in a community college; academic elitism, sadly, absolutely exists, and I could see a snooty member of an admissions committee looking down on that aspiration as "unserious," especially at a funded MA program. That's stupid, obviously, and the kind of attitude that's been killing higher ed for decades, but unless there's a specific reason why a particular program would put you in a better position to teach at a CC, then I think it's best to leave it out of an SoP. 

I don't think there's anything wrong with having specific interests, particularly if you already have an advanced degree. I'd think it would be quite a positive, actually. 

on "bashing philosophy": I think it's mostly a question of framing. So leading with what English study would allow you to do would be preferable to leading with what Philosophy didn't. 

Hope that helps!

[The Penguin and Podiatrist]

On 2/15/2023 at 7:26 AM, Rootbound said:

I can't answer all of your questions, but to the ones I can:

If teaching and community activism are your passion, you can and should say that in a SoP--even better if you can explicitly connect that passion to your research interests. I don't think it would necessarily help your case to say that you (only?) want to do that in a community college; academic elitism, sadly, absolutely exists, and I could see a snooty member of an admissions committee looking down on that aspiration as "unserious," especially at a funded MA program. That's stupid, obviously, and the kind of attitude that's been killing higher ed for decades, but unless there's a specific reason why a particular program would put you in a better position to teach at a CC, then I think it's best to leave it out of an SoP. 

I don't think there's anything wrong with having specific interests, particularly if you already have an advanced degree. I'd think it would be quite a positive, actually. 

on "bashing philosophy": I think it's mostly a question of framing. So leading with what English study would allow you to do would be preferable to leading with what Philosophy didn't. 

Hope that helps!

That's very helpful, thank you! And that passion absolutely relates to my research interests, so I'll be sure to tie those threads together! I actually found one program, specifically, that's a perfect match for the work that I want to do, but I know it's unwise to pin all of my hopes to getting into that program. I am not only interested in teaching at community colleges, but I like that they provide very cheap or even sometimes free education to everyone and thus are more egalitarian in nature. I'd be happy teaching anywhere, but I know that I'd prefer a more teaching-focused position. I'd love to teach at a small liberal arts college or a big state school too, but I just imagine there aren't as many of those jobs available. 

I think that you're right that I should focus on the positives of what English has to offer. I think English is where all the cool philosophers doing real philosophy are secretly hiding out. But I know I definitely can't say that haha.