Backup plans?

[FaithM]

I applied to five schools and have been rejected by three so far. The prognosis is not looking good, and this is my second time around. After the first round of rejections two years ago, I figured it was my undergrad GPA (3.5), so I struck out on my own for a bit. I put my five-year relationship on hold, left my house, family, friends, and dogs, and moved to New York to get a Master's at NYU. During that time, I wrote two books, published some short stories, and got a job as a journalist. I ASSUMED that two books and an MA from NYU plus a 3.9 grad GPA would make me a slightly more desirable candidate, but alas...

So now I'm in the "what am I gonna do if this doesn't pan out" stage. Keep working? "Settle down"? Go for another Master's? Try lower tier schools next time around? I'm kind of thinking that if I can't get into second-tier schools with two books and an advanced degree under my belt, it's just not going to happen...ever. And I don't think I can afford to keep collecting Master's degrees. Ugh...I feel like such a tool.

I'm curious to know what other people are thinking. What are your backup plans? Wallow in self-pity for a while and then get a job? Move? Go for a master's? Have a baby? Get a goldfish?

[TheOtherJake]

Wow, if I didn't get in my plan was to do exactly what you did last time. I've always wanted to move to New York City, and I've always wanted to be a writer, so I figured I'd exercise my internal locus of control and just go do it. If possible, I would also get a Master's. What I'm worried about is money - I've put a little bit in the bank, but I'm pretty sure it would only last like one season in NYC if I didn't get a good job soon after arriving, and good jobs are in short supply. That, plus I hate the idea of needing a roommate again...

Anyway, following your dreams ftw

[Golden Monkey]

I've actually been preparing myself extensively for Plan B, so much so that I'd almost welcome Plan A falling through, in some weird way. I updated my short-form resume (as opposed to my long-winded CV,) updated my portfolio and linkedin profile, ordered new business cards, and bought two updated job search books. I'm completely prepared to relocate, as I'm pretty indifferent about living in this area. I could take it or leave it.

I guess one of the benefits of being older than most applicants is that I'm pretty accustomed to Plan As not panning out.

[liebejessi]

I've applied for a job at my undergrad, but in an office, as a study abroad director. ( I worked there while I was an undergrad, was a double language major, and studied abroad twice, so my qualifications should at least help me have a leg up, I'd hope!) I'd be ok doing that for a year or two, getting on my feet, paying off some loans, and trying again for grad school next year or, in the case there's a min. contract, after the contract's up.

If that doesn't happen either, really not sure. I'll keep looking for a job, but it's still gonna be difficult to find something. The dilemma is do I look for something decently good or do I get a semi-ok job while I wait it out to try again, you know?

[gradgirlwannabe]

I had a No-Plan-B-Panic a week or two ago, and put together applications to four MA programs. If A and B both fall through, I'm going to be a little bit devastated. I don't think I can go through the application process again next year; it's been tough financially and emotionally. I'll have to wing my plan C. Work, I'm sure, though I don't know what sort.

[lydibird]

Well, I'm already in (phew!)

But before I was, I figured I'd get a job, earn some money, and try again later. Honestly, in some ways just having a full time job seems preferable to more school.

[liebejessi]

Well, I'm already in (phew!)

congrats!

........Honestly, in some ways just having a full time job seems preferable to more school.

a lot of my friends think I'm crazy for thinking that, but I have to say, I agree with you there . . .

[jynx]

I think if I don't get in anywhere, I'll try to find a research assistant position somewhere (pretty much anywhere is fine, I'm planning on moving for grad school anyway). I'd love to get a paying job, but I'd settle for volunteering in a lab that's doing research relevant to my interests. Then, I'd ideally like to apply for a Fulbright scholarship, and then reapply for grad school in a year or two. That's the tentative plan, anyway...hopefully it's realistic

[harpyemma]

Well, i don't finish my MA till Sept 3 (or, at least, that's when my thesis is due, but classes finish in June), so that takes care of my summer. I'm planning on using the next 6-8 months to get a publication or two under my belt (either way--though i think i'll be more motivated to do so with a pile of rejections) and work on my language skills. After September, i'm not sure. It's not as though it's easy to find jobs these days. I'm moving back in with my parents' in June, but i don't think they'll start charging me rent till my thesis is in, which helps with the finances--but i'll need a job to raise the spare $1000-odd for next yr's applications!

I was considering doing TEFL, but it'd take me too long to make back the outlay for CELTA, especially if i were working abroad. Ideally i'd like to get a job teaching at a private school. Chances aren't good, though.

In essence: i don't know.

[keymash]

I applied to five schools and have been rejected by three so far. The prognosis is not looking good, and this is my second time around. After the first round of rejections two years ago, I figured it was my undergrad GPA (3.5), so I struck out on my own for a bit. I put my five-year relationship on hold, left my house, family, friends, and dogs, and moved to New York to get a Master's at NYU. During that time, I wrote two books, published some short stories, and got a job as a journalist. I ASSUMED that two books and an MA from NYU plus a 3.9 grad GPA would make me a slightly more desirable candidate, but alas...

So here's the messed-up thing about PhDs in the hard humanities -- sometimes you can get rejected because they think you're not quite ready for the level of scholarship and professionalization required in a PhD program, and then you can go out and work really hard and build up an impressive body of work to prove that you are, and then . . . you can get rejected for being too professionalized already. There can be a stigma against having too much other academic experience, because there's a perception that they will need to retrain you. Especially with some of the top-tier, extremely selective programs, there's a desire to mold and brand the students that they invest in, which is harder if your intellectual outlook has already been dramatically shaped by another program at an advanced level.

This isn't universal, of course, and different departments have very different philosophies on these sorts of things. I'm speaking from only my experience and those of my colleagues, mentors, and friends. The first time I applied to PhD programs (in Comparative LIterature), I got into my top choices, all of which were highly selective (one only accepted 5-6 students), and I noticed that a significant majority of the people I saw on my accepted-student visits were straight out of undergraduate like I was at the time (not counting years abroad on fellowships, etc). One school turned me off by implying very strongly that if I went there, they would be able to shape me into the scholar that they believe I should be. Another explicitly noted that they actually preferred people out of undergrad. I wound up not taking any of the offers, going into a funded masters in a different field, turning down a deferred offer two years later, and then heading out into the professional world to try that out for a while. I recently decided to maybe head back into academia, and applied to PhDs for this fall. In that process, I spoke to a number of professors (many on admissions committees) about the challenges I had to address as someone returning to academia after a couple of years out. Over-professionalization was one. Another was age. I don't know how old you are, but I was warned very explicitly both when I left academia and when I started considering coming back that I needed to start my PhD sooner rather than later (I was given surprisingly specific range of 27-28 as the drop-dead age deadline for starting a PhD from three different very successful professors, though taken with a grain of salt that they were trying to get me to stop stalling already) because the reality was that a lot of the most successful academics just charged through without detours. Admissions committees will consider that in putting together a cohort, but they will also consider that if you're older it will be harder to place you in jobs because the hiring committees will be younger than you. While this shouldn't be a problem in terms of talent and ability, academics are often not the most socially adept, and I've heard of people rejecting potential hires because they just felt awkward about hiring someone older than them in a lower position.

Whew, that got long-winded and demoralizing. But I don't think it should be because here's the thing: you've already proven you can do work outside academia. You can make it professionally writing, and while journalism isn't exactly a growing profession, it's still doing better than the academic job market in the humanities (A lit professor gave me this advice despite having achieved the holy grail of tenure at not one, but two world-renowned institutions: "If you can do ANYTHING but this and be happy, don't do this"). So while the prospect of not getting into programs sucks, it's important to keep in mind that you have skillsets and experience that may allow you to be more flexible and ultimately more productive with your life than a lot of those students who did get in. If you really, really want to go into academia as a life path, I would actually suggest thinking about switching fields if your interests allow it. There a lot of emerging disciplines that rightfully see experience outside academia as a good thing.

As for back-up plans, there are a lot of really great companies out there that genuinely appreciate the kind of intellectual play and rigor you find in the academic world (IDEO comes to mind), and you'll get to have a quality of life that your academic compatriots can only dream of.

[thom1820]

I have given a lot of thought to plan B. I have applied for some jobs related to statistics, saying that I am graduating in May and could start after that. But I haven't heard anything back from any of them. So I'm not optimistic about landing a job in the field without an advanced degree. If I didn't get in to any schools or find a stats job, I would probably be stuck in the wonderful world of fund raising, or "development." I'm a manager at my school's call center, and as such have been told that I'm an ideal candidate to go run a center at another school, since a lot of schools are just getting theirs started. I really really really do not want to do that though, and recently decided not to go to an informational session about a job of that nature which I was invited to. Even though it would have been smart to attend, I refuse to think of that as an option for right now.

[FaithM]

Keymash, I think that was--by leaps and bounds--the most helpful advice I've gotten from anyone--EVER--but especially re: the Ph.D. application process. Thank you!!