The State of tenure-track teaching positions in the Humanities in the near future

[ZeeMore21]

Hi all,

Although I am just starting a doctoral program in the fall in Literature, I can't but help feel a bit terrified as far as the job market is concerned...tenure-track positions are dwindling, and job posts for Humanities professors are scarce (been looking at job posts on the Chronicle every now and then out of curiosity). It seems like schools are looking more into hiring adjuncts and instructors, which leaves me questioning at times if getting a PhD is even valued anymore.

I guess my question is how are new PhDs in the Humanities coping with the uncertain future? To be clear, I definitely am excited about this new stepping stone in my life... I will be the first PhD in my family, and I don't see the doctoral program as simply a means to an end, but a period of time where I can develop as an intellectual in particular and a individual in general. However, I am constantly thinking about whether or not there will be any tenure-track positions in 5-6 years, when I am hoping to be done with my doctoral program. I am starting to think that it would be smart to think about other careers that I might look into, but I feel as though I should be focused solely on getting a position teaching in a university if that is my main goal. I have also entertained whether teaching abroad would be a viable option or perhaps teaching at a boarding school or a community college.

I did read Gregory Colon Semenza's Graduate Study for the 21st Century:How to Build and Academic Career in the Humanities (a very good read!), and he urges that doctoral students see the lack of tenure-track positions as not only a bad thing...students should use it as inspiration to create strong work. However, I am not quite sure that simply creating good work necessarily means one will land a job...luck plays a huge role in landing a tenure track position as well.

There are also other doctoral students who I have spoken to who are under the impression that a lot of baby-boomers in academia will be retiring in 5+ years, leaving more teaching positions...I really don't buy this either....with the economy where it is now, people who were planning on retiring soon have been forced to remain in the job market way longer than they expected. And plus, professors usually stay in their positions way past the average retiring age.

To end my rambling, I just wanted to know how humanities doctoral students cope with the uncertainty of their future in academia while trying to relish the time they have as doctoral students and creating good work. Honestly, I don't know what is better than being paid to study something you love. It really is such a privilege, and I really don't want to spoil my experience and take it for granted by stressing out too much about my job prospects in the near future.

[Behavioral]

It's good that you're addressing now rather than later. This is a problem a humanities student is going to inevitably face, and those who do it close to completing their doctorate are too late to make any meaningful improvements in their marketability.

For one, yes -- quality work/publications is weighted heavily regardless of field. If a program is recruiting someone for a TT position, they want to eventually hire the one with the best potential to be a quality academic. Look at past TT placements (namely from your own school) and see what they did to land those positions.

Brand name/pedigree of a degree does seem to weigh heavily in on admissions across all disciplines (see a fairly recent thread in the CHE forums: http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,69173.0.html and a working paper about job placements in marketing academia: http://www.utdallas.edu/~caz062000/Zamudio_Wang_Haruvy_2011_JobMarketMarketing.pdf). It seems that you need a name brand doctorate to even be considered at certain schools (for one, I know that there are maybe only 5-6 universities represented by UCSD's large economics faculty) and that a less-than-superb CV can be made up by having that shiny school's name listed under education compared to more superb profiles from not-so-prestigious schools. I'm going to take a guess and say that this is probably more pronounced at business schools since they do have the practical business-side operations approach of "fancy pedigree => more students want to come here" since MBA students don't care about who's doing what research and many times base the quality/intelligence of their professors by their education.

Lastly, never underestimate the power of networking. I don't know how often humanities academics have conferences, symposia, etc., but use these times to really impress people that can help land you a job in the future. I don't mean driving your CV down people's throats, but actually making friends with lots of academics. I'm on very good contact with a lot of the professors I interviewed with during application season; they're great people (which is the reason I applied under many of them) and I hope they understand that it'd be an honor to be able to work alongside them one day, too. I know it's not in the typical academic archetpye, but having an agreeable personality goes a long way--I mean you're going to be spending decades working beside faculty, and those faculties hiring do have it well within their interest to (all other things being equal) hire someone they get along with.

[Sparky]

Honestly, I don't know what is better than being paid to study something you love. It really is such a privilege

This. Pretty much this, now and forever. If I only get 5-7 years to focus so intensely on my subject, then so be it. That's been my attitude all along. It's also what got me through the worst parts of the first year. ("Yeah, well, at least I'm being PAID to be this miserable!")

More practically, I'm preparing myself to teach private high school as well, although my dept is...unencouraging of this goal. To say the least. (They are very, very proud of their placement rate.) Tutoring local high school kids and such. During my dissertation work I might see about teaching summer HS enrichment classes or some such...we'll see. I'm at the mental place where I'm aiming at a job at a good high school, and a college career would be a bonus.

[ZeeMore21]

This. Pretty much this, now and forever. If I only get 5-7 years to focus so intensely on my subject, then so be it. That's been my attitude all along. It's also what got me through the worst parts of the first year. ("Yeah, well, at least I'm being PAID to be this miserable!")

More practically, I'm preparing myself to teach private high school as well, although my dept is...unencouraging of this goal. To say the least. (They are very, very proud of their placement rate.) Tutoring local high school kids and such. During my dissertation work I might see about teaching summer HS enrichment classes or some such...we'll see. I'm at the mental place where I'm aiming at a job at a good high school, and a college career would be a bonus.

Well written, Sparky. I don't think I will ever look back and regret this experience. Still hope that I do land a college career though!

[Rose White]

I'm coping in doing everything I can to prepare for both non-academia life and academia. My preferred end career goal is to be a professor, to be honest. But, I would suggest seeing if there is other professional training opportunities available in your program. For instance, the MA program I'm going into offers an opportunity for a public history certificate. I at first dismissed it, seeing as it's not really my career choice. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it can only help to make me a more well-rounded job candidate, in both outside and inside academia. Thus, I will be pursuing it to prepare for any other career possibilities.

I think it really boils down to being open minded. Plus, the job market could change drastically in the next five years or so. You never really know.

[Shelley Burian]

I've always felt that one of the unique things about my field (art history) is that at least half of the graduates in many programs have the non-academic career preference of a museum position, with the full support of the faculy and department. Becoming a professor or teacher has always been my back-up because I enjoy working with objects and the wider public more.

[Riotbeard]

I agree with Sparky. You should think of it as worse case scenario I am teaching at a private high school (which, for me at least, would be better than the vast majority of other occupations). That being said, be driven. Go to conference, work on a topic that you think has a good chance of being published. Be strategic in how you choose you dissertation topic. And make connections along the way. With the job market (and grad school acceptance market for that matter) as it is, be glad to have a spot, but think strategically about your dissertation and possible articles, etc. Pay attention to the theoretical currants of your field.

Edited April 2, 2012 by Riotbeard

[Sparrowing]

This issue weighs heavily on my mind, as well. During my MA I remember there being a lot of anxiety among my cohort and among colleagues at conferences, symposiums etc. Now that I'm entering into my PhD I'm determined not to feed into other students' anxieties around this; it's easy to collectively augment the panic. I'm also trying to develop some skills beyond teaching and research so that I may be palatable to employers outside the academy. I'm not holding my breath for a tenure-track position. There are many qualified candidates out there who have conferenced and published extensively, and maybe I'm a pessimist but I don't think I'll somehow be an exceptional case. I think that after even a few months of graduate work most students shed their illusions about gliding to the top, and that can be tough. I just hope that my enthusiasm (not to say love, because it's more of a love-hate thing) for the work will continue to outweigh the uncertainty, and in the meantime I'm trying to stay open to alternate career paths -- even if it means some future re-tooling. Hope that helps.