Getting a job with degrees from Southern schools

[Guimauvaise]

My undergrad adviser told me that people who get their degrees from Southern schools tend to have a more difficult time finding teaching jobs anywhere outside the South. Does anyone know if this is true?

All three of my degrees are (or will be) from Arkansas schools, and while I don't currently have plans to move too far outside this area, I would hate for my schools' location to be an immediate strike against me in terms of being hirable.

If it is true, do you think it's because there is still a stigma attached to Southerners? I can guarantee you that we are not all inbred, redneck idiots (and most of us even have all of our teeth ), and I would think that my CV or any other Southern grad's CV would be just as competitive as anyone else's. Or, could it be an issue of regional culture?

Here's the thing, though. The majority of the profs. in my program are not Southerners. We've got instructors from California, Virginia, Michigan, etc., and there are also a few international profs from Europe and the Middle East. If Southern academics can't get teaching jobs outside the South, then where the hell are they?

[dimanche0829]

I wouldn't put much worry into a generalized statement. Even if it fits the bill for your school, there are still many, many other schools in the country! Sure you'll have to deal with sticky "politics" with any prosepctive employer, just like the rest of the population; however, it's more important that you let your work speak for itself. I'm sure you choose your particular school because it was the best fit for you and will help to really push you in the right direction with your studies. It would be worse for you to attend a school where the program is an obvious mis-match to your tastes.

Also, I happen to attend a school in the Northeast and we have plenty of faculty from the south. Don't be discouraged!

[ZeeMore21]

My undergrad adviser told me that people who get their degrees from Southern schools tend to have a more difficult time finding teaching jobs anywhere outside the South. Does anyone know if this is true?

All three of my degrees are (or will be) from Arkansas schools, and while I don't currently have plans to move too far outside this area, I would hate for my schools' location to be an immediate strike against me in terms of being hirable.

If it is true, do you think it's because there is still a stigma attached to Southerners? I can guarantee you that we are not all inbred, redneck idiots (and most of us even have all of our teeth ), and I would think that my CV or any other Southern grad's CV would be just as competitive as anyone else's. Or, could it be an issue of regional culture?

Here's the thing, though. The majority of the profs. in my program are not Southerners. We've got instructors from California, Virginia, Michigan, etc., and there are also a few international profs from Europe and the Middle East. If Southern academics can't get teaching jobs outside the South, then where the hell are they?

Very interesting topic guimauvaise, I have been wondering about this given that I will be starting a doctoral program in English this fall at Vanderbilt. I was a bit worried before accepting Vanderbilt's offer as most of the doctoral candidates did go on to teach in the South. I definitely wouldn't have a problem staying in the South to teach, but like you said, it is better to be able to be hired anywhere in the country. I am optimistic that since my program is one of the top for my field, that I won't have a problem being hired outside of the South. But to go back to your question, I do wonder why there is a lack of professors coming from southern institutions in the North....perhaps stereotypes may have something to do with it, but I am not exactly sure.

[robot_hamster]

I guess I never really noticed. I'm not in the South though either, so I guess I can't offer much insight. Could it be that maybe people don't want to move up North where it is colder? If I was used to living in warmer weather, I don't think I would want to move somewhere like I am now where the snow is 2 feet deep in the winter!

Edited August 3, 2011 by robot_hamster

[Guimauvaise]

Could it be that maybe people don't want to move up North where it is colder?

That definitely wouldn't be a deterrent right now! It's been well over 100 degrees in much of the region for a week or two. Parts of Texas haven't seen temperatures below 100 in over a month. I hate Southern summers like these, but I'm sure I would hate Northern winters (speaking of which, we had over a foot of snow back in Jan/Feb, which is rare for this area). While I do want to live in an area that has seasons, I'd rather the seasons weren't so extreme.

I'm glad to hear that others have seen Southern faculty at Northern school. I didn't think it was impossible for a Southerner to be hired by a Norther institution, but I didn't know if my adviser's statement was at least somewhat accurate.

[wtncffts]

What sorts of institutions do we have in mind? I bet if we looked at all colleges and universities, we would see plenty of 'southern school PhDs' at places in the north. If we're looking at the more prestigious ones, I'm not surprised that there aren't many such PhDs on faculties, since most of the academically prestigious schools are in non-Southern states. Take Harvard, for instance: I wouldn't be surprised if much, or even most, of their faculty came from a couple dozen schools, all from non-Southern states: California, the midwest, and all those schools in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. All the Ivy League schools are in the Northeast. Please forgive me if I'm wrong, as I'm not American, but there are only a few southern schools with comparative prestige: Texas, Vanderbilt, Emory, UNC (what I can think of at the moment).

Just a small note on the OP: is Virginia not considered a southern state? I'm pretty sure it is.

[starmaker]

There's certainly a stigma attached to Southerners in other parts of the country (I'm a Southern expat who went off to New England when I started college, so I know about this firsthand). But people know that good universities are everywhere. In my field, two of the top 10 ranked departments are in the South (UT Austin and Georgia Tech), and there are several others in the top 30 or so.

[jendoly]

Having grown up in the South and having gone to a Southern school for undergrad (now at a very Northern school for grad school), I haven't noticed any sort of prejudice against Southern schools or my alma mater. As long as your program has a good reputation in whatever you are studying, then I don't think you'll have any more of a problem finding a job elsewhere later. The question is "are Southern schools good or not", really, and again, it depends what your field is!

[LACProf]

I obviously can't speak for every institution that's ever hired, but at my institution (a good, but not tippity-top LAC) we simply don't care about what region of the country your Ph.D. institution happens to be in--we just want to see that you've been well-trained!

[juilletmercredi]

Perhaps it's because Southerners want to stay in the South? I'm mostly joking, since I'm a Southerner with a BA from a Southern institution and I am SO ready to go back home (doing my PhD in the Northeast).