t_ruth Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Just thought we could amuse ourselves w/more polls... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tritonetelephone Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I voted for not giving a fink(?) because my field is so damn broad that program fit is much, much more important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonights Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I thought it was "don't give a fig." Now I'm hungry for figs. Anyway, I don't give a fig/fink/funk. My field has too many specializations and niches to make rankings very accurate, imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t_ruth Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 any word but the real one that evokes the real one will do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socialpsych Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Well, I got in to a top-50 school, and I might go there, so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t_ruth Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 For those of you who don't care about rankings, how do you judge a school's prestige and your chances of finding a job afterward? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewurgler Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 For those of you who don't care about rankings, how do you judge a school's prestige and your chances of finding a job afterward? I agree. Even if your grad school experience is unbelievable and a perfect fit, it is really hard for anyone to find good TT positions, even those from the very best programs. I would not dip below the 20-25 mark if I could help it. Glancing through "placement" info or "on the market" PhDs is frightening. It is really tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonights Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I'm not very concerned. I was the undergrad representative to the search committee when my department was hiring. I read resumes, interviewed, participated in votes, etc. Do you know how much emphasis we placed on their school ranking? One metric sparrowfart, that's how much. It was alllll about department fit and how much we liked the person and their work and their ideas and their classroom demeanor. And I figure, if we were like that, some other places must be too. I hope so, anyway. I hear things that make me hopeful that at least in my field it's not all about numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreams Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 For those of you who don't care about rankings, how do you judge a school's prestige and your chances of finding a job afterward? I looked at the types of jobs grads of the programs I am interested in got. I also talked to alum and professors about opportunities. The results of those conversations factored heavily into the schools I ultimately chose to apply to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewurgler Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I'm not very concerned. I was the undergrad representative to the search committee when my department was hiring. I read resumes, interviewed, participated in votes, etc. Do you know how much emphasis we placed on their school ranking? One metric sparrowfart, that's how much. It was alllll about department fit and how much we liked the person and their work and their ideas and their classroom demeanor. And I figure, if we were like that, some other places must be too. I hope so, anyway. I hear things that make me hopeful that at least in my field it's not all about numbers. What type of school was your undergrad institution? Liberal arts, research. etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonights Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Liberal arts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAN Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I think the second to last option should be, ">50" instead of "<50." >50 - greater than 50 <50 - less than 50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopelessly_Neurotic Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I agree. Even if your grad school experience is unbelievable and a perfect fit, it is really hard for anyone to find good TT positions, even those from the very best programs. I would not dip below the 20-25 mark if I could help it. Glancing through "placement" info or "on the market" PhDs is frightening. It is really tough. What is a good source for info on placement/on the market PhDs?? I'm really curious. Is it THAT hard to find a job after graduating? I've become progressively more worried about this and I will definitely taking ranking/quality of the program into consideration. I'm curious about whether there are more jobs in a field like psychology versus a field like philosophy. I've heard really bad things about the philosophy job market...What fields are notorious difficult to get a job in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t_ruth Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 I think the second to last option should be, ">50" instead of "<50." >50 - greater than 50 <50 - less than 50 It was meant to be read lower ranked than 50, so I just wrote that out to clarify Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonights Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 The distribution of this poll is so interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewurgler Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Hopelessly_neurotic: I looked at placement and on the market PhDs on the websites off schools and programs I was interested in. You will find that many new grads at top 5 programs take jobs at university of not so great state school. (I know the names, but I don't want to offend anyone), or not well regarded private liberal arts institutions where they will be taking on TONS of teaching. (this is all in social sciences). I also say this because of grad student friends at UCSD social sciences and humanities (comm, soc, literature). Not top ten program, but pretty up there. One girl: tons of awards, research grants, excellent work, teaching experience, applied to around 30 positions at varying levels of prestige, NOT ONE INTERVIEW. Additionally, I look at where top programs' recent hires have come from--only other very top programs (at least in soc, where I am applying). Berkeley has a newbie from UNC CHapel Hill, Penn has a relative newbie from Berkeley, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IvyHope Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Only one of the 5-6 graduates of my program has landed a job in the last 2 years. And I'm in a top 20 program. One girl sent out 30+ vitas/apps, and didn't get a single interview. Scares the poo out of me. It's part of the reason I'm hoping to get into an Ivy. And I did the same as ewurgler, and found that places like Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia all hire from...well, Stanford, Harvard, and Columbia. Many of our faculty have come from prestigious programs like these, but not immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewurgler Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Liberal arts. Yes, it seems they are much less concerned with that type of thing. I can tell you (as I worked in fundraising at UCSD for several years), they are very concerned with prestige, as they want you to bring in research dollars, alumni giving, and want you to publish under their name and with their university press. I guess it really depends on where you want to teach/do research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t_ruth Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 Only one of the 5-6 graduates of my program has landed a job in the last 2 years. And I'm in a top 20 program. One girl sent out 30+ vitas/apps, and didn't get a single interview. Scares the poo out of me. It's part of the reason I'm hoping to get into an Ivy. yikes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plisar Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 For me, ranking does matter, because it certainly matters to admissions committees. There was a certain point where I said: fit or not, I'm not applying there. As much as I want to get my Ph.D., if i can't get a job afterward, there are other things I can do--my professors made this abundantly clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonights Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Ewurgler, yes, it definitely does depend. Liberal arts institutions tend to be less concerned about your pedigree from what I have heard. Luckily, I will be very happy to spend eternity in some out-of-the-way institution if that is what fate bestows on me. Then again, I applied to a couple top ten programs and if I get into one of them, that's where I'm a-headed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthla Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 The job market is frightening, but I think most people know that going in. We just take it on faith that it will all work out, while trying to keep eyes as wide open as possible. As someone who's hoping to return to academia after several years in the professional world, I'm just excited to (hopefully) spend several years focused on something I'm truly passionate about. It may be hard work, but no harder than what I've been doing (from a time-consumption perspective), and at least I'll care about it (theoretically). That's a reward in itself. I'll hold off worrying about the TT job market at least until I'm done worrying about admissions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonights Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Yes, and we have no idea what the job market's going to look like in five to nine years. In this country at least, we have a new president now who theoretically is going to do big things for education. Who knows what the atmosphere will be like when we're graduating? I'm going to worry about just getting admitted, for now. :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewurgler Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Ewurgler, yes, it definitely does depend. Liberal arts institutions tend to be less concerned about your pedigree from what I have heard. Luckily, I will be very happy to spend eternity in some out-of-the-way institution if that is what fate bestows on me. Then again, I applied to a couple top ten programs and if I get into one of them, that's where I'm a-headed! Yeah, I too applied top programs, but if I get rejected across the board, I will take a step down next time around. I personally care more about the strength of my graduate institution than the prestige of the university I eventually work at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IvyHope Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 GOD HELP ME if I'm still a grad student in 9 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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