Slate Article

[hbeels]

The author makes a good point, which another user (sorry, can't remember your username... starts with an "L") drew out well, I think. Grad school is rough. The application process is rough.

That being said, the article quickly left the "grad-school-is-hard" content and took on a tone that was pretty demeaning--not just to this forum but to the "sort of people" that apply to and attend graduate school.

But honestly, is this anything new? Haven't we all, at some point or another, excitedly told someone about our plans only to be met with condescension and assumptions about our "elitist" mentality?

[uhohlemonster]

I think that this author does bring up a good point about how grad cafe, for many many many people (and I've noticed this in PMs back and forth with fellow historians), can be a stress factor during the admissions process. I often think that had I not spent time on this site when I was waiting to hear from schools, I would have had a much more pleasant time in Feb and March, not worrying as much about schools I hadn't heard from. In Feb, I saw that 4 people were admitted to one of my favorite programs, and I guessed the jig was up for me... only to get a very positive wait list email 2 weeks later. However, it is definitely true that the author missed the good aspects of this site, and it's great to take the good from here and ditch the bad (once you realize what is bad, which can take a while to sort through. Some of the bullshit isn't as obvious as other bullshit.)

[juilletmercredi]

I entirely concede your point that a TT job is where the vast majority of folks head after getting this degree,

That's the problem though...they don't. Most of us may want to, but the vast majority of us are not anymore - which is why nonacademic careers are not really alternative careers anymore.

[triplebogey]

I entirely concede your point that a TT job is where the vast majority of folks head after getting this degree,

That's the problem though...they don't. Most of us may want to, but the vast majority of us are not anymore - which is why nonacademic careers are not really alternative careers anymore.

Good call. I was trying to get at the motivation, rather than the outcome, for most folks. You hit the nail on the head, though, with what I'd like to see departments acknowledge - nonacademic does not equal alternative, either because of a student's own motivation or the job market.