Plan Bs

[Dr. Old Bill]

While it's probably too soon for any of us to start despairing about our chances of getting in to a program, the reality is that that time is coming up fairly soon. Until very recently, I have given no thought to a plan B. And while I am still mostly confident that I will get in to one of my schools (or as confident as one can be in a process that is mostly subjective and completely out of one's hands at this point...), I think it's time for me to start thinking about contingency plans for if I don't wind up getting in...and I'm guessing the same is true of many of you as well.

 

One option is to find some local unfunded M.A. English programs with relatively late deadlines (I know of a couple reasonably nearby with March deadlines). Another option is to simply look for a full-time job that will take someone with diverse work experience plus a B.A. in English. Either way, I think I'm resolved to applying for Ph.D. programs again next year. Coming into this, I suspected that this would be my "one shot" and that I would give it my all. And while I did give it my all, I think I would try again. It's pricey, and my pride would take a major hit, and I would be undeniably embarrassed by it (warranted or not), but I can't help but think that this is what I really want to do for the rest of my life. I'm old enough to have lived a lot of life, and learned a lot. An academic career is definitely the ideal, and barring that, at least several years of enjoying the academic life.

 

So...how about the rest of you who are in the same boat? Any solid plan B options?

[HesseBunuel90]

My Plan B is to enter the field of TESOL/ESL. I have some experience in and I am certified in it. I would probably look for a job in it overseas. But as I have 16 rejections to go, I'm hoping for the best.

[1Q84]

Sigh.

 

I don't know if I have any. I can't move back to Canada because my family is no longer there. I don't think I can stay in the US once my F-1 status is finito. I may be able to try for an OPT to extend my stay? I may be able to see if I can get an alumni job on campus? I really don't want to think about these, though, because I can't really imagine my life without research/teaching. 

[obrial42]

I'm already an adjunct instructor (incidentally, at the college where I received my MA), so I will continue to teach here and apply again next year...ideally, with a publication and more conferences under my belt. 

There's nothing wrong with having a Plan B! I just hope that we all get into a PhD program.

[bgt28]

I love love love this, because I've been thinking along the same lines the past several days. I'm not comfortable maintaining both joy for others and despair for my own prospects, so I've resigned myself to Plan Bs, so I can feel joyous for others while also feeling constructive in my own life; it sounds disgusting and selfish, but at this point, it's what I've got. My thoughts are as follows:

A) I'd like to start putting myself out there beyond academics, to which I've completely dedicated myself for the past 5 years. I'd move back to my parents' place and finish writing a book project I've had in mind, with more seriousness than I've given it as of late.

I'd move to NYC and work with Grassroots and resolve to help open a Planned Parenthood there, while working on my application for a second round of PhD applications.

C) I'd do the same as B, but focus on getting into MSW programs as opposed to a PhD immediately.

Either way, I will get the PhD eventually. I'm only going to A if I lose all hope.

[Dr. Old Bill]

I love love love this, because I've been thinking along the same lines the past several days. I'm not comfortable maintaining both joy for others and despair for my own prospects, so I've resigned myself to Plan Bs, so I can feel joyous for others while also feeling constructive in my own life; it sounds disgusting and selfish, but at this point, it's what I've got.

 

That sounds the exact opposite of selfish!

 

Plan Bs are pragmatic, and since I'm normally a pragmatic kind of person, I'm actually a little surprised with myself that I literally gave zero thought to it until I got my UW-Madison rejection. There's nothing like the dose of reality a single rejection provides...

 

I do think it's natural to be able to feel joyous for others while sad for yourself. At least, I know that *I* do sometimes. But yes -- thinking about a plan B is a good way of keeping the joy separate from your own prospects.

[allplaideverything]

Not that I think anybody should be despairing yet, but I want to drop a recommendation for the funded M.A. at Kansas State University.

 

Back when I was finishing my B.A., with a low-ish GPA & not much professionalization or idea about what I wanted to do other than "write," I missed lots of grad school deadlines by taking the GRE too late. I ended up applying to M.A. programs with late app deadlines: Creighton, K-State, and my first college (Univ. of St. Thomas in Minnesota). Got into K-State with funding & teaching opportunities on the "strength" of my creative writing sample (which, looking back, is pretty embarrassing).

 

K-State is a radical, feminist, queer, Marxist English Dept. in an otherwise pretty conservative place and institution. I loved my time there, was given so much opportunity, and I feel that they provide amazing preparation for folks hoping to go for the PhD afterwards. There are five tracks--Lit, Comp/Rhet, Children's Lit, Cultural Studies, & Creative Writing--and everybody works together across these disciplinary lines. While there's intellectual diversity there, it always felt to me like we were always working on different parts of the same general project.

 

One of my friends from the M.A. there is doing her PhD at Fordham now, and feels she was very well prepared by her time at K-State. I was able to attend a top-20 MFA program afterwards, did well, and now have at least one PhD acceptance under my belt.

 

Anyway, I can't praise K-State highly enough. I know the M.A. is not an ideal choice for many of us, but it gave me the time and support I needed to adjust to the habits and work of academia, and the teaching training & experience is invaluable in our tough job market.

 

They have rolling admission deadlines, and a few weeks ago the Chair told me they still have some funded spots available. Here's a link: http://www.k-state.edu/english/programs/graduatestudies/

If anybody has any questions about it, please feel free to message me!
 

[Hannalore]

The only thing I am sure of is that a large portion of the money my SO and I have saved for our move will be instead spent on a vacation to celebrate my MA ending and to keep me out of the depths of despair. I am already trying to think of rejection as the opportunity for a fun trip rather than abject failure and rejection.

 

Otherwise, it's not a pleasant thought. I will apply again, but what to do with that intervening year? My poor boyfriend works for a company that appears to be slowly collapsing in on itself like a black hole and, to continue the metaphor, is sucking all the joy from his life. He has been counting down the days until I get an acceptance and we can move. If one never comes, however, that means dooming him to another year...assuming he's not laid off or the slow corporate death gets quicker in that time. As for me, I hope I would be able to find adjunct work at one of the surrounding small colleges, but I am not sure that's possible. And apart from that...ugh. 

[ComeBackZinc]

I know that it is always sensitive when people bring up the job market here, so I'll just say this really briefly and everyone can feel free to ignore it if they choose. But I think that people who don't get in anywhere should think it over as an opportunity to extricate themselves from a field with truly brutal structural economic issues. You might look back one day and see this as dodging a bullet. I'm on the academic job market right now, and while I'm lucky to have some opportunities, I'm in a significant minority for PhDs who are graduating now. The market contracted even further this year, despite the fact that many people predicted a bounce back. The numbers were bad before 2008; they were cut in half that year; they not only have not recovered but if anything have gotten worse. People here have a general sense that the market is bad, but I don't think they (or most faculty, really) have absorbed just how bad it's gotten. I cannot stress enough what a brutal, dispiriting market it is. So I encourage you to give genuine and deep consideration to getting out of the race altogether, if you find yourself without any admissions.

 

That's my spiel, and I won't clog up this thread otherwise. Good luck in general no matter what Plan Bs you guys decide on.

[museum_geek]

I'm currently working at a low paying, dead end job that's related to my field.  It's great experience for my resume and I enjoy the work, but it won't get me anywhere in my field unless I get at least a Master's.  So for now the plan is to either get in somewhere this round or keep working at my current job for another year and apply again next cycle.

[quena]

As I said in another thread, to train dolphins... ok just kidding.

 

I don't really have a Plan B, but well... I've talked to my advisor, at least she already said yes to advising my thesis if I decide to start a PhD in my current university (although I'll need to look for funding myself), so that's kind of a relief for me.

Edited February 7, 2015 by quena

[TeaOverCoffee]

I currently am unsure of what I could actually do with only a BA in English if I don't get accepted to grad school with funding. I mean, I could try to do an internship this summer in hopes of getting a PR job. But honestly, I'll probably look around at universities to get an office assistant job so that I can apply to grad school again the next year. It's so sad to think I won't get accepted anywhere, but it's also a bit heart-wrenching to think about what I could actually do with a BA in English without taking the Praxis and with no experience working a full-time job. I've saved enough money to move to graduate school, so I could use or to move somewhere else I suppose. I built my undergraduate career around going to grad school, so I am MORE than open to options outside of academia if someone wants to share.

[jhefflol]

I have a couple Plan Bs. One is to try to adjunct at different community colleges in the area. Another is to just work a few serving jobs (ugh). Or I'll go back to community college and take language classes so I can keep my tutoring job and not pay my student loans. That's like plan C, though. Either way I'll be trying to apply next season if I can afford it!

[InHacSpeVivo]

I currently am unsure of what I could actually do with only a BA in English if I don't get accepted to grad school with funding. I mean, I could try to do an internship this summer in hopes of getting a PR job. But honestly, I'll probably look around at universities to get an office assistant job so that I can apply to grad school again the next year. It's so sad to think I won't get accepted anywhere, but it's also a bit heart-wrenching to think about what I could actually do with a BA in English without taking the Praxis and with no experience working a full-time job. I've saved enough money to move to graduate school, so I could use or to move somewhere else I suppose. I built my undergraduate career around going to grad school, so I am MORE than open to options outside of academia if someone wants to share.

I had several jobs with only a BA in English before going back to school (I'm old). I taught high school, was a marketing assistant, worked as a paralegal, developed content for legal training, and, ultimately stuck with publishing working first as an editorial assistant then moving through the ranks to developmental editor. It is still very early, but I did want toilet everyone know that you can do pretty much anything with a BA in English (as I have been told by many an employer, it's basically proof that you are an effective communicator, which is the key to most positions).

[__________________________]

I currently am unsure of what I could actually do with only a BA in English if I don't get accepted to grad school with funding. I mean, I could try to do an internship this summer in hopes of getting a PR job. But honestly, I'll probably look around at universities to get an office assistant job so that I can apply to grad school again the next year. It's so sad to think I won't get accepted anywhere, but it's also a bit heart-wrenching to think about what I could actually do with a BA in English without taking the Praxis and with no experience working a full-time job. I've saved enough money to move to graduate school, so I could use or to move somewhere else I suppose. I built my undergraduate career around going to grad school, so I am MORE than open to options outside of academia if someone wants to share.

Obviously, I have no idea where you are located, but you may want to look into teaching public school if you think that's something you can handle.  Getting subbing certification just requires a BA in my state, and since I live in an area with (sadly) very low teacher retention rates I was able to get a job doing long term professional teaching on an emergency certification.  It's hard work, but respectable and rewarding. 

 

There's also freelancing (someone on here a while ago was talking about E-Lance, which can be pretty legit).  I know a bunch of people who do Americorps and I also know people who have found paralegal work with just BAs in English or Comp Lit.

 

These are just things I've experienced or seen others do.  There are obviously many options -- more, in my opinion, than you may have been led to believe in undergrad.  Entry level work in fields like technical writing or copywriting/editing can lead to quite good careers as well, I believe.  There are places for technical writing that I've seen that hire straight out of B.A.s (the main example I know of near-ish me that has hired lots of people from my alma mater is Epic Systems in Madison, WI).

[BeatrizBear]

Build a house on the land my grandmother got from her father, call it a study abroad, and apply again next year.

[lifealive]

I know that it is always sensitive when people bring up the job market here, so I'll just say this really briefly and everyone can feel free to ignore it if they choose. But I think that people who don't get in anywhere should think it over as an opportunity to extricate themselves from a field with truly brutal structural economic issues. You might look back one day and see this as dodging a bullet. I'm on the academic job market right now, and while I'm lucky to have some opportunities, I'm in a significant minority for PhDs who are graduating now. The market contracted even further this year, despite the fact that many people predicted a bounce back. The numbers were bad before 2008; they were cut in half that year; they not only have not recovered but if anything have gotten worse. People here have a general sense that the market is bad, but I don't think they (or most faculty, really) have absorbed just how bad it's gotten. I cannot stress enough what a brutal, dispiriting market it is. So I encourage you to give genuine and deep consideration to getting out of the race altogether, if you find yourself without any admissions.

 

That's my spiel, and I won't clog up this thread otherwise. Good luck in general no matter what Plan Bs you guys decide on.

 

As someone on the academic job market myself, I have to second this, but with caution. While I would never discourage anyone from going to grad school, I would very much recommend that you cultivate this "Plan B" not just for when you don't get into grad school, but for life in general. I feel fortunate that I worked between college and undergrad because I do have other skills I can "fall back" on.

 

I think that graduate school is a valuable thing to do in and of itself, but you cannot rely on the prospect of ever being employed as an academic. I lost my job during the Recession, and I was told that going to grad school was fine because the economy would recover in 5 years and there would be academic jobs again. Well, as ComeBackZinc has pointed out, job prospects are actually WORSE now than they were in 2008. We're not talking a Recession anymore; we're talking about the fact that the university has decided it no longer needs people to teach English. You are not wanted in academia. Universities are in the process of dismantling the humanities. There's money sloshing around in universities (they can't blame bad hedge funds anymore), but it's not going to go to you. 

 

So if you go to grad school, cultivate a Plan B the entire time you're there.

[Dr. Old Bill]

Or I'll go back to community college and take language classes so I can keep my tutoring job and not pay my student loans.

 

This is actually a really good idea. I could see myself working part-time and going to a CC part-time to learn another language or two. Hmm...

[erosanddust]

If PhD programs don't work out for next year, I'm definitely going to get my MA and then apply to PhD programs again when I'm finished.

 

Now that I've taken some time to adjust to the idea, I'm mentally alright with taking this route (emotionally, I'm still working on adjusting to the disappointment of changed plans). My PhD application would become more competitive, but having developed my interests, overall knowledge, and academic skills, I'd also theoretically be able to make even more of my time in a PhD program. (While I feel like I already have a very clear sense of academic direction, with the way that research works, further study would inevitably clarify/complicate/expand my central research questions).

 

[One semi-related question I do have -- does anyone have advice for something I could do in the summer? What have you found to be helpful/rewarding/relevant types of work? I'm doing an intensive language program until mid-June, but I would love to do something related to academia/my field in June/July. Ideally looking for something vaguely intellectually engaging where I could use/develop my skills and build my CV.]

Edited February 8, 2015 by erosanddust

[jhefflol]

This is actually a really good idea. I could see myself working part-time and going to a CC part-time to learn another language or two. Hmm...

That was actually my mother's idea   She's a brilliant lady.

[kurayamino]

 

[One semi-related question I do have -- does anyone have advice for something I could do in the summer? What have you found to be helpful/rewarding/relevant types of work? I'm doing an intensive language program until mid-June, but I would love to do something related to academia/my field in June/July. Ideally looking for something vaguely intellectually engaging where I could use/develop my skills and build my CV.]

 

I know I had considered applying to this: http://www.andover.edu/summersessionoutreach/ifroteachers/pages/default.aspxand the application isn't due until April 1st.

 

I also looked into some paid internships in editing over the summer like at Ferrar, Straus, and Giroux http://us.macmillan.com/fsg/about

 

There's also a list floating around here on fully funded MA in English programs which I had started going through to find ones close-ish with late deadlines.

 

That being said, I wish you all the best of luck in these next couple of weeks.

[forever_jung]

Along the same lines as the poster talking about K-state, I am just about to graduate from the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) MA program, which was an excellent experience. 

 

The list of funded MAs that is linked above doesn't specify between U of Nebraska Omaha and Lincoln. I can't speak for Lincoln, but UNO offers a funded MA, and the deadline for the Teaching Assistant application is next week. Just saying

 

I guess this is to say that getting a local MA is sometimes a really great thing- you can build up your CV, refine research interests, and perhaps even get college teaching experience. 

[mmmscience]

As someone also at UNO, though the deadline for the TAship is next week, they've been known to extend slightly in order to get the best candidates -- send an email if interested and see if something can be worked out! The website is here. http://www.unomaha.edu/english/grad.php

 

Hands down, I know that program set me on a path for PhD. Great faculty and great mentors all around!

[InHacSpeVivo]

On that note, some of the the UNC campuses (charlotte and wilmington at least) do funded MAs, and the app deadline is sometime in March.

[oldmangandhi]

I will take on a lot of debt and get my MA from a campus where it snows a lot and the smoke from my cigarette freezes before my face