The "what do you plan on doing upon completion?" question

[JackieW]

So, I'm still stuck: how do I answer this question? Obviously-,I want to continue doing research and teach at the college level. What ELSE would I want to do with a PhD in English?? But, I don't want to say JUST that because it's obvious and it's what they read over and over and over. Any other ideas, my fellow SoP Haters?

[LateAntique]

So, I'm still stuck: how do I answer this question? Obviously-,I want to continue doing research and teach at the college level. What ELSE would I want to do with a PhD in English?? But, I don't want to say JUST that because it's obvious and it's what they read over and over and over. Any other ideas, my fellow SoP Haters?

I can only speak from my own goals, but maybe this will help. I discussed the fact that I've served as a tutor or UA in some capacity almost my entire undergraduate career which plays into my desire to teach at the university level (though Classicists have to be open to the idea of teaching at a high school). I then discussed how my research goals play into continuing the dialogue between Classics and Early Christian Studies. I felt like this did two things: 1) Showed that I'm aware of the state of scholarship at present and that I'm not just jumping into this bright-eyed and naive 2) Showed that I've considered very carefully what my niche in scholarship could be.

[kobie]

I find this topic quite relevant to my concern. So I post my question here.

I am applying to food science program.

For future goals, I am not into the thought of obtaining an academic position after getting the PhD, but that may change as I find out how I will fit in the academia along my PhD.

Certainly I like doing research but I tend to enjoy the idea of doing research in the industry context rather than academia. It seems like I have a hard time convincing me to work in academia in long-term, at least for now.

And I communicated my thoughts about this very sincerely in my SOP. I just wonder if this sincerity hurts my chance of admission.

Does it make the applicants less desirable to the admission committee if they say that they don't like working in academia?

[alexis]

I just wonder if this sincerity hurts my chance of admission.

Does it make the applicants less desirable to the admission committee if they say that they don't like working in academia?

In my field, I've heard the answer to this is "yes." They want to produce professors. If you have something you really, really want to do with a PhD that doesn't involve academia and research, I'm not saying be dishonest in your SoP...but you might want to reconsider how you approach it. (I.e, don't imply that you don't like working in academia--you're going to working in that area, in a sense, throughout the PhD program.)

Edited November 15, 2009 by alexis

[socialpsych]

Totally depends on the field. In my field (same as Alexis'), there are political reasons for the importance of saying you want to be an academic. If you're in a field like English where it seems like a no-brainer, I'll bet it is a no-brainer -- and you should just include it. But I am pretty sure in some fields it is not as important. So you should check with people who are in your field.