Switching gears to an English PhD program

[lesabendio]

For the last 5 years, I've worked primarily as a paralegal in the legal and insurance industries.  Now that I know I'll be leaving the white-collar world for good come this fall, I'm wondering what I should be doing between now and then to re-acquaint myself with academic study.  I've always been a voracious reader of contemporary novels and poems, even after I graduated with my BA in 2010, but I haven't read much that would be considered "academic" or "theoretical" in years.

I guess I'm asking for advice about preparing intellectually and professionally for a career change from office work to academia.  Some have suggested that I dive into Norton Anthologies. (But I remember the nausea of reading author and chapter introductions to study for the subject exam and would really prefer not to.)  Others have suggested looking at syllabi for upcoming and past courses offered by my prospective English departments.

Any advice would be appreciated! I'm just thrilled to have the opportunity to return to school after so long; it's always been an ambition of mine, and I've put it off for too long.

[echo449]

What is your area of interest? I mean, you could read a lot generally, which is always useful, but maybe reading theory and criticism relevant to your area of study would be more useful. 

Edited February 7, 2016 by echo449

[rising_star]

Without knowing your area, I'd actually suggest reading up on your area of interest from other fields/perspectives. So, for example, if you're interested in Victorian literature, I might read histories of the Victorian era, biographies of key authors, etc. It's not exactly what you'll be studying in grad school but the additional background information could prove incredibly useful in the future.

[solomonski]

Seconding the opinion that you try to find out what some of the current threads of scholarship are in your area of interest. It'll get you up to speed on the ongoing "conversations" and also help you think about where you can jump into that conversation. Though of course there's also something to be said for reading for nothing but pleasure; I barely have time for it as an undergrad and I imagine that's only going to get worse in grad school. Maybe take advantage of your comparatively free time while you can!

[ProfLorax]

I was in a similar position, and I asked my now-advisor for some suggestions, a starter kit of sorts. That was really helpful. After I devoured her suggested readings, I moved onto YA novels! Because I love them. Once your program starts, you'll be knee-deep in theory and criticism for five solid years (and then after that, too!). So make sure you spend time reading for fun before your program starts. 

Congrats on your transition! 

[NowMoreSerious]

I honestly think the biggest piece of advice is a mindset. Have the mindset that your job is now to read at least 4+ hours a day, sometimes things that aren't that enjoyable, and sometimes things that are mind-blowing.  And you are reading, very often, for "take aways" and things that you might potentially use in academic scholarship.  

[lesabendio]

8 hours ago, echo449 said:

What is your area of interest? I mean, you could read a lot generally, which is always useful, but maybe reading theory and criticism relevant to your area of study would be more useful. 

Exactly what I had in mind!  I pitched my interests as generally 20th century modernism, specifically cultural geography and queer space.  But they're a bit in flux at the moment, considering these are 5 year-old interests.  I was thinking of reading some of my POI's work in order to have a better idea of what he's doing.

8 hours ago, rising_star said:

Without knowing your area, I'd actually suggest reading up on your area of interest from other fields/perspectives. So, for example, if you're interested in Victorian literature, I might read histories of the Victorian era, biographies of key authors, etc. It's not exactly what you'll be studying in grad school but the additional background information could prove incredibly useful in the future.

This is an excellent idea, thank you! Reading around my interests might give me good ideas on how to connect them together.

7 hours ago, solomonski said:

Seconding the opinion that you try to find out what some of the current threads of scholarship are in your area of interest. It'll get you up to speed on the ongoing "conversations" and also help you think about where you can jump into that conversation. Though of course there's also something to be said for reading for nothing but pleasure; I barely have time for it as an undergrad and I imagine that's only going to get worse in grad school. Maybe take advantage of your comparatively free time while you can!

And I definitely have been reading for pleasure.  That's pretty much all I have done after graduation.  I'm getting the impression, though, that it's not super crucial to come into the program having read a ton of texts beforehand, so I may just carry on meandering through books that I find interesting.  I may add some theory to the mix.

7 hours ago, ProfLorax said:

I was in a similar position, and I asked my now-advisor for some suggestions, a starter kit of sorts. That was really helpful. After I devoured her suggested readings, I moved onto YA novels! Because I love them. Once your program starts, you'll be knee-deep in theory and criticism for five solid years (and then after that, too!). So make sure you spend time reading for fun before your program starts. 

Congrats on your transition! 

Thank you!  It's been an exciting week trying to anticipate the changes I will have to make this summer. UC-Davis has a nice section on their department page of reading lists suggested by faculty and staff.  I'll start there but also continue indulging in awful climate fiction. 

4 hours ago, NowMoreSerious said:

I honestly think the biggest piece of advice is a mindset. Have the mindset that your job is now to read at least 4+ hours a day, sometimes things that aren't that enjoyable, and sometimes things that are mind-blowing.  And you are reading, very often, for "take aways" and things that you might potentially use in academic scholarship.  

Yes, absolutely.  I've been thinking that most of all I should be making sure I develop good and consistent reading habits.  Not to say I don't read a lot as it is, but like you're saying I probably should work on developing a mental toughness resilient enough to power through texts that I don't necessarily find enjoyable.

Thank you all for the advice! I have a lot to think about and even more to plan ahead for, but I'll try not to overthink it. 

[teacherM7]

Reading your post gives me hope - it's been a long time since my undergrad years and I'm feeling like acceptance is a long shot. It's nice to hear about someone else transitioning from work into academia. Good question, and good luck!

[blueoctavo]

Thanks for starting this thread, I'm also transitioning from an unrelated professional career to academia. Some great advice here! Some schools posts sample reading lists of students who've taken their candidacy or comprehensive exams, I was thinking of using those lists as a jumping point to begin reading stuff I haven't yet. You could also look around on google scholar/google books to find relevant texts, you can access a lot of stuff for free. 

[lesabendio]

4 hours ago, teacherM7 said:

Reading your post gives me hope - it's been a long time since my undergrad years and I'm feeling like acceptance is a long shot. It's nice to hear about someone else transitioning from work into academia. Good question, and good luck!

I absolutely understand that feeling.  I'm turning 28 this spring, and it's been 5, going on 6, years since I graduated with my BA.  So, I figured it was now or never.  This past summer I told myself that at the very least I needed to apply, even if I got shut out, just so that I could relieve myself of this chip on my shoulder and move on with my life and onto another possible career.  I finished my applications with very low expectations because like you I figured it was a long shot in the first place.

I spent a good 5-6 months putting together my application and polishing my writing sample.  I wasn't always working on my apps consisently because work and life kept throwing up obstacles, but I got everything done.  I broke down the whole process into dozens of tasks and assigned hard deadlines for myself.  That helped keep me on track.  Most importantly, however, I re-established contact with the professors who mentored me at my alma mater and sent them several drafts of my personal statement and writing sample.  I also contacted several friends who were already in PhD programs and asked if they could read over my application materials and give me some pointers.  I don't think I would have been successful without a lengthy drafting process and a ton of humility.  I can't recommend enough that you reach out for help, especially if you've been out of the game for so long.  You shouldn't, and probably can't, do it alone. 

55 minutes ago, blueoctavo said:

Thanks for starting this thread, I'm also transitioning from an unrelated professional career to academia. Some great advice here! Some schools posts sample reading lists of students who've taken their candidacy or comprehensive exams, I was thinking of using those lists as a jumping point to begin reading stuff I haven't yet. You could also look around on google scholar/google books to find relevant texts, you can access a lot of stuff for free. 

Excellent advice! Thank you! Fortunately for me, I have a close friend who's already in the program to which I was accepted, and he just finished with his exams.  I was thinking of asking him for his reading list.  I'm also currently reading Joe Berry's Reclaiming the Ivory Tower to get a sense of the current state of contigent labor in academia.  So far, it's a sobering but practical handbook.