Classics 2010

[Joe001]

Rejected by Virginia.

[Joe001]

Rejected by UCLA. I wish Colorado and Indiana would hurry the fuck up and tell me about the funding situation.

[aginath]

Anyone heard about the funding situation at UGA?

Can't speak for Classics specifically, but since the state budget is still up in the area and some rather drastic cuts were proposed by President Adams to the legislature, much of the University is still in limbo waiting for the final word.

[David.W]

I'm only applying to one Classics programme, but since I'm remaining on the periphery of Classics, may subsequently pursue a Classics PhD, and Religious Studies is in similar circumstances, I'm going to reply anyway.

I've not only heard horror stories but I've seen several close-up. One of my dearest friends got an ivy league PhD and has never managed to get a permanent position. It's not for lack of brains, teaching ability, publishing, or anything that he can control. He's simply never emerged the successful candidate and the further away he's gotten from his graduation year, the harder it's been to even get work as an adjunct.

Because of that, I'm fully conscious of the fact that I might as well be embarking on a mission to become a famous actor as a tenure-track Humanities professor. It's always going to be my first goal and in lieu I'd always want to adjunct but I get that it's a long shot.

I've got a series of back-up plans, in no particular order:

B: Teaching in high-school/CC

C: Working in a museum

D: A second PhD in a more employable field

E: Working in archaeology at some level (including managing archaeological collections)

F: Tour guide for a historic site related to my field

G: Host a History Channel, Discovery Civilization, etc. show

H: Consultant for History Channel, Discovery Civilization, etc. programming or movies set in antiquity

I: Writing popular books on historical, religious and classical themes

J: Travel writing

K: Found and own an eco-tourism company or wilderness survival school

L: Move to a kibbutz in Israel. Stay there.

M: Antiquities dealer (I'd have to check some principles first).

N: Antiquities forger (OK, a LOT of principles)

O: Edit/publish popular books on historical, religious and classical themes

P: Do the game show circuit, making money with my trivia(l) skills.

Q: Open a cool coffee shop in a high-traffic graduate student area so that I can essentially be the Barman Tom who serves as their confidante, unofficial dissertation advisor, and warning. I'll frame all the acknowledgments and put them on the wall and eventually it'll be that famous place where Hip Young Scholars wrote their dissertations.

R: Stand-up comedian. It's essentially the professorate, just people pay less (or more, depending on how you look at it) to listen to you ramble.

S: Become a professional adventurer.

T: Use the winnings from P to support myself while I crack Linear A. (Unlikely, but what the hell)

U: Write a book on how to secure a tenure-track position. If it sells a single copy, feast off of the irony for a lifetime.

This list is cool! I've never come up with so many professional options except acadamic positions and journalists.

[beersrfc]

This list is cool! I've never come up with so many professional options except acadamic positions and journalists.

You might consider a Master's in Library/Information Science. There are many master's students at the top MLS schools who have 4 years of college Latin and Greek, some with a MA in Classics, who want to work with the preservation of those rare books that deal in those languages. Some big universities, Yale and Duke in particular, have phenomenal classics libraries that need librarians with extensive knowledge of the classics. The top Library Schools are UNC, UCLA, U-Texas, U-Michigan, U-Illinois Urbana Champagne, Pittsburgh, U-Washington Seattle. You can look that up in the latest College News bulletin (though oddly enough classics ratings aren't in there at all).

Something to think about.