Numbers
posted by Sybil Vane
Marc Bosquet has a great piece at the Valve in response to the NYTimes piece about humanities PhDs and the economy. The thrust of the Times piece is what a terrible effect plummeting endowment values and constricted state budgets are having on job possibilities for humanities PhDs. The thrust of Bosquets response is to point out that it is much less the economy that is fucking over humanities PhDs than it is systemic and exploitative practices of higher ed with respect to teaching labor (also see his earlier reflection on the 'Job Market' that isn't a market)
I agree with Bosquet about the shittiness of the Times piece and about the systemic problems overall, though I do think the current economy has made measurable differences in the possibilities. The important thing, which is clearly his investment as well, is being aware that the economy sucks, but what happens in higher ed searches is simply not a version of what is happening in other sectors, nor will it improve in the way other sectors will.
Below are my numbers from 2 consecutive years of job searching. Note the difference in available jobs; after cancellations, twice as many in only my field last year as in my field and broader ones this year. Notice the sheer availability of more jobs didn't mean my search fared any better.
2007-2008 search
Number of jobs I could have applied for; only in looked in my primary field: 40
Number of jobs I did apply for: 34
Hours/wk on applications, August through October: 8-10
Number cancelled: 0
Money spent: $200
Number of jobs for which I had a personal connection to exploit: 2
Number of requests for more materials: 2 (which correlated exactly the the connections)
Interviews: 1 phone
Campus visits: 0
TT Jobs: 0
Number of postdocs and temp positions I applied for: 3
Interviews: 3
Offers: 2
2008-2009 search:
Number of jobs I could have applied for, including Generalist and such: 36
Number I did apply for: 22
Hours/wk on applications, August through October: 5-6
Number cancelled: 7
Money spent: about $1500
Number of jobs for which I had a personal connection to exploit: 2
Number of applications that were NEVER RECEIVED BY SEARCH COMMITTEE: 1
Number of times that tragedy befell a job where I had a personal connection to exploit: 1
Number of requests for more materials: 3
Interviews: 2 - 1 phone, 1 MLA
Number of times an interview correlated with a personal connection: 1
Campus visits: 2
TT Jobs: remains to be seen
Number of postdocs and temp positions applied for:01
The differences in my own file between last year and this year include being finished with the degree and having a publication. Still, I feel sure that the network connection I had pulled me ahead of the field for the one interview. And for the other one, without being too specific, there is an aspect of my work that is specialized enough to put me by chance at an advantage for this particular school.
Which is to say. Yes, my files was more competitive this year, but I don't want that to inject the sense of a more meritorious process this year. I was fortunate enough to have time to work on a publication (over and over) between the last market run and this one, something I would had way less time to do if I had been in a program that had me teaching way more as a grad student (like the 3/3 I did in my MA program) than my PhD program did. Also, I know I didn't apply to nearly as many jobs as many of my colleagues did. I have been lucky, I am very very aware.
I don't really know what else I have to say about this data at this point. I have these interviews coming up and am steeped enough in the Catholic hebbie-jeebies to not want to jinx them with too much meta blathering. So consider them presented without further comment.
I agree with Bosquet about the shittiness of the Times piece and about the systemic problems overall, though I do think the current economy has made measurable differences in the possibilities. The important thing, which is clearly his investment as well, is being aware that the economy sucks, but what happens in higher ed searches is simply not a version of what is happening in other sectors, nor will it improve in the way other sectors will.
Below are my numbers from 2 consecutive years of job searching. Note the difference in available jobs; after cancellations, twice as many in only my field last year as in my field and broader ones this year. Notice the sheer availability of more jobs didn't mean my search fared any better.
2007-2008 search
Number of jobs I could have applied for; only in looked in my primary field: 40
Number of jobs I did apply for: 34
Hours/wk on applications, August through October: 8-10
Number cancelled: 0
Money spent: $200
Number of jobs for which I had a personal connection to exploit: 2
Number of requests for more materials: 2 (which correlated exactly the the connections)
Interviews: 1 phone
Campus visits: 0
TT Jobs: 0
Number of postdocs and temp positions I applied for: 3
Interviews: 3
Offers: 2
2008-2009 search:
Number of jobs I could have applied for, including Generalist and such: 36
Number I did apply for: 22
Hours/wk on applications, August through October: 5-6
Number cancelled: 7
Money spent: about $1500
Number of jobs for which I had a personal connection to exploit: 2
Number of applications that were NEVER RECEIVED BY SEARCH COMMITTEE: 1
Number of times that tragedy befell a job where I had a personal connection to exploit: 1
Number of requests for more materials: 3
Interviews: 2 - 1 phone, 1 MLA
Number of times an interview correlated with a personal connection: 1
Campus visits: 2
TT Jobs: remains to be seen
Number of postdocs and temp positions applied for:
The differences in my own file between last year and this year include being finished with the degree and having a publication. Still, I feel sure that the network connection I had pulled me ahead of the field for the one interview. And for the other one, without being too specific, there is an aspect of my work that is specialized enough to put me by chance at an advantage for this particular school.
Which is to say. Yes, my files was more competitive this year, but I don't want that to inject the sense of a more meritorious process this year. I was fortunate enough to have time to work on a publication (over and over) between the last market run and this one, something I would had way less time to do if I had been in a program that had me teaching way more as a grad student (like the 3/3 I did in my MA program) than my PhD program did. Also, I know I didn't apply to nearly as many jobs as many of my colleagues did. I have been lucky, I am very very aware.
I don't really know what else I have to say about this data at this point. I have these interviews coming up and am steeped enough in the Catholic hebbie-jeebies to not want to jinx them with too much meta blathering. So consider them presented without further comment.
Posted at 7:59 AM
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