You know you're on the job market when...

[hehehe]

You know you're on the job market when...


You hope the weekend passes quickly because most "action" occurs during the week.

You don't make any plans (e.g., go to friend's wedding) in advance because you could be going on an interview any time.

Calls from unknown numbers now give you a glimmer of hope.

You are on the verge of flipping a coin to decide whether or not you should renew your lease.

The local post office workers know you by first name.

You hear "something will come through" or some other platitude at least twice a week.


Good hunting folks, I'll be here until I'm employed!

[laughthroughit]

HA! That's great.

[filippe]

....when you check the rumor mill so many times in a day hoping for some news yet somehow hope that calls have not been made yet (no news is good news for you).

.....when you check your email so often, and also checks your spam box in case the wonderful email gets filtered.

[MomentTruth]

Is this how you thought going on the job market would be when you started grad school? Did the advanced grad students on the market share their experiences back then? Did faculty foreshadow this crucial period for you?

[rerun]

Did I think I would go on the market during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression? And did anyone foreshadow that for me? That would be no on both counts. Things do look much better this year, but of course, no one predicted that there would be a massive glut of PhDs leftover either, who would make the market tight for years to come.

Honestly, though, I would have gone to grad school anyway.

[taketwo]

Feb 14, 2011 8:01:25 GMT -5 @rerun said:

Honestly, though, I would have gone to grad school anyway.

Agreed!

[RockyFeller]

With declining prospects for academic jobs, it's been speculated that graduate programs will shift toward being an intellectual haven for wealthy individuals pursuing some curiosity or passion. This is happening already in the humanities, and the social sciences will follow suit to a lesser degree. History, art, European language programs, and English (for those who don't focus on remedial English) are attracting self-supporting hobbyists, travelers, and intellectuals not in need of a teaching job.

In Sociology, this would mean those who love the field and who already have their own income and career source will predominate, as teaching opportunities continue to decline. If this occurs, graduate programs might be more stimulating because students could redirect seminars and study programs in their own direction. Doctoral programs would cater to the market, so that faculty wouldn't have to teach only undergraduates.

[yep]

Hm, there's no reason sociologists shouldn't be adequately prepared for a career in research, even if they did qualitative methods. (Although obviously quants have it easier.)

[really]

Feb 28, 2011 10:19:30 GMT -5 yep said:

Hm, there's no reason sociologists shouldn't be adequately prepared for a career in research, even if they did qualitative methods. (Although obviously quants have it easier.)

You'd be surprised how many people can get through the PhD process without really knowing how to develop a good research question and/or answer it. I would say those with very little faculty mentoring suffer from this problem just as much as the 'lap dogs' that are told by their mentor exactly what to study, how to study it, how to write up the results, etc. There's a fine balance between blowing in the wind aimlessly and being a mindless clone.

[yep]

I meant research positions in corporate or government work. Standards and quality, of course, will vary by organization...