Having “The Conversation”: Telling Your Advisor You Don’t Want to Be a Professor
byBy Stacy Hartman and Chris M. Golde How do you tell your advisor that you don’t want to pursue the faculty path? Or, at…
professionalization
Classroom or Cube?
byBy Martha M. Houle I hesitated for ages before leaving my tenured faculty position, because I knew the alternative would probably be showing up…
Doctoral Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the MLA Convention
byBy Sara Wilson On the Wednesday night before this year’s MLA Annual Convention in Philadelphia, I realized that my husband was laughing at me….
Know Your Audience: Career Services and the Graduate Student Demographic
byBy Carolyn Ureña After college, I spent a year working in consumer marketing for an international beauty company, where I learned, among many things,…
Preparing for Life Outside the Academy: A Primer and Resource Guide
byInterested in pursuing a career outside or adjacent to the academy, but no idea where to start? 2015–16 proseminar fellow Dr. Sarah Goldberg made a handy primer and resource guide that will help you on your way!
The Unique Case of the PhD on the Industry Job Market
byManoah Finston writes about what differentiates doctoral students from industry-aligned master’s students on the job market, and suggests some recommendations for how university career-counseling centers and home departments might better approach these students’ distinct needs.
The Strength of the Alt/Ac Candidate on the Academic Market
by“My fellow scholars in the MLA’s Connected Academics proseminar,” says Beth Seltzer, “tackle a mind-boggling range of responsibilities. They edit academic journals, serve as assistant deans and departmental administrators, lead graduate student associations, and volunteer with local youth-art programs. And they get all this done while they’re writing their dissertations and producing strong academic scholarship. I am sure that—through their work in various fields—they will make the world a better place.”
Preparing for a Future in the Humanities as an English PhD
by“Treat the PhD as a professional project”: adhere to strict deadlines, “implement procedural and productive managerial skills,” find a way to make your scholarship unique and about something you love, and adapt a fluid mind-set.