[Quincy Lehr]

There are no jobs; you're too old; and university-level does not equal "bright." Sorry.

[Susan McLean]

Yes, employment prospects in college teaching are and have been grim for a very long time. It took me years to get my current teaching position at a four-year college (which I have held for 24 years), and it has a heavy teaching load that includes a lot of composition classes. One can get positions in community colleges with just a Master's degree and in four-year colleges on an adjunct or year-by-year basis, but the full-time, tenure-track job is quite rare, even for those with Ph.D's.

Teaching college English is a rewarding but time-consuming job. I haven't regretted it for a minute, though it is intense and exhausting during the school year, leaving me very little time for writing. The compensation is the summers, which I can afford to devote entirely to writing, reading, travel, etc. Sabbaticals, which once came every seven years are now offered every eleven years at my university, a change which has been quite negative. But even so, legislators are eager to abolish them entirely. It has been sad to watch students' writing skills decline over the years, but even sadder to watch them losing interest in reading for pleasure. Many literature classes that once filled are now being canceled for low enrollments. I can only hope that there will remain a group of hardcore readers who will not be seduced by the lure of online entertainment from the joys of reading.

Susan

[W.F. Lantry]

Originally Posted by E. Shaun Russell

none of them have had the balance of enjoyability and practicality.

Shaun, my dear, deluded Shaun,

I love your enthusiasm. It has a rare and naive charm. It really is heartening to see.

I suggest you walk down to your local english department. Find an experienced professor who's holding office hours. Ask him about "enjoyability." If you want a real earful, ask *her*. There's a reason they call it the Anguish Department. Now go look in the parking lot, and see what kind of cars they drive.

Every english professor worth his or her salt discourages anyone who wishes to go into the profession. "Go back to your farm, and work the earth" is a standard line. "Go home and work for your father's construction business" also has a good track record. Or, if the professor is a Zappa fan, she'll quote Cosmic Debris: "You could make more money as a butcher, so don't waste your time..."

This isn't recent, it's a centuries old tradition. The ones who weren't cut out for the field take the advice. The ones who are destined for it won't listen, no matter how discouraging the people they respect are. I've discouraged every one who's asked. A few didn't listen, and they've written me later, thanking me for at least warning them.

So here's my best warning: to play this game, you need a doctorate. It should be in rhetoric (literature is vanity). To get a doctorate in rhetoric, you have to love the field, really love arguing about Cicero and Quintillian and Pierre de la Ramee and Kenneth Burke, late into the night. It's fascinating stuff. But if you're starting from a B.A., you're looking at seven to nine years of poverty.

At at the end of that? Maybe there'll be a job, if you're lucky. Somewhere else: Wyoming, central Alabama. You'll start as an assistant at about 40K. After seven years, you might make associate, with a 5K raise.

Need to hear more? There's plenty of other things where those came from. Can I introduce you to the joys of the curriculum committee?

Best,

Bill

[Rick Mullin]

Why, if you were a teacher, would you want the best and brightest students?

[D.J.H. Bryant]

Hi Shaun,

First, full disclosure, I teach part-time at a university but not in the English Dept. I have, however, taught undergraduate linguistics and trying to teach phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, etc. has similar challenges.

So, here are my thoughts, for what they are worth. Based on your previous job history, you've probably got some marketable skills. You may want to consider landing a non-teaching job at your university. Hear me out on this. Most schools offer full-time employees free tuition. Let them pay you a decent wage while you earn your MA. Depending on the job you find, you may actually be making more than the assistant and associate profs on the tenure track. During your MA studies, you'll get a feel for the department and your day job will provide you with an entirely different education about the facts of life in higher education.

Then, once you have your MA or are close to it, you can make a much more informed decision about what you want. Being an adjunct has its pros and cons. First, if you have a day job that pays the bills, you can teach mainly for the enjoyment of it. There is freedom in that. Publish or perish, for example, won't keep you up at night. Depending on the politics of the department, you may be treated like a second-class citizen, but as the tenure-track folks jockey for Power! Prestige! and influence over life-and-death matters in the curriculum committee, you can keep your eye on the ball and teach. (Actually, it was Bill invoking the curriculum committee that pushed me to respond here.)

As for teaching the best and brightest, I can only tell you that I get the most satisfaction out of teaching the students who have to struggle with the material for a little while before they get it. The best and brightest will succeed whether it's me or someone else doing the teaching. But witnessing that moment when a student gets it is my drug of choice and I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm hopelessly addicted. If you've already had that experience, you know what I mean. If you haven't yet, just wait. You will--and then God help you.

Regards,
Devlin

[Katie Hoerth]

I'll second Devlin's advice. I did the same thing -- while working on my masters I worked as a counselor for the university I studied at. Free tuition! Plus, a pretty marketable skill and it was a rewarding job. So while many of my fellow grad students were astrugglin' to make it on their little stipends, I was making decent money (though, trying to stuff my readings in between appointments was, well, fun! but I managed).

[Tim Murphy]

Shaun, I wasn't called to the profession of teaching. If you're called, that's it. You go do the work. I think any students that get you as their teacher are very lucky kids.

[Janice D. Soderling]

Pursue your dream. That is what we are here for. If the first dream doesn't pan out, adjust it and try again.

[Don Jones]

Beautifully stated, Janice.

Good luck, Shaun!

Don

[Jean L. Kreiling]

Shaun--

There's lots of truth in the posts above; I would echo quite a bit of it, but I'll use my space to reinforce what Tim and Jayne said. It should be a "calling" and a "dream"--so that desire and satisfaction will sustain you through the s***. I am so lucky to have my job (tenured, full), which I mostly love, sometimes dislike, very occasionally hate; it's a tremendous gift to spend so many hours doing something you care about. But you must be absolutely sure that you don't care what kind of car you drive!

I wish you lots of luck!
Jean