There are more and more PhDs chasing fewer and fewer jobs There’s a big and growing problem in academia, especially in the humanities. Well, there are many problems in academia, but that’s a different multi-volume project. The specific problem to which we’re referring is that there are too many humanities PhDs chasing fewer and fewer jobs. We’re not going to rehearse the details, because you’re either living them or you already know them, even if only intuitively. Departments know there is a big problem, deans know it, and your professors know it. Some departments and institutions are dedicating resources to “alt-ac” – the working world “out there.” There are many advisors in Career Centers who are doing a great job helping students think about and move into non-academic careers. There’s a terrific on-line community, Versatile PhD (shout-out to Paula Chambers, PhD, VPhD’s founder!), and in the last few years we’ve seen a handful of ex-academics who have started businesses advising PhDs on how to make a move toward a different life, job, career. If you are wondering about a professional life that doesn’t involve being a professor, or are already on the road to a career that doesn’t involve being a professor, we encourage you to tap into all of these resources, early and often.
Why are we doing this?
Why are we doing this?
Why are we doing this?
There are more and more PhDs chasing fewer and fewer jobs There’s a big and growing problem in academia, especially in the humanities. Well, there are many problems in academia, but that’s a different multi-volume project. The specific problem to which we’re referring is that there are too many humanities PhDs chasing fewer and fewer jobs. We’re not going to rehearse the details, because you’re either living them or you already know them, even if only intuitively. Departments know there is a big problem, deans know it, and your professors know it. Some departments and institutions are dedicating resources to “alt-ac” – the working world “out there.” There are many advisors in Career Centers who are doing a great job helping students think about and move into non-academic careers. There’s a terrific on-line community, Versatile PhD (shout-out to Paula Chambers, PhD, VPhD’s founder!), and in the last few years we’ve seen a handful of ex-academics who have started businesses advising PhDs on how to make a move toward a different life, job, career. If you are wondering about a professional life that doesn’t involve being a professor, or are already on the road to a career that doesn’t involve being a professor, we encourage you to tap into all of these resources, early and often.